April 2000

OPM Announces New Award

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Janice Lachance has announced the creation of the Director's PILLAR Award—an honorary award to celebrate performance management practices in Federal agencies that contribute to achieving the results Americans care about. The name of the award stands for Performance, Incentives, and Leadership Linked to Achieve Results.

• Background and Criteria.
• Nomination and Selection.
• For additional information.

In the years since performance management deregulation, agencies have designed and implemented a variety of performance management programs, processes, and practices that have transformed the way they appraise and reward their employees and teams. In her memorandum to heads of agencies that announces the award and solicits nominations, Director Lachance expressed her desire to "recognize your work and showcase your successes."

"We're very excited about this award," says Doris Hausser, Assistant Director for OPM's Office of Performance and Compensation Systems Design. "We know agencies are doing a lot of good things with performance management. Now, the Director's PILLAR Award gives OPM a chance to recognize such efforts and let agencies share their experiences with others. We want to cheer about the little victories as well as the big system overhauls, so no effort is too small to consider."

Background and Criteria. Effective performance management is the pillar that supports organizational success. A nominated practice does not have to be a comprehensive appraisal or award program. It can be any aspect of performance management that has been successful, such as a feedback process, a specific award program, or a measurement practice.

Nomination and Selection. Organizations must complete the nomination form. We must receive nominations by the close of business on June 30, 2000. A panel of judges will review the nominations and recommend award winners to Director Lachance. She will make the final selections for the award and will recognize the winning organizations at OPM's Strategic Compensation Conference in August 2000.

For additional information, please contact us by email or call us at 202-606-2720.