Pay for Performance System a Key

CBO said that one goal of NSPS is to motivate employees to perform better on the job by emphasizing pay for performance, through new procedures for appraising and rewarding employees. CBO compared the results of the first rating and reward cycles for employees under NSPS with several other similar systems operating under demonstration project authority. For example, it said far fewer NSPS employees received above average ratings compared to those in a Commerce Department project; however, the numbers also show that virtually no employees in either received unsatisfactory ratings. CBO said that it remains to be seen how the system relates to the achievement of organizational goals, but warned that in general, such goals are "usually stated in terms that are probably too broad to allow for a straightforward link to the duties and responsibilities of individual jobs."