Return to Article: Lawmakers urge Pentagon to hold off on new pay policy
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77212
I recently applied for a YA02 position with the army that consist of GS12-13 grades. I came from DOD and was a GS13 Step 5 when i converted to NSPS. I was offered the job and given a 5% increase making my salary GS13 step 7 Equivelant. The problem is that my PD says the job is a GS12 position. When i applied for the job the announcement did not state that the YA02 position was equivelant to a GS12 and the pay scale was the same as the Pay scale for my original NSPS YA02 grade. Is there something fishy going on here. I have 7 years as a GS13 why would I go backwards in NSPS from a YA02 GS13 Equiv to YA02 GS 12 Equivalent. I am currently pursing this issue because i do not know how this will affect my retirement, RIF, or if I take another position in the GS Pay Scale or if NSPs is converted back to the GS Pay scale. I am concerned i could be converted to lower grade. Also since i am a permanent employee and the 5o action says it was a transfer/reassignment why was I not transferred into the same grade classification of duties.
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61253
What a bunch of whiners. If you put half the effort into your government job that you put into writing all these complaints just maybe you wouldn't have this problem. Wake up for a change and stop thinking about yourself. Look at the economy, the government debt, the mortgage crisis, and you're whining because you lost a few bucks. We have people in the civilian workforce that are losing their jobs because the world economy is broken. I took a pay cut just like you did, and I'd gladly take another cut in pay to help get this country back on it's feet. What does the government owe you? Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, it doesn't owe you anything else. So your little job was converted to NSPS. Reality check, you're lucky that you have a secure job that you can whine about. Face it the Government is to big, about half of your jobs could be cut with little impact except a huge saving. If you worked in the competitive civilian sector many of the complainers here would have been replaced by technology a long time ago. You've been leeching off the government way to long. If you don't like the new system I'm sure you can find a good job on the outside.....
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48809
According to the job listings on OPM, I applied for a positon and out of 300+ applicants I was selected in the top (4) for an interview. The job listing stated from 26k to 35k/yr. I was offered the job because of my background/experience due to my Navy background that fitted this position. They offered me $26k (entry level) claiming, "We're weren't hiring for experience because someone can learn on this job" and "If we started you at a higher GS-4 (Step 10) other GS-4's in that position would be upset." That's not my problem that's their problem for not negotiating a fair salary. If they weren't looking to hire for experience....why did they select me FOR my experiences? ALSO, they stated the salary was a 'fixed' rate and not negotiable. OPM listed the salary range on the website and offered me the job at $26k stating it was never a "range" so I've submitted my Congressional Letter of Inquiry to find out WHY this was done providing false/mileading job advertisement under bait-and-switch tactics just so they could fill this position at the lowest salary level. Fraudulent scam tactics on a federal level!
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40958
It's time for legal acion here. COLAs should not be apart of NSPS.
In fact NSPS training never mention once about the COLA being part of the program, but once we entered the NSPS project all kinds of new rules came out of the wood work.
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39730
The old system of doing nothing and still getting a pay raise is over. Surprisingly this is not a new concept for most workers. With the new system, there is a chance to make more money so stop complaining and embrace change or at least begin working for your salary.
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38656
What a neat piece of disinformation:
"'NSPS actually offers employees opportunities for greater increases than before,' she said."
When looking at the workforce as a whole, the plan is to cut pay increases under NSPS to about 1/4 of the increases under the GS plan. True: as an exception to policy favored employees may be given hugely disportionate pay increases through loopholes, but that is just a larger individual piece of a much smaller pie. Its a zero-sum situation. A bigger piece for one individual is that much less left for everyone else to share.
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36350
Congress should be upset and angry at DOD. What they have done now is take an across the pay scale cost of living raise and given it to the select. Now you have a pay scale that is supposed to be uniform across the executive branch and have made it just the opposite. What kind of government will we have when you can actually get a raise by job hopping by agency because one is NSPS and they other is not but stay in the same grade. What a crock to anyone who believes it is a good thing.
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36238
To Mr. Brow N. Oser, I say that you are a fool! The Federal Government, headed by the Almighty Savior, President Bush, only wants what's best for its workers. After we win America's Global War of Terror, the billions of dollars being wasted there can be spent on us, the lucky souls employed by His Majesty. You should consider yourself lucky to work for such a righteous, articulate, intelligent man. Donald Rumsfeld, God rest his soul, cared for you as his own child. Do not mock this great and noble leader. And by the way, get back to work and quit playing at your computer, which is being montitored for impure thoughts.
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35938
I THINK NSPS IS WONDERFUL. Never before have I had an opportunity to cut the bosses grass and smooch with the "head honchos", like now. I regularly take credit for accomplishments performed by those cry babies who think NSPS is "crooked". Crooked...how can that be. The only performance I worry about is how well I perform at doctoring up my evals. It's sad that so many around me have poor attitudes, which contribute to their mediocre performance rating, I guess.
When I started reading the websites years ago, that the Grand PBUDR (Peace Be Unto Donald Rumsfield) was implementing a blank sheet of paper, that would eventually become NSPS, I was soooo excited. Granted, the documents, rules and regulations change every month or so, but I just bill it to the NSPS charge code, as I sit on my computer and look busy.
So please, be patient as we spirial in as many zombies as possible. I know you bargain employees are safe for now, but it will consume you also...soon! NSPS is the brainchild of men of the mighty military of the United States of America...where the rich keep getting richer. All those who oppose are anti-American in their thinking. If you don't like it, you can always work for another Department.
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35738
Rumor has it a GS-14 for one whole month was moved to an NSPS position that includes the older GS-15s and now that person is eligible for jobs that would have taken them a lot more experience/training to get to under GS rules. Of course this person is a protege/old friend of someone else in upper managment...not only is the good old boy approach working well but management now can by pass the common sense tests that some time in grade would have given this employee. NSPS stands 180 degrees from any plan that will retain mature and experienced work force while messing with the livelihood and well being of the very people that supposedly we go to war to protect.
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35707
Here's a thought. Don't give one dime to the CFC this year. We'll tell them to take it our of our '08 raise that england withheld. Instead, give to your favorite charity directly. All the big charites will wonder what happened and maybe raise a fuss in Congress.
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35656
J.D., while I do like your gumption and your idea "circulate a petition around your office, and then send this to your elected official, and see how quickly they will respond." I must say that sounds like the easiest method to commit Seppuku (in the vernacular "hari-kari") I've heard in a long time. I must say I do NOT think you will make the honors list.
I was amused as I saw "A NSPS employee" try to set forth the positive aspects of NSPS; a noble if futile effort. The benefits that they stated were more flexibility in hiring and pay setting. Those benefits are questionable if they even are benefits and only applicable to incoming personnel, not those in the system held to the 5% standard. Therefore, the benefit is limited to the minuscule percentile of turn-over and unproven personnel rather than the majority of those with proven worth.
Next I saw "Yes, there are negative parts. But, we need to come up with ways to make the system better." Should that not have been tried with the GS system? What is truly wrong with 80% being marked as excellent? Okay, it is an inflated standard but everyone knows it and copes with it. That excellent does not impact on retirement pay such as the 80% of average people will be impacted losing financial power and retirement benefits with non-counted bonuses and COLA redistribution. Just gear down the ratings system and make supervisors truly full time supervisors not worker bees with additional duties.
