Comment Number: OL-10511701
Received: 3/16/2005 4:50:40 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:

I am concerned by the changes that NSPS is proposing. The reliable structure of the General Schedule (GS) is not flawed. Only the application pretaining to supervisory evaluation. I don't see that implementing NSPS will eliminate the problems of supervisors' evaluation of performance. I see it as a passive method of cutting personnel costs by more subjectively limiting "pay for performance". I feel NSPS rules will be a disincentive for the overall work force to be innovative, challenging and to remain with the government work force. The so called "go getters" will be reinforced into lock step with superiors thereby deminishing any sense of a team effort. I don't see any provision for supervisory accountability. Whether senior management likes it or not, employees' value increases with time on the job and therefore should be rewarded by the "longevity" increases provided in the GS step structure. The problem comes into play when supervisors do not address poor performance. I repeat. I believe NSPS is a subjectively passive method of controlling personnel costs - solely. If you are looking for turnover, I believe you will get it. Good with the bad. I don't believe NSPS will improve morale either. Unfortunately you get exactly what you pay for. If you have a chosen few reaping the rewards under NSPS and a vast majority will be left undervalued and underpaid. See what happens when you decide our military folks should be under NSPS pay for performance by eliminating the longevity increases within grade - wait - by instituting pay banding. This similiar to the "brown shoe" days when commander promoted on a highly subjective "performance" evaluation instead of a weighted promotion system. I also feel that civil servants under NSPS will lose any vision of a career progression. If forces behind NSPS feel that our current workforce is over paid, in capable of innovative thought, and simply poor performers, this whole comment period is moot. There are better ways of attracting and retaining quality personnel than merely passively eliminating pay increases for most of your work force. People are our most valuable resource. Be careful what you are doing to them. Don't send them this NSPS message of how unworthy they are. Thank you.