SESers Take Dim View of Performance Management Systems

Only minorities-relative small minorities in some cases-of senior executive service members believe the performance management system used to rate them is being used as an effective management tool, according to a survey done as part of a GAO report (GAO-04-614) that concluded there is room for the SES performance management system to be “significantly strengthened.” In surveys of execs at three agencies-Education, NASA and Health and Human Services-less than a third of execs at each thought the system is used to a great or very great extent to manage the organization. Responses to a similar question about achieving organizational goals ranged from 28 percent at Education to 47 percent at NASA. Less than half of execs at each agency feel that their agency uses the system to provide candid and constructive feedback to help them maximize their contributions to the agency or that the system is useful for making improvements in their work unit’s performance.