If you think the current COLA crisis was something, wait until the rotating congressional candidates start gearing up on a "cut the big government" campaign run. Who do you think is the vast majority cost of the government?
I applaud you on your effort and ask you to consider our side of the discussion too. Evidently quite a few folks feel, not mild distaste, but vehemence towards the potential abuses of this system and its inherent pay inequities.
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35469
The real problem here is that NSPS was not implemented to ALL of the workforce. Until NSPS is implemented to everyone it will not be a fair system.
It is not right to give people who are still on GS(who are mediocre performers)the automatic raise of 3.5% while others who were unfortunate enough to be the "lab rats" of NSPS have to compete for what should be an automatic 3.5% raise.
Because of this, by the time Bargaining unit employees get placed on the system the non-bargaining unit employees will be making considerably less than their same performing counterparts.
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35468
I don't understand how DoD can take a Government wide raise such as COLA and use it in a pay for performance money pool. The COLA is for ALL Civil Service employees and read the letters "Cost of Living Allowance". There's something that is just wrong about that and I'm not sure it would hold up under an extensive legal review.
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35455
As a civil service employee for 20+ years, I have seen many changes to the hiring practices, and now that NSPS is here, there is no incentive to stay with DOD. The "double dipping" clause was lifted for retired military. In the past, if they were hired under civil service after they retired, they would lose half their military retirement. Since that is no longer an issue, many vacancies are now being filled with "retired" military enlisted and officers. None of them will be HURT by NSPS when they convert...they will still receive their military retirement. But those of us whose civil service careers do not include prior military service with a retirement, we will lose. I am scheduled to convert to NSPS in 2008, and am not thrilled. My entire career will end the minute I am converted. I will no longer see "Base Pay" raises as I do now under GS. I have always been a top performer, but because funding has been tight, the powers that be rarely approved QSIs (Quality Step Increases), which raised your base salary to the next Step. Instead, only performance bonuses, e.g. cash award, time off awards, were given. I had ALWAYS counted on the GS Payraises to offset the rising cost of FEHB premiums, and taxes on the payraise. I will no longer have that, and now my retirement income will be much less than had I stayed under GS. So, to state that "NSPS actually offers employees opportunities for greater increases than before" is bogus. NSPS employees will only see "cash awards", because of "dwindling" resources, and no "base salary" increases (unless you belong to the "good ole boy" network). Managers are being made aware within our organization that there is "no money" to fund the Pay Pool. There have been commands within our organization that did not give "cash" performance awards in the past, because of lack of money. At least, the non-bargaining unit employees will be spared for a little while longer. Once they convert, I expect to see a mass exodus out of DOD.
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35449
Welcome to the world of your nation's Air Traffic Controllers.
Fight the good fight - do your best to hold them accountable for their LIES. That's what we've been struggling to do for over a year.
I apologize for not leaving my name (although I could have lied). The FAA will not tolerate any public dissention except that which they are FORCED to, by law (Title 5, United States Code).
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35445
Sounds like some of the concerns the Unions were "complaining" about are coming true. If a few hundred dollars a year in Union dues gets you nothing but a derail, delay or negotiations over the implementation of systems like NSPS, isn't belonging to a Union worth it? Add it up. The amount of COLA every year pays for the Union dues.
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35416
Why do they call it a bonus when they are only giving back a portion of what they took away?
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35412
And the fact remains that when pay or benefits (both during your career and in retirement) are reduced to any extent from what you were assured when you were hired, this amounts to theft. It doesn't matter what type of legalese can be applied to this system to squeak it through in the eyes of the law. On a purely moral and/or ethical respect, it is undeniably theft.
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35397
I'm glad some people are figuring out how this can affect their retirement. I am at the top of my pay pool, so not applying this to salary reduces my retirement accordingly. For anyone who gets this GPI as bonus and not salary, they also are going to be abused by the system. I have about 15 years left, so I guesstimate that the cumulative opportunity lost to my projected retirement could easily be 20-40%. Now for all of us who worked all of these years for the benefits, how fair is that? This is something that I was counting on being there in my retirement. Why is this not being viewed as an outrage and slap in the face to all of us? I have already drafted a letter to my congressman and will soon be hitting the send button. I can only hope that many others will see the light and do the same!
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35388
Any Fed would welcome a bonus who wouldn't? But I can live w/o that,however, I definitely feel it is unfair to take away the cost of living which is a benefit. We were made to understand that as long as an employee got a rating of "2" or better we would at least get our cost of living increase.
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35369
I am really concerned about getting the "normal" wage increase and looking forward to my "bonus" for a good appraisal. Last year I got the COLA and a 5% increase. This year, I'll be lucky if I get 4% total. I am very worried because I have worked very hard and may be going backwards instead of forward. To get a 5% increase bonus you have to be a really outstanding, above and beyond employee and I have my doubts about ever achieving that because people (supervisors) are human and their preferences still weigh heavily on a person being able to excell or be held back. I am truly concerned about NSPS. It's much too complicated and demands exceptional objectives and assessments to be able to get ahead.
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35366
"NSPS actually offers employees opportunities for greater increases than before," she said.
Translation: We'll select a few employees that may make more. Most of you are going to lose money so that those that came up with this great scam can be properly rewarded!
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35364
WOW....Many, many negative comments. I can't say that it is a perfect system because it's not! However, the GS system was/is flawed with everyone receiving an exceptional rating (80% of DoD employees). Let's face it...80% of DoD employees are not exceptional. We do need a better pay-for performance system and NSPS is a step forward, just needing some tweaks. I've had much experience with both Acq Demo and Lab Demo and neither was easy in the beginning.
We need to look at the positive aspects of NSPS, which include: more flexibility in hiring, pay setting, classification, etc. Yes, there are negative parts. But, we need to come up with ways to make the system better. You might say that we have no voice! This is not true. I have personally witnessed changes to demo projects based on hard work by those seeing a need for change.
Most of the complaints (yes, I say most) deal with the performance mgmt piece. Talk to your rating officials, higher level reviewers, and senior leaders. Send your suggestions through channels and see what happens! This system can work, but needs to have input from all stakeholders....including us.
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35357
I have a suggestion for everyone working under any type of pay for "performance" system within any department or agency. If you originally took your job with the understanding that you would be classified under the GS system and were later transferred to a pay for "performance" system without your consent, then I say you should charge the entire difference between your compensation from the two systems (over your career AND your retirement) to the government. So this is how it would work: If this year you would have earned $60,000, for example, had you remained under the GS system, but you are only earning $55,000 due to being placed under a new pay system, that's a difference of $5,000 for the year. With 2080 regular work hours for the year, this difference means you're only being paid for approximately 1,907 hours of work for the year, 173 hours short of your rightful earnings under the GS scale. So you should charge this 173 hours to the government. How? By several methods: 1) Taking an extra 173 hours of sick leave during which you aren't actually sick, 2) Going home early or coming in late until your deficit adds up to 173 hours, and/or 3) Using 173 hours of company time in order to do personal business, catch a movie, go shopping, watch your kids' ballgame, etc. This should be done for your entire career. As for retirement, that would be a much more complicated process and you would have to approximate how much less you would accrue over the rest of your life in retirement due to the new system, and also be sure to charge that to the government prior to retiring. This would add significantly more hours per year to the 173 total as in the example above. That's my suggestion.
