Slightly more than one-fourth of federal employees think their managers adequately deal with low-performing workers, and fewer than half say their agencies properly recognize high achievers, according to a comprehensive survey of the federal workforce released yesterday.
The Federal Human Capital Survey, a poll of 147, 914 workers conducted by the Office of Personnel Management, also found that only 42 percent of employees said awards are tied to how well workers do their jobs, and about a third said promotions are based on merit.
OPM officials declined to provide agency-by-agency breakouts of poll results yesterday, saying they will not be ready until next week.
Doris Hausser, a senior adviser at the OPM, cited the survey in pressing the Bush administration's case for government-wide changes in federal personnel rules -- changes that officials say will more strongly link pay to performance rather than to longevity in a job. Hausser said the survey findings reflect a civil service system that is "anemic" with respect to rewarding good workers and "cumbersome" when it comes to disciplining or motivating bad ones.
"Our system, particularly in the reward area, tends to be very flat -- the same thing happens to everybody, no matter what," Hausser said during a briefing for reporters yesterday. Since 2002, the administration has won from Congress the authority to revise personnel systems at the departments of Defense and Homeland Security. Bush officials argued that managers needed more power over how workers are paid, promoted, deployed and disciplined to better fight the war on terrorism.
Homeland Security officials unveiled their system in January and will phase it in over several years beginning this summer. It will replace the General Schedule pay system with one of broad salary ranges attached to jobs grouped by occupation, and will link raises to the results of annual performance evaluations. It also will curtail the power of labor unions in bargaining over workplace rules and conditions. Pentagon officials have proposed similar changes and hope to begin implementing them this summer.
Federal employee unions, who say the new systems will strip employees of many rights and allow managers to play favorites, argue that the survey results merely illustrate that agencies are not using the tools already available to them. Union officials note that managers already may reward top performers with accelerated pay raises and annual bonuses. And they have the authority to discipline, suspend or fire workers, as long as they respect due process, union officials said.
"They've already decided to change the system, but the system isn't what's causing this problem," Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said in an interview. "If they don't implement whatever the new system is any better than they are implementing the current system, they are going to get the same kind of results."
Some of the survey findings point up the challenges of moving to personnel systems that place more emphasis on managers' ability to conduct meaningful performance evaluations, fairly administer discipline and establish a climate of productivity.
For instance, the survey found that only 37 percent of federal workers think their agency leaders are good at motivating the workforce. And less than half say bosses maintain high standards of honesty and integrity. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (Hawaii), the top Democrat on a Senate subcommittee on the civil service, said the survey raises concerns that managers could be a weak link in the new personnel systems. "It is critical that employees believe that the proposed systems are credible and that they have confidence in their leaders," he said in a statement.
OPM officials and union leaders alike noted that the survey showed that federal workers are committed to their jobs, with 91 percent saying they do important work and 83 percent saying they like what they do. Majorities of workers also say they are satisfied with their benefits and pay. The scientific poll was conducted from August through December last year and has a margin of error of plus or minus one percentage point, officials said.
Dan G. Blair, acting OPM director, called the findings evidence of "a professional workforce that is dedicated and committed to working for America."
Jacqueline Simon, public policy director for the American Federation of Government Employees, said the survey paints a picture of a workforce that is generally satisfied with the current system.
"In spite of this, the administration has worked itself up into a froth over a phony federal employee performance crisis, the only answer to which is to revert to Wal-Mart model of managerial omnipotence," Simon said in an e-mail.
