| Comment Number: | OL-10506229 |
| Received: | 3/11/2005 1:01:42 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:
9001.212 - Pay Banding I'm concerned about the net impact of pay banding over the current grade/step system. Yes, the current system is clunky and complicated, but it has a singular benefit that I believe has gone unstated: that the question of how much money people make just isn't an issue in most Federal offices. I've worked for DOD for 23 years. In my work, I deal with many contractors and vendors at their offices. Whenever I go to one of their offices, the first thing I notice is that people spend much of their work day talking and whining about the fact that so-and-so got a raise and now makes $XXX more than themselves. There is much secrecy about what individuals are paid because there are often large discrepancies between what individuals are paid to do the same job, although there is discord over even small pay differences. It is not only a subject of friction within these offices, but also absorbs a significant part of the work day (at least in my observation). Under the current grade/step system, everyone has the ability to know what everyone else in the organization is paid. Grades are common knowledge and steps can be guessed based on how long the employee has been around. So while there are people bucking for promotions, there is almost no discussion of how much people make because it's "knowable" by everyone. Sure, Federal employees, like anyone else, can find ways to waste time, but salaries aren't the kind of time and morale driver in Federal offices I see in private sector offices. Almost every Federal employee I meet is well aware that the Government is not a place to get rich as an employee. The motivations for most Federal employees I meet are different from that. Individual salaries just aren't much of an issue within the office. While I realize the desire to pay more to try and attract better people, I feel that Pay Banding schemes will just open "Pandora's Box" and release into the Federal workplace the kind of discord over pay that I see in the private sector. I don't believe that the Federal Government will draw significantly better personnel within the pay limits that will be imposed under Pay Banding, and that any long-term benefits of the marginally better people hired will be offset by the distrust and discord that will be released into Federal offices as how much each person makes becomes an issue. I also have questions on how well supervisors will be able to distinguish between employees who perform vice those who appear to perform when it comes time to allocate pay increased. This is a problem now. Every office has at least one employee that does little, yet management believes they walk on water. Pay Banding also raises issues of favoritism and abuse in the arbitrary allocation of pay increases. And as for my personal financial interest: a Pay Banding scheme will probably increase my salary, as I am currently a Step 10 and can't be paid more except through COLAs, since I do not desire a promotion (I know what the job is and don't want that for myself). I'll be happy to get more money, but I'd much rather work in an environment where people don't snipe about how much the other guy gets paid. Thank you for the opportunity to comment.