The Foreign Service Journal, April 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2020 29 • Tighten the narrative boxes to accentuate brevity and clar- ity; and focus on challenges and significant achievements that demonstrate readiness for greater responsibilities, not merely narrative exposition of lists of activities. • Introduce a new mechanism to reduce the number and frequency that employees, raters and reviewers had to touch the EER for edits. (Owing to the complexity and limitations of PeopleSoft software, which does not work with Microsoft Word, this shift could not address all employee concerns and adminis- trator needs.) Prior to the rollout, the Bureau of Global Talent Management conducted numerous information sessions, both in the depart- ment and at major overseas posts, and set up an online resource bank that included helpful hints and guides (e.g., on distinguish- ing between performance and potential, and on avoiding loaded and coded language and implicit or unconscious bias). GTM anticipated it would take several years for employees to adjust and adapt to the new system, and several more years to fully embrace it. Given the turbulence with the presidential transi- tion, workforce reductions and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s other management priorities, that timetable ran into additional headwinds. It is important to highlight that the 2015 EER reformwas not designed to—and did not—influence the calculation of promotion numbers. Contrary to some misperceptions, determining promo- tion numbers is a separate and independent process. In 2017 the numbers were at the lower edge of the prior five-year averages, reflecting senior executive decisions. Numbers have subsequently crept back up, but again irrespective of the EER revamp. Assessing the Changes Performance management reform did not occur in a vacuum, but in concert with other changes. Overall, it can be regarded as a guarded net positive, though with mixed results in some areas. Promotion results are now released around Labor Day, enabling employees to better design bidding strategies. Adoption of a departmentwide reference bank for bidding (eliminating dupli- cative bureau-run programs) and establishment of more cogent and useful questions for assignment decisions further stream- lined processes that employees had long identified as trouble- some. The reference bank was designed to give employees and bureaus better information for assignment decisions, separate from the promotion system, but also with the intent of reducing burdens on employees and assessors. Thanks to the Foreign Service Institute, employees now have updated, more refined and useful leadership training modules Advice on Writing EERs FOR RATERS/REVIEWERS n Hold frequent, rich conversations, ideally ones that are forward-looking. • Identify strengths and areas for development or growth. • Offer stretch responsibilities—not regarding grade/rank, but within existing assignment. • Help employee get experience and step up to future challenges. n Build toward the EER: Use formal and informal sessions to have a continuous dialogue (evaluations are continuous and progressive, not a one-time event). • Raters, reviewers and employees routinely have multiple conversations over the year; make themmeaningful. n Before writing the EER, determine what you would do with this employee if you had the sole decision; do not solely consider past performance. Ask yourself, is the employee truly equipped and ready for greater responsibilities, and does he or she merit that outcome? n Build the case for whatever is your decision. n Don’t surprise the employee. FOR EMPLOYEES n Read five years of EERs in 15 minutes; write down in three sentences what you got out of them. Consider what impressed you about your own performance that shows readiness for more responsibilities. n Write to the board; it makes the decision, not the rater or reviewer. • Be self-aware: highlight challenges and significant accomplishments; do not self-assess. • Be smart: strong verbs beat adverbs and adjectives; boards want to see content (subject, verb, outcome, why it matters) and professional development over time. • Be focused: back-and-forth negotiations over adjectives, tasks, activities take time but don’t improve weak content. • Avoid clichés and worn, hackneyed language. n Think of the developmental area as where you can show growth; avoid serial repetition of the same area. • Own your progress and ability to adapt and get stronger over time by addressing them in the next EER. n Think forward: consider your professional development arc, progressively enhancing strengths, not just your career path and speed of promotion. What did you learn and apply over the past year, or three or five years that enhances your future capacity ... and hence your promotion competitive- ness? n Think collaboratively: what did you do that helped others get better and achieve results that matter? —Alex Karagiannis