FEATURES Leading the Way
A survey of more than 75 senior executives conducted by Government Executive found overwhelming support for new pay-for-performance rules, even though many executives believe the new rules won't mean higher salaries or bonuses.
Q: Last year, Congress passed legislation that raised the base pay cap for Senior Executive Service members from $145,600 to $158,100, eliminated annual locality pay and cost-of-living adjustments for the SES, and required that all agencies base SES pay raises solely on performance. How do you feel about this change?
| Support strongly | 18.2 % |
|---|---|
| Support somewhat | 41.6 |
| Oppose somewhat | 16.9 |
| Oppose strongly | 19.5 |
| No opinion | 3.9 |
Q: Under the new system, agencies will base pay raises for senior executives solely on performance evaluations. How fair do you believe this will be?
| Very fair | 13.0% |
|---|---|
| Somewhat fair | 53.2 |
| Somewhat unfair | 23.4 |
| Very unfair | 10.4 |
| No opinion | 0 |
Q: Agencies now will have full discretion over whether to give pay raises to senior executives. How do you think this change will generally affect the size of pay raises?
| Much larger | 3.9% |
|---|---|
| Somewhat larger | 15.6 |
| About the same | 39.0 |
| Somewhat smaller | 19.5 |
| Much smaller | 16.9 |
| No opinion | 5.2 |
Q: Under the legislation, agencies also will be able to provide larger bonuses to senior executives, with a new aggregate pay limit of $203,000. To what degree do you believe the increased pay limit will provide an incentive to senior executives to work harder and do a better job?
| Strong incentive | 14.3% |
|---|---|
| Moderate incentive | 36.4 |
| Not much of an incentive | 31.2 |
| No incentive at all | 15.6 |
| No opinion | 2.6 |
Q: How do you expect that the new system will affect the size of bonuses awarded?
| Significantly larger | 6.5% |
|---|---|
| Somewhat larger | 27.3 |
| About the same | 39.0 |
| Somewhat smaller | 10.4 |
| Significantly smaller | 10.4 |
| No opinion | 6.5 |
Source: Government Executive Survey
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