What is an additional performance element and what purpose does it serve?
Additional performance elements provide agencies
another tool for communicating performance expectations important to the
organization. In essence, they are dimensions or aspects of overall
performance the agency wishes to communicate and appraise, but which
will not be used in assigning a summary level. Such additional elements
may include objectives, goals, program plans, work plans, and other
methods of expressing expected performance. Like non-critical elements,
they do not have to be appraised at any particular level. Their major
distinctions from non-critical elements are they cannot be used in
assigning a summary level and additional performance elements do not
require a performance standard. They allow agencies to factor group or
team performance into the performance plan of employees under two-level
(Pass/Fail) summary appraisal programs.
Including additional performance elements encourages a dialogue
among supervisors, employees and peers that might not have taken place
if they had not been included in a performance plan or goal statement.
An agency could include items employees are not ready to have affect
their ratings of record, but which may be used in the future as
non-critical elements. One example would be appraising "team
interaction" in a group that has not had sufficient time or experience
with such concepts and behaviors. Because no standard is required,
additional performance elements also might be appropriate when the
organization has not decided what measurements are valid or who is the
most credible rater(s).
Assessments on additional performance elements that make
distinctions above the Fully Successful or equivalent level may
be used as the basis for granting awards. Such a use of additional
performance elements is a perfectly reasonable way to meet the legal
requirement at section 4302(a)(3) of title 5, United States Code to "use
the results of performance appraisals as a basis for rewarding
employees."
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