Archive
2000 INAUGURAL OPM DIRECTOR'S PILLAR AWARDS
OPM Director Janice R. Lachance presented the first OPM Director's PILLAR
Awards on August 28th at OPM's Strategic Compensation Conference in Washington,
DC. The OPM Director's PILLAR Award is an honorary award established in
2000 to recognize and publicize effective employee performance management
programs, processes, and practices that support alignment of employee
performance management practices with organizational strategic goals as
well as results-oriented and customer-focused performance. The name of
the award stands for Performance, Incentives, and Leadership
Linked to Achieve Results. The pillar represents
effective performance management because it is the foundation that supports
a structure, just as performance management is the foundation that supports
good management.
Director Lachance solicited nominations for the award in a May 12 memorandum
for heads of executive departments and agencies. We received 35 nominations
from 18 agencies. A panel of human resources experts reviewed the nominations
and made recommendations to Director Lachance, who made the final selections.
- Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Southeast
Regional Office, for its performance management program, which is
part of its Total Quality Management (TQM) Initiative. It closely aligns
employee performance and development with organizational goals. The
Region has a carefully structured method of establishing strategic goals
and cascading them through the organization. Employees develop performance
plans based on their respective roles in carrying out those goals. Both
supervisors and employees review these plans on an ongoing basis to
ensure that all activities continue to align with the Region's strategic
plan. Preparation of employee development plans and a variety of development
opportunities are also part of the Region's performance management program.
A strong emphasis on effective communications has helped to strengthen
employees' understanding of their role in this program and in the Region's
overall performance. Under these initiatives, the Southeast Regional
Office has experienced savings of more than $44.2 million and has seen
improvements in accomplishment of organizational goals.
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration,
VA Healthcare Network Upstate New York (VISN 2), for its goalsharing
program, an innovative approach to creating a clear "line of sight"
between employees and organizational goals. Employees in each of VISN
2's 850 work units develop "stretch" goals tied to the accomplishment
of each of five major VISN goals. "Stretch" goals are at least 10 percent
better than the consensus expectation of performance for the work unit.
If the work unit meets its stretch goals, unit employees receive a payout
depending on the extent to which the unit meets those goals. Since initiating
the program in 1998, VISN 2 has experienced the second greatest reduction
in cost per patient, moved from the bottom third in customer service
to being tied for second place within the Department of Veterans Affairs,
and became the fourth best of twenty VISNs at attracting new patients.
VISN 2 promotes innovation by defining what should be accomplished and
allowing frontline employees to work with their teammates in determining
how the work is to be done. VISN 2 supports work unit teams through
training on goal setting, teambuilding, performance measurement techniques,
and quality tools. The Labor Management Partnership at VISN 2 is a full
participant in the design and administration of the program. VISN 2
reinforces the program through formal celebrations, monthly feedback
sessions, and a web page designed to communicate the program and its
successes.
- Department of the Army, Tobyhanna Army Depot, for its Rewarding
the Workforce Award program. Under the program all employees share equally
in a monetary award based on performance results attained through business-focused
cooperation and teamwork. In 1995, Tobyhanna's Labor Management Partnership
Council adopted the recommendation of an Employee Involvement Team that
employee awards be directly tied to the Depot's Net Operating Result
(NOR). (The NOR is the Depot's primary business performance measure
and is analogous to the profit and loss statement of a private sector
business.) This resulted in the Rewarding the Workforce Award, which
recognizes the Depot workforce as a cohesive team upon whom the Depot's
success depends. The Labor Management Partnership Council approved the
new award payout system based upon a sliding scale tied to the NOR.
Depot management fosters employee knowledge and participation by establishing
strategic performance goals and tracking key performance indicators
for the installation. The installation then cascades organizational
performance information down to all employees at weekly Home Team meetings
where employees assess their own and their cost center's contribution
to the Depot's overall goals. The program is extremely popular with
both management and labor and has contributed to a heightened team spirit
and the Depot's continued competitive success.