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35356
I pray this is the beginning of the end for the NSPS outrage. It's so sad that DOD would allow this outrage to continue. Follow the money.
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35353
The reason this is happening is because government workers are patsies and continue to allow thugs in this administratin to abuse them. If you don't write your Cogressional delegaiton NOW (and tell them you don't want a staffer to click on the canned response button) you deserve to have your pay frozen. If you don't unionize NOW like GAO did, you deserve to have your pay frozen. David Chu, England and Gates lied to us and now they are denying it. They know full well we were told we would receive the entire 08 BASE pay raise. To deny that now is a complete breach of trust. Oh, I forgot, there wasn't any trust left to lose. A strike won't work but a sickout will. With lots of media attention. We should pick a date and organize either in front of the Pentagon, the Mall or in front of the Capital. Punish any Congresspersons or Senators who dopn't support the demonstration at the balot box. Put bags on our heads or better yet David Chu, Rummy and England masks. What? You say you can't lie and tell them you were sick? They didn't mind lying to you when they said your 08 raise was safe. Stop the abuse now!!!! Everyone knows this system has nothing to do with security, performance or merit. But it has a lot to do with diverting civilian salaries to the lost cause war effort and taking care of the small circle of friends and toadies the SES Corps has left. Viva La Revolution!!!! They wouldn't do htis to the Haliburton or Balckwater emplyees :)
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35347
I have been a member of the Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project (AcqDemo) paypool system for the last 10 years (I've also been a paypool panel member). Initially, people were apprehensive because we were going to get "paid for we're worth". However, the AcqDemo is a proven paypool system that works. Unfortunately, National Security Personnel System (NSPS) was created for reasons identifiable on a playground: Another agency had their own personnel system so DOD must have one as well. The DOD did not incorporate any of the lessons learned from the AcqDemo into NSPS system. The difference: the AcqDemo was crafted to support a specific DOD function (acquisition)not the personnel community. NSPS was developed from a personnel management perspective -- that's why it is not well received today. If I had a vote today, I would still be a member of the AcqDemo personnel system -- it is much easier to understand; you are rewarded and recognized on your contributions to the organization; it's less time consuming. When DOD rolled out their NSPS training, individuals in the AcqDemo were not even recognized. How does DOD expect me to embrace it's newest personnel system when they don't recognize me as an employee? In addition, in AcqDemo, we didn't compete for the general pay increases -- everyone received their general pay increase. DOD's policy of providing only 50% of the general pay increase to employees will see impacts greater than anticipated. Why would individuals continue to work for DOD while other Federal agencies aren't requiring competition for the general pay increase? DOD doesn't need to worry about loss of institutional knowledge through the aging workforce. I believe NSPS will accomplish that feat in a much shorter timeframe. NSPS should be repealed.
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35339
To ALL DoD Working Stiffs: I still don't understand it! Several years ago when they first announced NSPS most DoD employees sat on their laurals and did nothing! Their Unions raised holely H#*# but without the required support from their members (like letters written directly to their congressmen) they could not get the legislation stopped. Some people like myself saw the handwriting on the wall and got out early and moved to a federal agency where the merit-based GS system is still in plase. So here you sit complaining when it's now a done deal! Do you know how hard it is to change Law! I am saying you lose but in all likely it is too late!
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35338
I've written my Senators. When writing be sure to start off by telling them you DO NOT want a canned "I support Federal employees" response. But prior poster is right. Nothing will change unless folks contact their representatives.
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35337
I wholeheartly agree! In fact we were initially told that our COLA for CY08 will not be effected.
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35336
I have read quite a few responses in this forum. Posting here does allow one to let off a little steam but how many of you have actually written your congressmen and senators? I have and actually received a response from one. Of course his reply had nothing to do with what I am cocerned about. So I sent in another letter putting the questions in terms that maybe even he can understand. Please write to those in power. Maybe they will actually do something for their constituents.
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35318
I am in agreement with the writers. We should receive what we were promised...the across-the-board increase.
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35317
Say what you will. The bottom line is money, saving money. Caring about the employee is merely lip service. We're not totally void of intelligence.
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35314
As a Federal Public Servant, my pay typically runds 10% to 15% behind the private sector. If you look at a public servant's retirement pension who has worked 30 years for the government, that pension is barely enough to keep you from having to have a job into your retirement years. Over the course of just 10 years, NSPS reduces my retirement by as much as 28% even though I performed at the level of a valued employee. The concept of pay for performance is good. Reducing my retirement by 28% is unacceptable when I have already dedicated 28 years of my life to Government service and now as I get close to retirement DOD wants to manipulate the pay calculation. Its time for a Class Action law suit. It's time for federal employee's to go on strike.
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35298
NSPS is really an OPM "retirement pension reduction program"; as NSPS draftees receive annual bonus instead of a permanent salary increase, their pensions will remain partially or totally frozen. What incentive will there be then to stay past qualifying retirement age?
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35273
Moral in the Spiral 1 group is plummeting. Not only is there little to look forward to, but now, they are taking away a part of the raise which was all but promised to us during the propaganda phase of NSPS. I really hate being lied to!
You would think that DoD would be smart enough to treat spiral 1 NSPS draftees a little better and wait to lower the boom when all employees are on board. Since most of us are supervisors or managers of some sort, our employees are seeing (and hearing us complain) what is going to happen to them when they get inducted into NSPS. They are getting scared!
Moral is directly linked to job production and performance. Whisper in my ear once more how NSPS is going to improve either one. Maybe if you say it enough, I might start believing it. ;-)
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35267
NSPS is a complete waste of Taxpayers' money at the federal workforces' expense. I have yet to see any comments commending this system. Pay for performance?? I believe the better name would be compensating my best buddies. Yes, the good ole boy system is alive and well. In a day and age where corruption is rampant in Government, this tool providing supervisors "my way or the highway" mentality is insane. My interpretation of NSPS is that there are four major goals.
1) Stop/severely limit pay raises
2) Manipulate the personnel system to hire who you want
3) Clean house without effort
4) Save DoD dollars at the expense of the personnel
One thing that is not considered in NSPS is that The People are National Security, not the system. No people=No National Security. I have watched other costs saving measures such as privatization and outsourcing fail miserably over time. The powers that be need to concede to reality, and admit that in the Democracy business there are no shortcuts, people are a cost of doing business. Good leadership, pay, and benefits = quality people. The existing system (OPM) provides abilities like NSPS but it also requires that supervision take an active role in managing their employees. This rarely happens. Instead of changing our personnel system, shouldn't the leadership be held accountable for doing their job? Changing the system to ease supervisory responsibilities does not correct bad management and practices. Our organization was sentenced to NSPS last year. We conducted a "MOCK" pay pool in mid-summer to get an idea of how it would work out. The results have yet to be released. When management is asked about the results, words like disaster are used. It is fall and we still don't know the outcome. Thank goodness we finished our end of year reviews. (It's even better that we got our midterm reviews done last week). It is rumored that the annual increase for performance will be a bonus instead of an increase in salary and that it will be quite small due to "a very small pay pool account". Where is Rumsfeld to see this transition thru? I will wait to see the truth of how this works and in the mean time, watch my co-worker who is a bargaining unit and non NSPS receive his full adjustment in salary.
