Summary

Performance management refers to processes, such as the setting of expectations for employees, formal end-of-year job appraisals, and decisions on promotions and awards, that federal agencies use to improve individual and organizational effectiveness in doing the government's work. This report examines the performance management systems in use at various federal agencies. GAO (1) identifies the elements of an effective performance management system; (2) determines whether these elements were included in federal agencies' systems; and (3) discusses the views of personnel officials, employees, and researchers on the adequacy of federal performance management systems.

GAO found that: (1) there were 14 key elements of an effective PMS; (2) legislation and regulations required federal agencies to include key elements in PMS; (3) many personnel directors, supervisors, and employees did not believe that PMS improved organizational effectiveness, accountability, employee motivation, or performance; (4) in general, agencies set employee performance requirements and linked performance plans to their missions and goals; (5) PMS improved communication between supervisors and employees; (6) PMS were successful in setting employee performance requirements, but had mixed results in achieving accountability; (7) most personnel directors, supervisors, and employees believed that employees received inflated performance ratings because agencies used performance appraisals for multiple purposes, such as promotions, pay increases, and retention decisions; (8) while some supervisors and personnel directors believed there should be fewer than 5 rating levels, most employees favored retaining 5 performance levels; (9) individual appraisals using established performance standards did not take work teams into account; (10) the capping of performance awards decreased employee motivation toward greater performance; (11) agency officials believed that greater flexibility and decentralization in designing PMS would help ensure that PMS were compatible with the total quality management approach being adopted by many agencies; and (12) the Office of Personnel Management is considering recommendations from two advisory committees on changes in PMS legislation and regulations.