U.S. Office of Personnel Management - Ensuring the Federal Government has an effective civilian workforce

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TRANSFORMATIONS '97: Performance Management in a New Era

OPM's Third National Performance Management Conference held in McLean, Virginia, May 13-15, 1997, attracted performance management leaders from 65 Federal agencies and 34 states. "TRANSFORMATIONS '97: Performance Management in a New Era" provided over 350 participants with an opportunity to attend a wide ranging choice of performance appraisal and awards sessions, to hear from speakers with first-hand experience and practical advice, and to network with other performance management experts.

Several speakers gave important messages as they addressed conference plenary sessions.

• Challenges of the GPRA
• Importance of GPRA
• Role of the HR Management Specialist
• Effective Performance Management Policies

Challenges of the GPRA. OPM Director James B. King summed up the importance of effective performance management by citing the challenges of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and the realities of reduced resources. He noted that the Results Act requires agencies to set goals and be accountable for meeting them. At the same time, reduced budgets force agencies to get the most they can from smaller workforces. These forces make performance a central focus for agency managers because they spotlight the link between employee performance and productivity.

King told Federal managers and employees that they must understand that "time is money." Wasted time is wasted money and agencies no longer have money to waste. Getting maximum performance from each employee is critical to the success of each organization. Federal managers who understand and use performance management processes to improve poor performance and reward good performance will have a significant advantage as they deal with the challenges of today's workplace.

Importance of GPRA. The importance of GPRA also was emphasized by Steven O. App, Deputy Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at the Department of the Treasury. App, who chairs the GPRA Committee of the CFO Council (an organization of agency CFOs), stressed the need to link individual performance management to GPRA goals. He challenged participants to embrace this linkage and to creatively address ways in which performance management can support team and organizational goals.

App noted the importance of transforming Federal agency cultures from the traditional process/compliance orientation to an outcome-based orientation. This requires managers to set clear and measurable program goals and then to manage programs in light of those goals. He observed that the most successful performance-oriented organizations are those in which all employees are measured regularly on their specific contributions to agreed-upon goals.

Role of the HR Management Specialist. The role of the human resources management specialist in helping to bring about the changes required by GPRA and reduced resources was described by Sally Marshall, President of Human Resources Solutions. She stressed the need for human resources professionals to understand the business of their organizations as well as the dynamics of organizational, team, and individual behavior. She sees a key role for performance management specialists in helping agencies achieve their program goals. These specialists can do things such as helping to design appraisal programs that focus on results rather than paperwork processes and helping managers and employees learn the art of giving and receiving feedback, which is critical to good performance management.

Marshall outlined some of the roles that top-notch human resources professionals need to assume in order to provide real value to their organizations. These include serving as leaders who will keep up with state-of-the-art information, change agents who will try to bring about new ways of doing things, and advocates of sound performance management policies and practices.

Effective Performance Management Policies. The conference also featured a series of sessions focused on effective performance management policies. OPM featured a series of sessions called "Basic Performance Management" that provided fundamental information about the key processes and Government-wide regulatory requirements and flexibilities associated with performance management (i.e., planning, monitoring, developing, appraising, and rewarding). Presented by OPM staff, the sessions gave attendees a chance to ask questions and receive guidance on Federal performance management issues.

The conference was brought to a conclusion by Dr. Wolf Rinke who talked about ways of adopting a positive mental attitude in the face of life's challenges.

Originally published on October 1997.