Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in a five-part series by the National Academy of Public Administration that examines the challenges and urgency of modernizing the civil service. Read the full Academy essay on the federal payroll system here.
As you may have noticed, federal HR specialists use jargon like “inside baseball” for non-baseball fans. For example, you may be familiar with the term ‘position description’ and understand the ‘general schedule’ grade that includes ‘within grade’. But there are some things here that you may not have heard of, like deep analysis to understand which pitch to use for which batter.
The General Schedule was enacted into law in 1948, allowing white-collar workers across the country to benefit from equal pay across agencies. In the 1950s, over half of federal personnel were below his GS-5, so this was a great system.
Even if these processes are from the 1950s, you shouldn’t be using 70-year-old products to manage your 21st century workforce. Simply put, the GS system has not kept up with the rapidly changing nature of his 21st century government mission. In fact, federal administrators often complain that using existing systems is like trying to “wear shoes of cement” to get the job done.
A complete revamp of the GS system for classification and payment is not feasible at this time. Over the years, however, the federal government has experimented with different payment strategies. We propose that the strategies proven to work in these experiments should be open to all federal agencies.
An experiment demonstrating the effectiveness of a flexible payment system
Most of these experiments (also known as demonstration projects), approved by the Human Resources Administration, test payment systems in broadband instead of narrow GS categories, simplifying instead of the ultra-detailed descriptions that GS systems generate. We have tested a proposed classification system.
In 2007, OPM published a comprehensive review documenting the results of these experiments. That report is now 15 years old, but the results are significant. We are long past the release of our findings to all federal agencies.
• Performance-based salaries for federal employees can be successful and are more tied to the government’s mission than seniority-based salaries.
• The system requires a lot of effort, but it pays off by fostering a results-oriented culture of performance.
• Managers and supervisors manage performance more effectively under these alternative personnel systems.
• These systems make it easier to recruit, hire and retain a quality workforce.
• Alternative HR systems can help control labor costs, but as the system grows, it’s important to keep an eye on these costs.
A 2020 review by the RAND Corporation repeated these findings. Despite the success of these experiments, the OPM has no means of permitting anything other than extremely limited uses of its findings. Institutions that might benefit from these proven practices are shut out.
How to extend these proven results
A working group of National Academy of Public Administration Fellows with expertise in government personnel and management recommends revising this challenge. Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 Enabling agencies to adopt previously tested and proven approaches for pay and classification, and other human capital areas, when experiments are objectively evaluated and yield positive results matter.
The working group’s recommendations, if adopted, could help improve the agency’s ability to accomplish its mission. Adapt more quickly to changing labor markets. By improving recruitment and retention of much-needed workers; By offering greater compensation and incentives to employees for good work. This recommendation authorizes OPM to review, approve, and monitor agency implementation of these changes. This ensures that the entire government can benefit from the lessons of these demonstration projects.
This recommendation enables agencies to use proven flexibility to meet the demands of the “future of work” challenge, reliably monitor changes proposed by OPM, and reduce the gap between employee pay and performance. Links can be strengthened. The recommendations have great potential to improve government performance, building on lessons accumulated over the years.
a Full discussion of this proposal Located on the National Academy of Public Administration website. Find previous recommendations of the Academy Working Group published by GovExec. civil service reform, merit systemand the Veteran hiring process.
Doris Hausser, Debra Tomchek, and Kimberly Walton are former federal human capital senior managers. All are Fellows of the National Academy of Public Administration and members of the Standing Committee on Public Service.