Appraisal Program Requirements/Flexibilities FAQs
Federal employee appraisal regulations are designed to give agencies the flexibility
they need to design appraisal programs that meet their needs. Some frequently
asked questions about program design requirements include:
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Does an agency have to have
written performance appraisals for its employees? |
| The regulations read "written, or otherwise
recorded." This language was chosen very deliberately to allow for
use of the newer electronic formats available today. Although agencies do
not have to write performance appraisals on paper, the appraisals must be
recorded in some way and agencies must be able to produce a paper copy,
if needed. Purely oral appraisals would not meet the regulatory requirement. |
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Can an agency assume that most
employees are performing at an acceptable level (i.e., rate by exception)? |
| No. The statute requires that each employee be
appraised against his or her performance standard(s). It does not allow
for appraising an employee by "presuming" that an employee is
meeting performance standards. For the same reason, the process for appraising
employees described by the regulations at part 430 of title 5, Code
of Federal Regulations, does not provide for any "assumed" levels
of performance. However, this requirement to rate should not be interpreted
as a requirement to generate lengthy written justification of element appraisals
and summary level assignment. Agencies may choose to make recording the
determination that performance meets the Fully Successful standard a very
simple procedure. |
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What is the maximum length allowable
for appraisal periods? |
| Technically, there is no maximum length. The
regulations specify that appraisal periods shall generally be designated
so that employees are provided a rating of record annually. Also, the legislative
history of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, the statute that prescribes
the current performance appraisal system, indicates that Congress expected
appraisals to be done annually. In addition, an important consideration
when choosing the length of the appraisal period is its relation to the
annual rating of record required for reduction in force purposes. Agencies
must look at the nature of the work done by various organizations and determine
what length of time is appropriate as the basis for measuring employee performance.
Agencies are encouraged to designate a single appraisal period (i.e., 1
year) as the standard appraisal period throughout the agency, with the built-in
flexibility to accommodate individual or mass transitions between programs.
Otherwise, an agency system must define any limits (maximum length, minimum
length, or acceptable range) within which it will permit appraisal programs
to select their appraisal periods.
Furthermore, agencies may establish different appraisal cycles (starting
and ending dates) for different employees under the same appraisal period.
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Are there any length requirements
or limitations for the program's minimum period (i.e., the length of time
before a performance rating can be prepared)? |
| No. An agency program must specify the length
of its minimum period and that minimum must fall within any limits established
by the agency appraisal system. However, the outcomes of performance appraisals
are applied in other personnel areas, and these applications create some
practical limits for minimum periods.
For example, the regulations and statutory waiting periods for granting
the within-grade pay increase for General Schedule and Prevailing Rate
System employees rely on a determination that the employee's performance
merits the pay adjustment. Prevailing Rate System employees with a work
performance rating of satisfactory or better are advanced from step 1
to step 2 after 26 weeks, which implies that their performance must
be ratable before that. Consequently, and without taking into consideration
the nature of the work itself, the practical outside limit for the minimum
period for prevailing rate employees is roughly 180 days.
In addition, the minimum period is one of the program features that may
be subject to third-party review. Agencies are advised to be careful in
determining the time limits to be used and avoid setting minimum periods
that might be judged unreasonably short.
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Does an agency have to establish
a performance plan and prepare a summary rating for an employee who goes
on detail for 120 days or more? |
| Regulations do not require that performance plans
be established or performance ratings be provided for employees on detail.
Agencies must determine how they will capture information about employee
performance while on detail and how they will consider it in producing the
rating of record. |
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Can an agency program require
higher-level review of all employee performance plans? |
| Yes. Pre-1995 regulations required higher-level
review of employee performance plans but the 1995 regulations no longer
require this review Governmentwide. However, many agencies have retained
the higher-level review process in their programs because this level of
review has worked well for them in the past and there is no reason or requirement
to discontinue it. |
Frequently Asked Questions
U.S. Office of Personnel Management 1900 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20415 | (202) 606-1800 | TTY (202) 606-2532