USDA - APHIS

Publications - New Work Leader Classification Guide Published

Printable Version

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recently published a new General Schedule Leader Grade Evaluation Guide. This new guide was developed to evaluate positions that involve the performance of "work leader" or "team leader" duties and functions. The development and publication of this guide illustrates a continuation of OPM's commitment to provide Federal agencies with the tools necessary to meet National Performance Review requirements. Proper utilization of this guide will enhance an agency's ability to meet it's goal of reducing excessive supervisory layers and increasing the ratio of employees to supervisors within the organization.

Background
Position Management Considerations
Structure of the New General Schedule Leader Grade Evaluation Guide
Coverage of Part I of the Guide
Coverage of Part II of the Guide
Other Considerations

For more information concerning this Guide please contact your position classification specialist.

Background

Over the past several years Federal agencies have taken various steps to restructure and streamline their organizations. During this time, agencies have developed and implemented a wide range of team-based organizational structures. The development of team-based organizations usually included the establishment of "team leader" jobs. Without specific guidance from OPM, however, true team leader positions were not established. In many instances, supervisory positions were simply given the working title of Team Leader while the incumbents continued to perform supervisory work. In order to bring greater consistency to agency restructuring and streamlining efforts, OPM developed the General Schedule Leader Grade Evaluation Guide. The new Guide outlines duties and responsibilities performed by team leader positions. The Guide also defines basic differences between team leader and supervisory positions. A table describing some of these basic differences is shown below.

TEAM LEADERS:	SUPERVISORS:
Explain team goals and objectives to team members and assist team in organizing to accomplish work	Set team goals, select team leaders, assign team members, and administratively and technically direct the work of subordinates
Coach, facilitate, solve work problems, and participate in the work of the team	Plan, assign, review and accept, amend, or reject work done by teams and subordinates
Provide information to the supervisor on performance of the team and individuals	Assign performance ratings, approve awards, and take performance-based corrective actions
Communicate assignments, milestones, and deadlines to the team and individuals based on supervisor s instructions	Make work assignments, set or negotiate deadlines, and completion dates
Observe training needs and relay training needs and requests to supervisor	Schedule and approve funding for team and individual training
Inform supervisor of attendance and behavioral problems	Counsel employees on behavior and initiate disciplinary actions if required
Relay requests for resources and supplies	Allocate resources to teams

Position Management Considerations

Before agency or program management officials can begin to utilize this guide there are a number of position management issues that must be considered. Team Leader positions are permanent and should be established only as part of an overall effort to reengineer work processes in order to empower front-line employees and eliminate excess supervisory layers. Establishing team leader positions is not appropriate unless they are developed as part of a planned, team-based organizational structure design whereby managers have implemented significant changes in work processes and have reduced the number of supervisory positions. Managers planning to establish team leader positions must ensure that these positions are necessary. Additionally, managers must demonstrate that work processes and procedures have been sufficiently reengineered to support the establishment of these positions.

It is also important to note that the classification process for any team leader position will require scrutiny of the relationship between the proposed leader job and the other positions in the organization. In some instances the establishment of a leader job would undermine the level of independence credited to the non-leader positions. This could have grade impact. To avoid difficulties of this nature, classifiers and program managers will have to work closely together.

Structure of the New General Schedule Leader Grade Evaluation Guide

The new General Schedule Leader Grade Evaluation Guide is divided into two Parts. Part I is designed to evaluate positions that have responsibility for leading workers performing one-grade interval clerical or technical work. This part of the Guide replaces the Work Leader Grade Evaluation Guide published in 1976. Part II of this Guide is designed to evaluate positions that have responsibility for leading a team of employees engaged in the performance of two-grade interval administrative or professional work.

Coverage of Part I of the Guide

Part I of the General Schedule Leader Grade Evaluation Guide is used to classify positions of "work leaders" who, as a regular and recurring part of their assignment, lead three or more employees in clerical or other one-grade interval occupations in the General Schedule (GS) in accomplishing work. Work leaders also typically perform work that is of the same kind and level as that done by the team led. Part I of this guide is not new, but replaces the Work Leader Grade Evaluation Guide published in 1976.

Coverage of Part II of the Guide

Part II of the General Schedule Leader Grade Evaluation Guide is used to classify positions with a primary purpose of leading a team of other General Schedule (GS) employees in accomplishing two-grade interval work. Such leadership duties must be regular, recurring, and occupy at least 25% of their time. Team leaders also usually participate in the work of the team by performing work that is of the same kind and level as the highest level of work accomplished by the team led. Part II of this guide does not cover positions where the employee is accountable as a supervisor or where the employee has functional project responsibility but does not lead other workers on a continuing basis.

Other Considerations

Work leaders and team leaders are not supervisors or managers. Accordingly, work leader or team leader positions should be included in the bargaining unit. These positions may not be excluded from a bargaining unit unless their exclusion is required by agency labor relations guidelines or other Federal law. In addition, an employee may be not be non-competitively promoted into a team leader position (e.g., based on an accretion of duties and responsibilities). Great care should be taken to avoid even the appearance that a team leader position is being established merely to address an individual pay issue or to reward a loyal employee. All team leader positions must be announced and filled through competitive Merit Promotion procedures.