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35257
I do not like the Lawmakers urging the Pentagon to hold off on the new policy for NSPS Employees at all. If this is the case, we would rather be in the General Schedule Pay System. Thank you for listening.
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35249
NSPS may look good on paper, but it is not being implemented well. Our managers are simply ignoring the rules. We don't get interim reviews. We don't work on our objectives together...they are force-fed to us. Large groups get the exact same objectives...no individuality. The upper management "pay pool" meets with all the first line supervisors (as a group) to build the bell curve of ratings. Basically, supervisors/managers are so lacking in managerial skills that NSPS can not be implemented fairly.
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35228
You're right, the 08 pay raise is not a COLA, it's a base pay raise. There is no good excuse with tamperingf with BASE pay. If David Chu and England feel there are folks out there who don't deserve their full base pay, they should seek to remove them from service entirely. Even the minimum wage and Davis Bacon increases apply to all including contractors. NSPS is all about friends helping friends. It has nothing to do about performance or merit. AS folks commenting on the Post article said, why is it that only the employee his or herself and the first level reviewer (both of whom have no contorl over final rating or shares) put anything in writing. Yet, the pay pool panel which assigns final ratings and shares does not have to document its rationale. This system must go. It will be a bit of irony to watch unions dwindle in the private sector but mushroom in the public (govt) sector. That will be Rummy's legacy.
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35227
NSPS is designed solely to discrimate against the aging worker in the workforce.
Use the comparison of an older worker as like an aging ball player. Once they were the star of the team and now because of age can't perform at the level they once did. Should that person now because of age earn less? The younger player (younger worker in this case) can certainly handle the job more productively than the older one and thus will garner the higher rating and higher salary. The present system was designed to prevent that from happening. If NSPS goes through I can't wait until those people pushing it now age and find that their younger competition will be taking their pay in the future.
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35219
Half of the COL raise this year, none of the COL raise next year. It's frightfully obvious that this is a cost-cutting measure, and only that. We were sold down the river. My performance was just fine before this mess hit the streets; I didn't need this baseball bat across my frontal lobe.
My duties have increased since NSPS hit the streets (but my pay sure hasn't)... someone forgot to consider the fact that civilians now have very strict performance objectives to meet - yet still work for the military... where it's business as usual. Those guys still expect the same level of support. You're kidding yourself if you think this isn't affecting the workforce. I'm a very good performer, and I'm looking hard for another job in the PS.
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35217
Although the DOD originally lobbied Congress for maximum flexibility to create a new personnel system which could be used to over ride Union influence and employee appeal alternatives, Congress is now discovering that the way the DOD wrote the regulations for the new personnel system, the NSPS, allows the DOD to over ride Congress as well.
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35216
Wow, in all these comments, I did not find ONE that supported the NSPS system. Where are those who feel this is fair and should continue. This should tell Congress something, but first they would have to pay attention, which they usually do not. I would hope that each and every person who wrote comments here, will take the time to write their Congressman and Senator, tell them of this travesty called NSPS, and tell them that failure on their part to act on doing away with this unfair pay system will affect your future vote, your families future vote, your friends future vote, and on and on and on. The same reason our elected officials are not concerned with securing the benefits of Social Security [because they are not dependent on it] is the same reason they do not care about NSPS. Let the voters rate their elected officials, and then decide their compensation based on this rating, and see how quickly it is scrapped. To complain only here will not change anything, but circulate a petition around your office, and then send this to your elected official, and see how quickly they will respond.
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35191
If you don't understand how to write a measurable objective, and understand how you will explain in measurable terms how you achieved that objective, then you will not rate as high as you would like. You have to know which contributing factors to select, and how you successfully demonstrated that you performed at an enhanced level. If you select too many contributing factors, then you can get a plus-one for one and a minus-one for another which will cancel out any additional points. Your performance indicator must be well stated above the level 3, or you will not measure up. Be careful how many objectives you give your self, and how many contributing factors you select. In the online tool "MyBiz" you are allowed 8000 characters to write up your self assessment. Our command did not use that tool because they said it was not working correctly, and so they produced a two page word document that we had to use to write up our self assessments.
We couldn't go below an 8pt font, and the self assessment area was less than a half of a page. I had to reduce the characters and spaces in my self assessment three separate times because my supervisor rejected it and said it was too long. My total count that would fit in the section came to a little over 5000 characters and spaces. My boss told me that the pay pool only has five minutes to read and discuss both assessments (the one you write and the one your supervisor writes) in the pay pool meeting, so less is better. This is not true however; pay pool members get the forms a week before they meet so they can pour over them and make notes to discuss at the pay pool meeting. They do take five minutes to discuss you. It seems like to me that something as important as an employee's performance, their pay increase, and bonus should be worth more than five minutes of time. I've spent hours and hours writing my objectives, capturing data all year long and writing my self assessment, so it seems like they should take at least 10 minutes to talk about all that I did. So be very careful how many objectives you have and how many contributing factors you select. Your space to explain it all may be shortened, and that could potentially hurt you. No matter what my score turns out to be, I will always believed that had I been allowed the full 8000 characters to create my self assessment, my rating would have been a little higher.
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35189
As a YC-02, we just finished our annual appraisals, I am not on the "pay-poll" team, but from what I see NSPS is giving the good ol boys authority to to determine who gets what ($) -- with little or no input from the supervisors! I was promoted from my GS-12 slot to a GS-13 position (YC-02) shortly after we went NSPS -- I got a 5% increase (or about $3.5K) when I would have gotten about a $10k increase if we were still under the GS -- OUCH! I think we have all heard enough -- now -- what can we do to stop this????
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35188
if it's not good for the unions or WG's it's not going to be good for us.
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35186
The pay raise enacted by Congress each year is NOT a performance raise nor was it intended to be. The "across the board raise" is intended to ensure government employees at least keep up with the cost of living increase since it is well known government employees are not as well compensated as their civilian counterparts. To tie this raise to performance cheapens this purpose and reduces the psy scale.
In case you didn't know, the government intends to do the same with the locality differential. It was enacted to provide for higher cost areas. To tie this to performance actually cuts the pay.
NSPS is riddled with problems and does not serve the purpose for which intended. Those that misused the old system will be the first to misuse the NSPS system. It still provides for inequities and actually increases the possiblity of preferential treatment of favored people.
The entire NSPS system does nothing for the employee but it saves the Government money. It is extemely time consuming for em ployees and especially the supervisory ranks. There is little doubt not much thought was given to the impact of the new pay system.
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35182
NSPS is not a fair system as implemented. I believe it strengths the "good ole boy" network. The rating forms are really a problem with all the cut back of personnel. "Who has time to do 13 pages for an appraisal." I am NSPS. Why shouldn't I get my cost of living raise?NSPS introduces discrimination intentions.
