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

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President Outlines HR Role in Achieving Organizational Results

In his June 9, 2000, memorandum to heads of executive departments and agencies, President Clinton directs agencies to:

• fully integrate human resources management (HRM) considerations in agency planning, budgeting, and mission evaluation processes;
• clearly state specific HRM goals and objectives in their strategic and annual performance plans;
• renew their commitment to recruit, develop, and manage their workforce to ensure high performance; and
• provide for the continued development of a highly competent corps of HRM professionals to assist agency line managers in ensuring the most effective use of their workforce to accomplish the agency mission.

• What does the President's memo mean for employee performance management?

The President also redesignated the Interagency Advisory Group of Federal Personnel Directors as the Human Resources Management Council (HRMC). The HRMC:

• provides a forum for communicating and evaluating governmentwide HRM policies and sharing best practices;
• allows agencies to collaborate across agency lines and with OPM to foster policies and actions to achieve a diverse Federal workforce that is skilled, flexible, and focused on results and service to the Nation; and
• works in partnership with OPM to identify and address HRM alignment with organizational goals.

The President's memo reflects the emerging and vital role that human resources management plays in accomplishing agency missions.

What does the President's memo mean for employee performance management? Janice R. Lachance, Director, Office of Personnel Management, spoke on June 13, 2000, at the National Academy of Public Administration's 2000 Performance Conference. In her speech, the Director described the role of performance management in implementing the President's memo. She stated: "We must keep our employees engaged in the work to achieve mission results. This means we must use effective HRM programs to ensure that our employees are committed people with a shared vision of excellence and service, and we must direct the talents, energy, and skills of all our employees toward clearly understood organizational goals. We do this through effective employee performance management and rewards systems that are flexible enough to adapt to the Government's varied missions, work technologies, and labor markets."

In other words, HRM programs and practices, including performance management programs, must align with agency missions. Specifically, effective performance management programs require that:

• the elements and standards of employee performance plans align with and support appropriate strategic goals;
• performance measures for individuals and groups support organizational measures;
• supervisors and managers communicate organizational goals as well as performance expectations to all employees;
• employees receive periodic progress reviews on individual and organizational performance;
• supervisors develop employee skills and competencies necessary for achieving strategic goals; and
• the bases for granting awards represent or support organizational goal achievement.

As the President stated in his memo, "The Federal Government's most valuable resource is the talented and diverse group of men and women who work every day to make a difference in the lives of the American people they serve. Effective management of this workforce is critically important to accomplishing your agencies' varied missions and continuing to improve service."

Read Director Lachance's entire June speech.

Originally published on August 2000.