Thousands of Defense Department acquisition specialists will be the guinea pigs for a test of a new broad-band pay and performance appraisal system that could be a model for the rest of government to follow.
DoD announced its proposed Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project, first reported on GovExec.com last June, in the Federal Register this week. More than 70,000 procurement personnel in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Defense Information Systems Agency and Defense Logistics Agency may test a broad-banding pay structure and a "contribution-based" appraisal system, though the number may fall to 40,000, according to Greg Giddens, the demonstration project's manager.
The largest personnel demonstration project to date, DoD's proposed test would collapse the 15 grades of the General Schedule into four broad bands. Within the bands, managers would have more control over setting employees' salaries.
"The use of broad-banding provides a stronger link between pay and contribution to the mission of the organization," the Federal Register announcement says. "It is simpler, less time consuming and less costly to maintain" than the General Schedule.
Under broad-banding, employees would not receive regular within-grade increases or General Schedule increases. Instead, they would receive pay raises based on their appraisals under a Contribution-based Compensation and Appraisal System.
The new system "measures the employee's contribution to the goals of the organization, rather than how well the employee performed a job as defined by a performance plan," the announcement says.
Managers would evaluate employee performance by coming up with an overall contribution score, which is determined by rating the employee on six factors: problem solving, teamwork, customer relations, leadership, communication and resource management. The new system establishes criteria for each factor based on broad-band levels. For example, in the leadership factor for business and technical management professionals, an employee in the level two pay band, between what are now the GS-5 and GS-11 grades, would be evaluated on how well he or she "actively contributes as a team member/leader." A level four pay band manager, now a GS-14 or GS-15, would be evaluated on how well he or she "establishes and/or leads teams to carry out complex projects or programs."
Money that would have been targeted for within-grade increases and performance awards would be moved into a pay pool from which managers would dole out raises based on employees' overall contribution scores.
In addition to the broad-banding approach and contribution-based appraisal system, the demonstration project would test simplified hiring authority, allowing line managers more control over who they hire. New employees could be hired on either permanent, one-year limited, or new five- to six-year temporary appointments. The probationary period for new employees would be extended to make up for time they spend in training away from their supervisors.
Employees could take sabbaticals, and retirees could return to their organizations as members of a "voluntary emeritus corps." That way, employees could accept buyouts and other retirement incentives, but stay involved in their organizations to provide on-the-job training and mentoring.
The acquisition workforce demonstration project draws on experiments at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Navy installations at China Lake and San Diego, Calif. Related demonstration projects are also brewing at Army laboratories and portions of the Commerce Department. The FBI is drafting a demonstration project as well, and the IRS would be granted demonstration authority under the House-passed IRS reform bill.
On a broader scale, the Defense Department is weighing pay banding and other changes for its entire civilian workforce, and the Office of Personnel Management is floating proposals for governmentwide civil service reforms.
DoD will hold hearings during the project's comment period at Ft. Belvoir, Va., on April 23; El Segundo, Calif., on April 30; and at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, on May 5. DoD plans to get the demonstration project started this fall.
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