GAO-05-832SP Human Capital: Symposium on Designing and Managing Market-Based and More Performance-Oriented Pay Systems

Critical to the success of the fed. gov't. transformation are its people -- human capital. One of the questions being addressed is how to update its compensation system to be more market based & performance oriented. This symposium was convened on March 9, 2005, to discuss organizations' experiences with market-based & more performance-oriented pay systems. Representatives from public, private, & nonprofit organizations made presentations on the successes & challenges they experienced in designing & managing their market-based & more performance-oriented pay systems. A cross-section of human capital stakeholders was invited to further explore these successes & challenges & engage in open discussions. Tables.

In 2003, Congress and the admin. established a performance-based pay system for Senior Exec. Service (SES) members that requires a link between individual and organizational performance and pay. Specifically, agencies are allowed to raise SES pay caps if their systems are certified as meeting specified criteria. This Congressional Testimony is on preliminary results of ongoing work analyzing selected exec. branch agencies¿ policies and procedures for their SES performance-based pay systems in the following areas: factoring organizational performance into senior exec. performance appraisal decisions; making meaningful distinctions in senior exec. performance; and building safeguards into senior exec. performance appraisal and pay systems. Illus.