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration, John F. Kennedy
Space Center, for its Goal Performance Evaluation System (GPES).
GPES is a web-based software application. The Center uses it to communicate
organizational objectives and strategies throughout the organization.
At the beginning of the performance cycle, all organizations define
their mission in the format of objectives and underlying strategies.
Employees and their supervisors then choose from a universal list of
organizational objectives to define employee performance plans, as well
as any additional performance expectations and/or mission requirements
of their respective offices. GPES has successfully coupled strategic
management with employee performance, resulting in a more tightly focused
and aligned organization. At the employee level, changes can easily
be made to an employee's performance plan throughout the year. At the
organizational level, if the mission is modified, the system will automatically
and immediately reflect the changes in the employee's performance plan.
Center employees also use the system, developed by a cross-section of
employees from throughout the Center, to report organizational accomplishments
back up the organizational chain of command. As a result, the Center
has made a number of beneficial changes to streamline, redefine, and
clarify Center mission goals.
- Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration Logistics
Center (FAALC), Quality Systems Group, for its performance management
practices, particularly establishing and implementing individual performance
plans linked directly to the FAALC Strategic Plan. Using a balanced
scorecard as a framework to ensure that all areas of the business are
addressed, each employee assists in developing his or her own performance
plan with the encouragement of team leaders and division managers. The
final outcome is an employee input-based performance plan directly aligned
with the FAALC Strategic Plan. Each performance plan focuses on accomplishments
rather than activities. The employee performance plans effectively communicate
the organization's goals and initiatives to employees and allow employees
to see how their work aligns with the organization's strategic direction.
The Center uses a 360-degree assessment process to enhance communications.
Management supports lowest-level decision making. This has increased
employee satisfaction and productivity, and brought about improved organizational,
team, and individual performance.
In this inaugural year of the OPM Director's PILLAR Award, we want to
acknowledge all the organizations throughout Government who took the time
to nominate a performance management practice that contributes to achieving
their mission and strategic goals.
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
U.S. Bankruptcy Court
Western District of Texas
San Antonio, TX
Department of the Air Force
22d Air Refueling Wing
McConnell Air Force Base, KS
Air Force Officer Accession
and Training Schools
Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
Air Force Officer Training School
Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
Air Force Research Laboratory
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH
Headquarters Air Force Services Agency
Randolph Air Force Base, TX
Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight/SGPB
Scott Air Force Base, IL
Pope Health and Wellness Center
Pope Air Force Base, NC
US Transportation Command
(USTRANSCOM/TCJ6)
Scott Air Force Base, IL
Department of the Army
Air Defense Artillery Center and Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss, TX
US Army Reserve Personnel Command
St. Louis, MO
US Army Training Support Center
Fort Eustis, VA
Department of Defense
Defense Information Systems Agency
Arlington, VA
Washington Headquarters Services
Arlington, VA
Department of Education
Assistive Technology Program
Washington, DC
Department of Energy
Savannah River Operations Office
Aiken, SC
Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health Design,
Construction, and Alteration Branch
Bethesda, MD
Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Fire Island National Seashore
Patchogue, NY
Department of Justice
Immigration and Naturalization Service
Florida District
Miami, FL
Department of the Navy
Naval Air Station
Lemoore, CA
Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration
Office of the Associate Administrator
for Research and Acquisitions
Washington, DC
Department of the Treasury
U.S. Mint
Office of the Chief Information Officer
Washington, DC
U.S. Mint
San Francisco Mint
San Francisco, CA
Department of Veterans Affairs
Medical Center - Fiscal Service
Dayton, OH
Federal Labor Relations Authority
Federal Labor Relations Authority
Washington, DC
General Services Administration
Public Buildings Service
Washington, DC
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Agreement State Program
Washington, DC
Public Outreach Group
High-level Waste Branch
Washington, DC
Office of Personnel Management
Office of the Inspector General
Internal Audits Division
Washington, DC
RIS Retirement Claims Division - Branch 3
Washington, DC