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35178
The annual salary increase most current government workers receive each year is not a cost of living increase. It has nothing to do with living expenses or the price of anything. Why do people keep referring to it as a cost of living raise.
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35177
I hope I am wrong but I suspect the hidden agenda for NSPS is further evidence that this administration wants to set back labor/management relations to 1930s standards or worse. If Charles Dickens were alive today he would probably write a scathing novel about this administration and its anachronistic policies. But supporters of this administration would want it thrown into the pile at their next book burning.
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35175
I am being adversely affected by NSPS also. I plan to retire on 3 Jan 08, and since I will not be on the agency's rolls as of the beginning of the first pay period (6 Jan 08), I will not receive any pay for performance, bonus or award, despite having performed in an excellent manner for the performance appraisal period which ended 30 Sep 07.
Also, if I stay on the rolls past 6 Jan 08 to receive the performance pay out, I will not be able to maintain my annual leave balance that is in excess of 240 hours. Some retirees depend on that refund of leave, as a cushion between the final paycheck and the first retirement check. I feel DoD employees should not be forced to make a choice between these two benefits. Should not some provision be made to correct these? This is cruel and unusual punishment for those of us who have given 20+ years of service to the DoD.
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35174
Pay for performance. I don't think so. The old personnel system could have taken care of pay for performance if managed correctly. Now we are losing our cost of living raise...this should have nothing to do with performance. This should be just that a COLA. Yes we were promised that we could receive our COLA's and now the government has gone back on that promise. All of the employees I have spoke to under the new system believe this is just another way of not paying for performance. As stated above good managers and supervisors will be the key to managing this system. It is not making it easier to recruit because we are locked into the 5%. If I go to GS-13 duties I should be paid at the same rate as other GS 13's. Not restricted to a 5 % increase.
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35170
This is not even about good vs. bad employees. Under NSPS a person who gets a 3 share is considered a "valued performer". If so, then "valued performers" are considered LESS valued than GS employees. Why? Because for 3 share rated performers the penalty for being a "valued employee" will be an increase not even enough to cover the cost of living adjustment (COLA)EVERYONE is supposed to get, as directed by Congress.
Result: effectively DOD is cutting salaries of competent employees via NSPS.
This is a scandal.
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35168
NSPS looks good on paper, but it does not work in the real world. Some managers will go the extra mile by rewriting their employee's self-evaluations to put them in the best possible light & they will vigorously defend their employees. Unfortunately those managers are the exception, not the rule. When passive and lazy managers do not stand up for their employees during pay panel deliberations the employees get short-changed. At least under the GS system if one has a lazy a-- supervisor their employee does not get penalized.
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35164
Again Thanks to all you BUSHIES out there six years ago he was the man can do no wrong, I said no way wait and see NSPS was out to screw the civil service.Im not under NSPS yet but I am tired of being nice just sitting back and waiting for it to trap me. THANKS for getting us caught up in his mistakes.
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35163
Nice to see these numbers crunched in more understandable terms. I have not been converted to NSPS yet and so far it looks like I'm better off. Its a travesty that we constantly hear about the already huge indiffernce in pay between the government and the private sector being so large, and yet the new pay system looks to only create more of a gap. Its dissapointing!
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35162
If NSPS is so wonderful why haven't the SESers and Congress placed themselves under it's spell? I have a feeling that we who are about to enter this "brave new world" of pay for performance for will pay a big price with very limited returns -- especially those at the top end of a pay band. Cutting cost is the real bottom line in NSPS.
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35160
My 31+ year federal tenures have included 12+ years as a shipyard tradesman (Navy), several years as a Presidential Management Fellow at the NIH, and two other tenures at the Internal Revenue Service and the Dept of Veterans Affairs. In recent years, in order to return to Southern CA, and solely due to the rampant inbreeding that permeates within the nearly 100% inbred DoD organizational culture as a result of DoD sham external recruitments, I accepted a voluntary demotion and returned to DoD/Navy to finish my career. Over the last three plus decades, I have worked as a highly skilled blue collar tradesman and union steward, a white collar staff member, and as a manager/executive. And based on the exceptionally diverse, and I would argue successful and enlightening career, there is not a doubt in my mind that the premise which purportedly forms the foundation and 'belief system' of the NSPS is both fatally and terminally flawed. The base of clay that supports NSPS is the preposterous perception that DoD 'managers', the majority of who are under or uneducated one agency careerist functional toadies, will or even have the ability to make pay and personnel decisions that are based on genuine merit and meritocracy and not on personal favoritism and/or perceived pressures emanating from those above them within the organization, issues that have nothing to do with the individual's performance whose salary, retirement and livelihood are at stake, and/or that are in comport with the true best interests of the organization and US taxpayer, is laughable on its face and flies in the face of bedrock reality. Let's be truthful and let's get real. The pathetic but genuine fact of the matter is that the NSPS is nothing more than an abomination that was concocted by ideologues and sycophants within the Bush Administration under the guise and pretense to better 'protect' the Nation against terrorism by using and abusing our National tragedy of 9/11. And for what ends? To simply control, first with the DoD, and later the entire federal workforce, to make each and every federal employee beholden to almost complete control and domination by their already co-opted 'manager.' The NSPS and its just as ugly twin sister in DHS are quintessentially un-American, and both ought to be buried deep in the trash heap where they rightly belong.
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35158
Used car salesman comment here- . "NSPS actually offers employees opportunities for greater increases than before." I love this comment! It could be true but don't bet on it. Employees who are GS-XX Step 10 will like this, for us young employees you will lose out!! You will not benefit from NSPS over your career unless you get a rating of 4 with 4 shares every year, even then you will just barley keep up with the old system. The system should be called "Pay for Cost of Living Raise". You now have to go above and beyond to keep up with that employee who just shows up to work in the old system to even have a chance to keep up. Forget it if you're a step 1 you don't have a chance! Example: A series 2210 GS-12 step one would get $2121 a year for his/her first 3 years for step increases that's 3.3% salary increase, this does not include the cost of living raise which was 1.7% that's a total of 5% increase for each of his/her first 3 years! Under NSPS the maximum increase you can receive is at any time is 5% but that will not be all salary! You will get some type of split 50% bonus and 50% salary. YOU LOSE BIG TIME! The people who crunched the numbers on this system have every clue how much money they are saving! I cannot fathom how we are all not screaming about this!!
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35156
A cost of living raise should be just that and not based on performance. A person's performance, whether bad or good, should be reflected in the performance appraisal rating and shares received. NSPS is already penalizing current employees who would have previously received a promotion and are now in a pay band that considers a promotion a reassignment and only allows them a 5% raise. I recently did a reassignment for one of my employees. He was a GS09 step 2 prior to NSPS (YA02 under NSPS) and moved into a position that was a GS11 prior to NSPS (YA02 under NSPS). Since this was in the same pay band, he only received a 5% raise. Under the GS system, a 5% pay raise only brought him up to a GS09 step 3 or 4, no where close to the pay of a GS11. He is being paid almost $8,000. a yr less then if he had been promoted to the same position under the GS system. There is certainly no incentive for our current employees under NSPS to work for a promotion or what is now considered a reassignment. Pay for performance? I don't think so. When a person gives 110% in hopes of being promoted and is capped at a 5% raise, incentive goes out the window.
