News Release

Seattle, WA -- Kay Coles James, Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, today paid tribute to federal civil servants saying the Bush Administration is working to implement proposals to improve pay for the men and women who “contribute so much to the well-being of our nation.”

James extolled the virtues of President Bush’s proposed $500 million Human Capital Performance Fund and the increased pay cap for top managers, saying the proposals, if approved by Congress, would mark the “beginning” of improved pay for the federal government’s rank-and-file and senior executives. She went on to herald the exceptional contributions of countless high-performing employees in the federal government, insisting that the fund will point “the way toward greater emphasis on employee performance and contributions to mission accomplishment, rather than longevity.”

The Director’s comments, made at the Seattle Federal Executive Board’s Acquisition Managers Conference, reinforce the Administration’s respect for public servants and its commitment to a pay-for-performance salary structure, a component of each proposal.

The Human Capital Performance Fund would recognize high-performing and truly outstanding employees who have track records of success. Under the President’s plan, the fund would be used to pay a salary add-on to employees who are making more substantial contributions than their equivalent GS-graded colleagues. Agencies tapping the fund would first have to establish merit-based performance evaluation systems that can make objective comparisons of employee performance.

“With this proposal, we can begin distinguishing between high and low performers in a meaningful way,” said James, whose agency has been charged by Congress to work with Secretary Tom Ridge to develop contemporary human resources systems for the Department of Homeland Security that can adjust to the national security needs of the United States.

The second Administration proposal would consider performance in setting a senior executive’s pay and replace the Senior Executive Service’s fixed pay levels with an open pay range that has a higher salary cap. Currently, pay is capped at the same level for 60 percent of SES members, the government’s top cadre of managers who oversee many of the nation’s most complex programs.

“If we cannot demonstrate the value of a performance-oriented pay system for our senior executives, how can we expect to foster the development of performance-oriented pay systems for the rest of the federal work force?” James rhetorically asked.

Her appearance in Seattle included an impassioned plea to managers to emphasize the work/life benefits of federal employment during recruitment pitches. In a sidebar to the government’s recruitment strategy, James also alluded to the e-Training initiative OPM manages and which has provided online training to 45,000 employees, who have completed 10,000 courses since the program began last July. The initiative (www.golearn.gov) is improving access to training opportunities for employees, who can log-on 24 hours-a-day to upgrade existing skills or obtain new ones, especially in areas where federal agencies need knowledge-based employees. James cited one additional benefit of e-Training as it prepares people for life beyond public service: “We cannot guarantee a job for life. But we can, and should, strive to help employees acquire the skills they need for life.”

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OPM oversees the federal work force and provides the American public with up-to-date employment information. OPM also supports U.S. agencies with personnel services and policy leadership including staffing tools, guidance on labor-management relations and programs to improve work force performance.

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