The Foreign Service Journal, December 2018

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2018 45 ing goals. Also, 56 percent of all employees felt the rollout of the program at their post was well-managed. The experience in San Salvador is indicative. There, the Human Resources staff overcame misinformation and skepticism to roll out MBC successfully. With full front office support, they orga- nized a highly effective marketing plan that included town halls, presentations by U.S.-based experts and 34 information sessions attended by 544 people. As Management Officer Holly Peirce explains, “The campaign included an easy-to-understand, fact-based message built around three compelling points: (1) MBC is not a cost-saving measure; (2) the new systemwill result in more pay over the course of an employee’s career; and (3) all money budgeted for wage increases will go to employees (which had not been the case previously).” The campaign, Peirce reports, changed negative perceptions to cautious anticipation. At this writing 66 posts around the world have implemented or are implementing the program, so American supervisors are very likely to encounter MBC at their next posting. All Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs posts have converted to MBC and, regionally, the bureaus of Western Hemisphere Affairs and East Asian and Pacific Affairs have embraced it. By the end of 2019, the bureaus of Near Eastern Affairs and South and Central Asian Affairs will have implemented MBC at two posts, and the Bureau of African Affairs has begun a trial, implementing the program at one post. In all, nearly half of all overseas missions will have adopted MBC by the end of 2019. n MBC gives managers the ability to directly link employee performance to the objectives of the section and mission.