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35155
No system can take the place of competent managers and supervisors. All employees who do their jobs at an accceptable standard should be paid accordingly. As long as the federal government provides COLA's, all workers should get them. Employees who are not performing up to standard should either be fired, demoted, or given a formal improvemnet plan. If retained, they also should get the COLA because they are still an employee (duh !!!). If you want to reward high performers do so, but not at the expense of those "just" doing their jobs. We were all hired to just do our jobs, whatever that job may be. We all "assumed " that if we didn't, we wouldn't be working for Uncle Sam long. Somehow, senior managers and supervisors forgot that principle. They also forgot that being a supervisor is a tough job where you must make tough decisions(including firing people) and NSPS or nothing else is going to change or mitigate that fact.
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35151
Well, after working for the "govt" for 37 years and experiencing the GS system, the Demo system and now NSPS I think it is time to leave. NSPS is not an incentive to stay...it is a losing process for those of us that are "topped out". Congress is slow to work but in the end they respond to constiuents, the "leaders" in DOD have none...there is no check and balance to the administration of NSPS....shame on Congress for authorizing NSPS. Giving political appointees at DOD administrative power of NSPS yearly pay adjustments previously authorized by Congress is wrong. The Demo System worked well and achieved all the goals that NSPS predicts. The very senior people under NSPS will now be leaving just when they are needed most. DOD is going to see a large exodus and not a gradual succession process. Congress needs to fix this.
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35149
NSPS is nothing more than a scheme to assure that less raises are payed out to all government employee's. Those unfortunately under it now, have seen that much of any "raise", takes the form of a bonus, if your that lucky to get one, which is not applicable to retirement calculations and is on average a few hundred dollars. Any other increase from NSPS, has shown to be about half of what the GS system has paid out.
NSPS inherently is a framework that fosters subjectivity in evaluations and gives too much arbitrary power to Supervisors, resulting in institutionalized favoritism. It creates distrust, ambiguity, anziety and division in the government ranks, at a time when our nation needs unity, clarity and honesty, to deal with the massive problems we face in the world and at home.
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35146
I can't speak to NSPS yet, still remaining in the GS system, however I wonder this: Why is a COLA (cost of living allowance)being considered as routine salary? A COLA is just that...an increase (potentially a decrease) that adjusts due the the "Cost of Living". As far as I can see, the NSPS folks that work in my building have the same "Cost of Living" increases in my area that I do. Why this gets convoluted into pay pools, office pets, etc., is beyond me. If you want to make a solid argument, simply argue that the cost of living increases (or decreases) for all employees at the same rate...and a COLA adjustment is for just that...it is NOT for performance or anything else.
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35141
You can thank Donald Rumsfeld for sticking it to us on the way out and getting the last laugh. As long as the government will save money with this system, you can forget about cancelling it. Our only hope is that the court throws out the non-bargaining part and they have to start all over.
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35139
Let me preface this factual account by stating, I look forward to and enjoy coming to work everyday. I am at my third military organization as a civil servant. All three, have been great commands, each with phenomenal military members, civil servants and contractors. I hold no direct resentment against any single individual but to the inequities which have arisen from the implementation and conversion of the Department of Defense to the National Security Personnel System
Just this year I was "reassigned" from an Air Force NSPS YA-02 position to a Navy NSPS position (non-bargaining unit). I had interviewed for the Navy GS-11 position prior to its NSPS conversion and was unofficially notified of my selection before the conversion as well.
Unfortunately for me, the Navy's Human Resource Office officially notified me of my selection the day after NSPS conversion. I was, no longer eligible for the GS-11 salary I interviewed for, only a five percent pay increase versus the approx 20 percent that would have been given with GS-11 pay.
Ah, but that's not the best (or rather, worse) of it. One of my counterparts, who was hired as a GS-9 just prior to conversion recently received his raise to GS-11 equivalent. Although jealous, I'm happy for him. After I was hired in, another counterpart was hired. This individual had minimal experience in the career field and was hired at the GS-11 pay equivalent. As a matter of fact, both my counterparts career experiences in the career field and federal service combined, doesn't even come close to my years of experience.
I have since learned, through HR discussions and an ongoing Merit Systems Protection Board Appeal that the all-encompassing Merit System Principles are just lofty aspirations or recommended guidelines. They are neither followed nor by court decision do they have to be. Why even bother having them?
In 5 CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901 (NSPS Federal Register notice) it states: "Fairness in NSPS is not a specific thing, but rather an intrinsic quality being built into the design of a flexible human resources management system"
Intrinsic Quality? Flexibility? Fair and Equitable Treatment? Equal Pay for Equal Work? I just don't see it. The private sector is looking better every day.
-
35134
Welcome to the pay-for-performance club. At FAA, "core compensation" cost us our step raises, and in several years our general increases have been lower than Congress passed. Why? Because of the weather, careless pilots and poor employee attitude survey results. You can look it up.
-
35133
NSPS for some reason does not include military (hmmm). Career civil servants are due compensation consistent with all career civil servants; we need Congressional representatives to understand the needs of their Federal workforce constituents. Incoming retired military and contractors entering NSPS would be good candidates for the new strategic pay system, but I look forward to Congress doing the right thing for the Federal Government's premier, career workforce. Perhaps the new strategic pay system (NSPS)for incoming military should be realigned to Dept of Veterans' Affairs, and Federal professionals can continue with their dedicated service to the public within DoD.
-
35132
I am totally disappointed with all of the bait and switch tactics the Federal government has used to sell NSPS as a pay for performance system. I could write a book about all the concepts, and principles promoted under the implementation of NSPS that something seem to evolve into something totally opposite of what was initially promoted. I really, really hope and pray that our Congressional leaders consider examining how NSPS regulations are being implemented.
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35131
In response to Frank's comment, "NSPS actually offers employees opportunities for greater increases than before," I disagree. Prior to my agency's conversion to NSPS, a formal agency official stated that our agency needed to reduce it's payroll budget by an amount greater than $1 million. To maintain anonymity I will not reveal the exact amount. Not long after the official's statement, we were given notice that we would convert to NSPS earlier than what we were originally told. The agency has placed glass ceilings within the paybands so how could an individual possibly earn pay increases higher than what is expected from the GS payscale? Also, subjectivity has not been eliminated? If the poor performers are still being tolerated just because they are playing the politics game, what is the point? If I am stuck doing most of the work, but I don't want to play politics where does that leave me? If you look at the payout distribution from Spiral 1.1 (majority level 3 with 1 share), it does not appear that most people received salary increases greater than what was expected.
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35130
I don't know why they did not base it on the demo system. At the end of the rating period (30 July), supervisors get a payout pool based on a percentage of the salaries. The exact amount of total payout is known when deciding the ratings. Personnel get the payout the first full pay period in the new fiscal year in October. Based on your rating you get all or a portion of the cost of living. Satisfactory or higher get full COLA. There are two rating below satisfactory. The second lowest gets 1/2 COLA and the lowest gets none. This is much fairer since as long as you get at least a satisfactory, you get the full COLA like GS employees in our area, who are just pass/fail. We just have the problem with the top levels of pay at the DP-4 (GM-15 equivalent) limited by staute, which means those approaching the top do not get full payout.
