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The results of a survey by the Senior Executives Association (SEA) of its members clearly showing that the pay-for-performance system for top federal managers is not working do not surprise NTEU. The findings confirm and underscore the concerns NTEU consistently has raised about such programs. SEA members said they see a disconnect between ratings and rewards; believe pay-for-performance has had no impact on their performance; see a negative effect on morale; and expressed concern about the presence of quotas or forced ratings distributions. This is just further evidence that there remain significant issues with pay-for-performance that must be addressed by the federal government prior to implementation of any such system government-wide.

NTEU believes that any performance-based pay system must contain certain elements to have any chance of success. These include adequate and sustained funding, a prohibition against quotas in any form, transparency in every aspect of the program, and an accompanying performance management system that is clear and reasonable in its expectations. NTEU has discovered a number of problems in attempts to implement pay-for-performance systems at various federal agencies including the Internal Revenue Service, Customs and Border Protection, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Those supporting the implementation of these flawed programs claim that productivity of federal employees under the system will increase, but the results clearly indicate that the opposite happens. The bottom line is that these systems do not improve performance.