The Defense Department will prioritize employee performance as the primary retention factor for civilian personnel when reduction in force becomes necessary under DoD’s revised RIF policies.
DoD said Thursday it will rank civilian personnel based on assessed performance followed by performance rating of record, tenure group, performance average score, veteran’s preference and DoD Service Computation Date-RIF.
The current governmentwide “order of retention” prioritizes tenure over veteran’s preference, length of service and performance.
The new procedures align with the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act and are consistent with the Defense Performance and Management Appraisal Program, the department said.
DPMAP is an enterprise-wide performance management program that aims to promote a results-oriented performance culture.
DoD also developed methods to assess the “rating of record” of personnel that are not covered by DPMAP.
The department said it will consider actions to address the size of reductions such as the use of Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment, hiring freezes and the termination of temporary appointments, among other options.
