Report - Government Executive

Figure 5-1. DCIPS Interim Array of Ratings
Array of Ratings – FY09
Rating Period
14.0%
12.0%
Successful
65.7%
(was 13.8%)
10.0%
8.0%
(Last cycle)
(was 82.5%
Excellent)
6.0%
4.0%
2.0%
0.0%
Unacceptable - 0.1%
Min. Successful
0.8%
(9) (58)
Excellent
31.6%
Outstanding
1.8%
(137)
1
2.1
2.3
2.5
2.7
2.9
3.1
3.3
3.5
3.7
3.9
4.1
4.3
4.5
4.7
4.9
20
The bold percentages in Figure 5-1 indicate that those rated Excellent fell from 82.5 percent
before NGA began applying DCIPS to 31.6 percent afterward, and that those at the Successful
level rose from 13.8 percent to 65.7 percent. Clearly, NGA’s DCIPS evaluation system has
moved the spread of ratings toward the Successful part of the ratings curve. NGA believes this is
reflective of actual employee accomplishments.
At the same time, this shift in ratings does not mean that NGA employees fared less well in
terms of compensation. The salary increase percentage remained the same as the previous year
(2.37 percent), the bonus budget rose from 1.55 percent to 1.8 percent, and the percentage of the
workforce receiving a bonus rose from 44 percent to 48.4 percent. The average amount also
increased, from $2,933 to $3,212.
One potential negative impact of the ratings distribution is the reinforcement of employee
perceptions that DCIPS will include forced distributions into a bell curve pattern regardless of
actual performance. The figures also raise the question whether the performance evaluation
portion of the pre-DCIPS performance-based compensation system had the real capability to
make performance distinctions when, after almost a decade of performance-based compensation,
so many NGA employees rated Excellent in 2008.
NGA officials also noted the positive impact of performance-based compensation as it relates to
organizational culture change. They cite the results of a comparison of data from the 2008
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