The Foreign Service Journal, January 2005

be completely transparent, as officers would know, even before signing up for long-term training, exactly how that decision may affect their possible “point score” for the year. Increased Predictability Another positive impact of the promotion point system would be to make the promotion process more predictable. Every candidate would know his/her point total as well as the point total that marked the threshold for promotion in previous years. While point thresholds for promotion would vary somewhat depending on the number of promotion slots avail- able, knowing point totals would nonetheless usher in a significant increase in employees’ ability to pre- dict their own promotions. The effects of annual differences in the way boards weigh certain fac- tors would also be evened out under a points-based system, thereby increas- ing the consistency of the promotion process. What makes the current sys- tem seem so unpredictable to officers is that annual promotions are a “win- ner take all” process — either you are promoted or you are not. Close does not count. Thus, small differences in performance can translate into large differences in outcome. In contrast, with promotion points, small differ- ences in performance will translate into small differences in the number of points earned that year. The fact that points are accumulated over time means that an officer who is almost promoted one year can (barring some catastrophic drop in performance) expect promotion the next year. The fact that all employees would know both their total point score and their scores each year means they would receive quantitative, readily understandable performance feed- back each year and be able to make appropriate career plans. This bene- fits employees and the department alike. Outstanding employees would 18 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 5 S P E A K I N G O U T u A time of service…a time of need Help for Seniors May Be Just a Phone Call Away— Home Health Care Adult Day Care & Respite Care Prescription Drug Copayments Transportation to Medical Appointments Durable Medical Equipment For more information, please contact the SENIOR LIVING FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE 1716 N Street, NW Washington, DC 20036-2902 Phone: (202) 887-8170 Fax: (202) 872-9320 E-Mail: info@slfoundation.org W eb Site: www.slfoundation.org The Senior Living Foundation may be able to help you or someone you know. Some examples of assistance are: SPONSORED BY THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION