Dechen Dolkar

The Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) completed the annual performance assessment of fiscal year 22-23 for around 22,230 civil servants in August this year.

The performance evaluation, including the moderation exercise, was carried out aligned to the bell curve introduced.

According to the RCSC, a total of 408 civil servants in the executives and P1 Management (P1M) category were moderated.

Among them, 14 percent were rated outstanding performers, called “Exceeding Expectation,” 82 percent were rated as “Meet Expectation” and four percent, which is around 17 individuals were placed “Partially Meeting Expectations” (PME).

According to the bell curve, five percent of them should be rated in PME.

Similarly, for the general pool of staff, seven percent of civil servants were rated outstanding, 14.5 percent were rated as very good, 75 percent rated as good and 3.5 percent rated as PME. As per the bell curve, three percent should be rated as PME.

The officials from RCSC said that 15 individuals were rated PME for two consecutive years. “For those who receive three consecutive years in the PME category, the individual will be terminated.”

An official from RCSC said: “For those who were rated PME, a personnel improvement plan should be developed in collaboration with the supervisor and the individual.”

The official also said that those individuals who perform outstanding will be given preference for training opportunities outside the country. If they receive an outstanding rating for three consecutive years, they will be eligible for meritorious promotion. “However, as of now, RCSC has no plan to provide performance-based incentives, but it may be given in future.”

The official also said that individuals who performed outstandingly in the P1M category will be considered as the talent pool for executives, which will be one of the criteria for selection.

For a general pool of civil servants, the chief of division will be moderated, chiefs will be moderated by head of departments and secretaries, the head of the department and executives will be moderated by cluster coordinating secretaries with the government agencies.

Similarly, secretaries will be moderated by committee for coordinating secretaries (C4CS), and C4CS will be moderated by RCSC commissioners.

“We have also incorporated feedback from elected members; we receive written feedback to assess the secretaries and take written feedback from the Prime Minister for assessing C4CS,” the official said.

The RCSC official also said that the assessment criteria should be set by individual agencies and the moderation team should ensure transparency by informing about the assessment criteria and committee members before the assessment.

The official said that the leadership assessment for officers in the P1M and executives which was done last year will be replaced with the annual performance assessment. This means there will be no managing out.

The official also mentioned that the performance assessment has been a useful data source for the agencies to groom and mentor talent with the relevant human resource intervention for top performers as well as provide support to those individuals who require assistance.

The official also said that RCSC will focus on conducting training on the moderation exercises, sensitisation on the new PMS and also provide executives with the skills to meaningfully engage with their staff in providing regular feedback on their performance.

“All civil servants should have developed their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for FY 23-24, and supervisors will have to work and guide staff to collaboratively identify moderation criteria and individual KPIs. They will be prepared to meet the criteria as they work towards achieving the agencies’ target,” said an RCSC official.

The performance management system was implemented from FY 2022- 23 with the objective to enhance productivity through staff engagement and a good performance management culture and differentiate performers to reward, recognise and manage them.