| Comment Number: | EM-023171 |
| Received: | 3/16/2005 11:05:38 PM |
| Subject: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| Title: | National Security Personnel System |
| CFR Citation: | 5 CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
Hello I have two major concerns that do not seem to be addressed in the new plan as featured in the Federal Register February 14, 2005. The civil service was partially devised to insure the workers work for the government and the people of the USA. To insure workers are not bound to one political party or the other. The workers need some protection from political pressure so that they can do the job required. 1. This merit system offers no protection from political pressure. It is difficult in the current environment to feel free to express personal political views. When the personnel system gives no security and everything rests on the supervisor's evaluation, there is no protection for workers who may have different political views from the party in power. The new scheme with emphasis on 'team work' leaves a worker exposed. If someone does not agree with the party line (for example: oppose a war or wish to expose a wrong) they be given a bad evaluation on the basis of lack of team work. 2. My impression of a merit only system is that it will encourage people to kiss up to the supervisor and discourage honesty. If your evaluation and salary increases rests on one person, then there will be a strong motive to agree and manipulate to the boss's wants. I often see good hardworking people receive lower evaluations because the boss does not like them. The merit system will only increase the type of behavior of pleasing (kissing up to) the boss. Having expressed these concerns, I think there are problems with the current system. I am a recent federal employee, who has spent most of my working years at state and private universities and hospital systems. I was shocked at the fact some people in federal service work very hard and some do not. It seems to me it is more a problem of the supervisor not doing their job of demanding or challenging employees to work harder and better. They give inflated evaluations and ignore problems. It seems to me that what is needed is: training for supervisors (required every year) support from HR in writing realistic performance standards support from HR in writing realistic evaluations support from a counselor with personnel problems as a supervisor is going through each problem I often see the supervisor and the supervisors up the line are ineffective and ignore problems. In DoD, the military personnel move on every few years and they leave problems for the next person. I see this in other agencies--as people move up the ladder they try to avoid dealing with problems that put them on the radar. There needs to be support and rewards for dealing with problems. I would hope there can be reform in the system but there needs to be a better balance between protecting employees from political pressure or the prevailing wind of the party in power. Part of the reason to protect an employee is to have the worker keep on a steady course and not change course every 4 or 8 years. The employee needs to be loyal to the nation as a whole and not one political party. They are there to uphold the laws of the nation and not be bent to the will of prevailing winds. If my interpretation of the way the system is to work, I would appreciate a response. I would also like to strongly encourage DoD to do a great deal of supervisor training, retraining and training. Continued support in the way of counseling would be a great help. It is the people who make any system work, it is not the system. DoD needs to continually invest in supervisors training.