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35129
The problem with the new NSPS system is that most jobs 80% or more just require and just allow the employee to do the assigned task correctly and in a timely manner. Doing any more or any less than the assigned task will result is a less effective organization and could prevent mission accomplishment. In private industry more than in the government there are jobs (not all) where performance is important, high performance and a lot of these jobs are rewarded and paid on commissions the more you sell or the more you produce the more you make, This kind system is not transferable to the Government where for accuracy and following the regulations is very important. Example reviewing disability claims if you reject a high percentage of the claims, you and your boss could be rewarded in NSPS for working a lot claims, but have you really perform the public service you were hired to do. The same true for everything from review aircraft repairs to reviewing contractor submitted invoices to awarding contracts, compensation will greater for the more of these task you perform and correctness and following regulations will take a back seat.
-
35128
Our organization is losing employees faster than they can be replaced. Our mission requirements are increasing daily. If Congress does not step in and stop the NSPS, the federal work force is going to implode.
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35126
Why do NSPS employees only receive "half" the pay increase and GS employees receive the full increase. It should be equitable. It sounds like some of the GS employees could receive a portion of the NSPS half as a performance bonus -- why should the monies be taken from one group to give to another group?
I am not recommending there not be recognition of exceptional performance -- but there should be no decrease in yearly raise just because an employee is in a different group (NSPS or GS).
-
35125
Much appreciation to the Reps. looking out for the DoD Civilian workforce. Perhaps, many lawmakers do not understand how critical our skills are to the defense of this great nation. There's a vast world of knowledge in the DoD Civilian workforce of which many, many can retire anytime they decide. In odrer to maintain these valuable employees, promises made must be kept. Sure, young talents can be brought in, but they lack sound experience.
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35124
There is no way that any honest person can claim that an employee can get better raises under NSPS. It is so woefully underfunded, and limited in percentage gains, that it steals money from people. NSPS is nothing less than an attempt to pay people less, under the guise of reform. It should be killed, because it takes away money, and offers reduced benefits, without granting any freedoms. In fact, the system is woefully slow in hiring, its much-touted new benefit for the supervisor. This system is horrible, and will drive this 25-year employee out.
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35121
I am a Supervisor under Spiral 1 and am here to tell you this system is as dorked up as it can be. If you are a representative of the State of Colorado, I'd love to talk about this "fair" system. NSPS is a cost-cutting process only. We have betrayed those who we are supposed to take care of. To take our basic raise and divide it is just wrong.
-
35120
"Frank added, however, that the department is capable of making meaningful and fair distinctions in performance and is ready to take the next step toward a more credible and robust pay system. "NSPS actually offers employees opportunities for greater increases than before," she said."
If you believe this I have a nice bridge I will sell you real cheap.
NSPS is rife with opportunities for supervisors to reward their friends and punish their enemys. The idea that performance appraisals will be "meaningful and fair" is laughable. Good luck getting a bigger pay raise than you would have gotten under the GS system.
-
35116
Be careful what you ask for. Non-Bargaining Unit Employees (Managers) wanted NSPS because they thought they were going to stick-it to the rest of us. Oh Well! Not all that scintillates is auriferous. I am truly amazed that management didn't think they were going to get burned when they started playing with Napalm, which sticks to everything.
-
35115
We all hired on to the government partially because of the benefits. One of which is the GS pay schedule. It is really unfair to take that away from us and put us into the NSPS where it seems it can be more of the good old boy system. Management can give more money to whoever they like the most. It is all about politics instead of getting the work done anymore. I recommend that they do away with NSPS altogether.
-
35111
NSPS...No Sense Personnel System
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35108
Hmmm, lets take an already Byzantine NSPS process and make it more complex by reducing the annual adjustment. My understanding of the purpose of the adjustment was that it compensates for increases in cost of living - matters not related to performance and outside the control of DoD employees. My Agency is already experiencing flight of senior acquisition and professionals to non-DoD agencies and, if or when the full system is implemented, the departurs will be significantly greater. Mid career employees near the top of the pay band cannot keep up with their GS counterparts given the present structure and implemntation of published NSPS Pay Pool policies. Now they are taking away the COLA? Not wanting to be the small child pointing out that the Emperor is not wearing any cloths, the latest move to curtail across the board economic adustments in pay simply unmasks the true intent of NSPS. The system was created to provide an environment that would encourage privatization of the balance of non-military (greenshirt) DoD functions not already competed under OMB A-76. The proper question to Congressional Representatives and the Executive is, who benefits financially from this move? It isn't the Federal workforce.
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35106
I would love to comment on the misleading comments by Joyce Frank, et al, about how NSPS is really being implemented, and the impacts - but can't do so anonymously in this forum.
-
35104
I too am concerned and disappointed that thos of us in the new NSPS will not recieve our full cost of living increase. I work in the Medical Field where it is nearly impossble to get promoted or move to a management position (all mgr/leadeship positions reserved for active duty, so we truely depend and look forward to any inncreses in pay since this directly effects retirement
-
35103
I, too support the outcry of the change in the way the 2008 pay raise is to be allocated. I urge Congress to support the full poay raise for those individuals in NSPS. We shouldn't be penalized for a system that was forced on us!
-
35102
I mailed letters of concern to my Maryland Federal representatives and senators. Have they signed on to this initiative? I have not heard back from them.
-
35100
With all due respect to Ms. Frank, the department may be capable of making meaningful and fair distinctions in performance, but are the managers? Having worked under the GS, GS special pay scales, Merit Pay for managers, and the Lab Demo, I have yet to see meaningful and fair distinctions in performance be the rule as opposed to the exception. There is more incentive for the managers to distribute the performance pay pool equally across their employees to avoid conflict and the time to document the performance distinctions. NSPS will change little in this respect. With respect to those employees that will receive less than the full pay increase come January, isn't the increase for all, based on cost of living and equitable pay between the public and private sector. This increase should not be based on performance.
-
35099
My boss said he is completely taken out of the bonus system for his people and he doesn't like it one bit. My pay pool leader is our Squadron commander who I have only see three times intwo years and doesn't have clue what I or others in this flight do. His pool will be at least 50 people. I at least could count on a COL each year.
-
35098
(1) I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what the Government pay system has to do with National Security? (2) How does NSPS benefit anyone? It looks like another money pit for the Government. One of the problems is that no one wants to admit their mistakes (will not take responsibility for their actions). So come on Bush administration take responsibility for making a mistake and do away with NSPS.
-
35097
What a bunch of manure. In order to even make this years 3.5% pay increase, one would have to score a 4.51 or better. Back in the late 80s, the Air Force changed their performance ratings that is similar to NSPS in order to curb the over inflated ratings. However, this lasted about a year or two and ratings went right back to where they were under the old system "Completely Inflated." The same is going to happen with this system. Still, it makes one wonder "why" aren't our SES leaders under NSPS? They're the ones who designed this nightmare, but they are still under their old system. I was always told that a true leader will lead by example. I guess this doesn't hold true for the senior leadership.
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35096
The general consensus is to hold off on all NSPS until everyone is under the system and then go/proceed with the performance pay system once everybody is on board for the entire workforce. There has been nothing but negative outputs by the Federal employee's within the DOD structure.
-
35095
Let's fact it, the only personnel who believed any of the advance billing of the NSPS pay system were either those who couldn't be bothered to actually READ it, or were those who were not failiar with the personnel systems we had prior to the GS systems implementation.
NSPS is plainly and simply a return to the "good ole boy" systems that the GS system replaced. It didn't work then, and all the talk in the world won't make it work now. It is only a way to give the managers the ability to hire and fire without let or hindrance, and a way to underpay and overwork those who are not on the inside with those same managers. I can find nowhere in the NSPS to prevent a manager from hiring his brother, sister, son, or daughter (or other relatives or friends) into a position that they are totally unqualified for (I don't say that it isn't there in the fine print somewhere, I just can't find it).
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35094
Just another slap in the face of the Civil Servant. NSPS is costing the taxpayer more than the powers that implemented could ever imagine. Administrative costs alone, to run this program at each agency and command level are astronomical. The time it takes for an employee to properly administer thier own objectives and self assessments is anywhere from 50-80 hours per year. If you don't spend the minimum of time on it, you'll get a low rating in the pay pool panel for not being creative in your writing. All of this equates to "Wasted Productivity Time" to do the work we were hired to do. And heaven forbid if you don't have writing skills in your self assessment to beat out english majors for the coveted 4 or 5 rating for the big pay out. Add to this the time it takes for managers to meet in pay pool meetings, mock pay pool meetings, mini pay pool meetings, and, spend time on thier own employees rating write ups. The administrative cost to the government to run this program could fund a slew of armor troop vehicles in Iraq alone, not to mention it would allow the civil servant time to do the work he or she was hired to do.
All of the above and they want to implement a cut in the ECI for Spiral 1.1 folks. Wait till FY09 for the next round of "fair" pay smashing. Before we final realize the complexity and unfairness of NSPS, we'll be told in the out years our pay is frozen, as there is no money to consider pay for performance pay raises, because the administrative burden of the program has caused Uncle to set up a new department called NSPS to run NSPS.
Why doesn't Congress or GAO investigate the truth of what is happening in NSPS. Come down to the worker level and find out how much time is being spent (manpower wise) to run NSPS vs the benefits of NSPS to the government. It saddens me to see NSPS being pushed down the throat of Civil Servants, in the name of "Fairness". And all along the way, the higher ups get the pay raises and awards in the tens of thousands of dollars and the workers get "half of the ECI this year, and none of the ECI next year"
Just another day working for Uncle.
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35092
This is a cause for great concern for GS employees falling under the NSPS system.
From what I understand, the high-3 computation that is used for retirement purposes is calculated using the base salary. If only 1% of a 2% pay adjustment that is granted is added to the base salary, and that happens each year for 10 years (which seems likely at this point), employees retirements will ultimately be reduced by 10% a year for the rest of their retiremnt years.
It should come as no surprise. Saving the government money (by taking it from its employees) seems to be what the NSPS system is all about.
-
35090
It definitely is unresonable for this new policy to take effect for ONLY DOD employees. This new policy does not affect other branches of the government. If there has to be a cut, all branches of federal service should be in this and not just the DOD, DA. Total discrimination of employees providing support and services to the federal government.
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35086
I hope that DOD has the guts to junk this NSPS. It will not last beyond this administration. The employees hate it.
I work for a DOD agency that just handed out its performance awards. Word got around about who got the gravy. Now all hades is up.
No mamager should have such discretion to pile public money on the office pets.
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35084
I think that the switch over should not be piecemeal. Those that switch and get 1.8% pay raise are going to have less take home pay than those that don't switch over.
1. switch will most likely put them in a higher tax bracket resulting in higher deductions for federal, state , and local taxes.
2.increase in dedeuctions for health Insurance will be higher and probably based on the higher per cent pay raise.
If the above presumptions are correct,who is going to want to stay who is going to want to stay and get paid less than they are making now, who is going to want to stay even more important who can afford such a move. unlike the federal government, they don't have the ability to raise their budget willy nilly with no apparent way to fund a stated increase.
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35077
We have been informed that each "share" will be approximately 1.4% of salary. The "satisfactory" performer with a rating between 3.00 and 3.5 will get three shares, which means the raise will be less than the cost of living raise plus the proportionate share of step raises. The pay raises for the superior performers (who are normally rewarded for their superior work by early promotions) are coming from the vast majority of of workers who do their jobs well, but are not considered "superior." It will also be interesting to see how many of the "superior" workers are at headquarters level and how many are down in the trenches (I know who to bet on).
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35073
These people do not know the half of how bad NSPS is. As an isnstructor we are getting supervisors who tell us how they rated employees using a fair and unbiased approach, wrote the the appraisels only to have the pay pool change who received what. Thsi is going to be the "good ol boy" system even more rampent then it ever was. Even a GAO survey of supervisors stated less than 50% of supervisors can write effectively. I see less than that that can effectively communicate. How many performance appraisals are currently late or not done at all? Less then 25% of our weekly students receive initial counseling and a job standard within the first year of employment. Yet tehses same supervisors are going to dictate how much pay you get annually. Kudos to those supervisors who are doing their job!! NSPS just made their job harder and the pay pools will dicatate if the supervisors recommendation are followed. Thanks for fixing a pay for performance system that was already not being used correctly.
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35068
NSPS is nothing but a return to the old "boss tweed" system that existed in the late 1800's. Kill it now!
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35067
US federal employees in Europe were targeted first in this NSPS gambit due to the simple fact that we waived our rights to belong to an organized union. It literally was rammed down our throats. In the US, federal employees have far more rights. Interestingly enough, persons / organizations who created NSPS, beltway bandits, have left the Defense Department, but left it its wake a huge costly mess.
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35062
NSPS employees should receive the full cost of living raise in 2008 and into the future. Bonuses and raises should come from the money the government saved by elimination of the step increase. By the way, where did that money go if it's not going back to the employees? At first NSPS sounded like a good move--provide an incentive and reward appropriately, employees for their hard work. Now that I really start to understand the system, I understand how the government did a disservice to its employees. Just recently I was selected for a job that should have taken me from my former GS-11 pay (YA-2) to the equivalent of a GS-12 (YA-2), as advertised in the job announcement. Under NSPS rules, a transfer employee's salary can only increase by 5%; therefore, instead of initially making approximately $56000 a year, the most I can earn is $50000--assuming my future employer supports a 5% increase. Fellow employees, if you aren't already under NSPS, do everything you can legally do to prevent the NSPS virus from affecting your current employment.
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35060
This was all in the imagination of the Bush Administration and Don Rumsfeld in particular. The main objective was to hire and fire federal employees at will. There was nothing wrong with the GS personnel system. And, what was wrong had to do more with the way Management managed the system and the employees.
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35059
Diversity is the back bone of our country, our military and civil service. NSPS is an outrage to those who serve and the proof is the new union at GAO.
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35043
Reason may have just entered the Halls of Congress. Be still my heart.
Now finish asking the questions about NSPS and what is wrong with it, what was never right with it, and what other half truths DOD swore to Congress was the reason and need for such a system.
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