New performance self-assessment tool launched

Federal employees can conduct a self-assessment online and calculate its results to help prepare for annual performance evaluations, according to the two organizations that launched the MeritMore tool today.

The Federal Managers Association and MeriTalk, an online community started by industry, labor and government professional organizations, developed the application so that federal employees could estimate their strengths and weaknesses through a self-assessment quiz and find resources to make improvements, said Darryl Perkinson, the association's president.

The calculator can also estimate an employee’s potential pay raise or other salary action under the General Schedule pay system based on the users' answers to the assessment, their GS level, locality pay and other variables, he said.

“MeritMore is a valuable tool that can help federal employees examine their own performance rationally,” Perkinson said.

The application sends the assessment and the other details, such as an employee’s achievements for the year, to the employee's e-mail inbox, he said. That information can help with the next conversation between employees and their managers, Perkinson said, adding that it “gives feds concrete talking points on their strengths and skills, while also highlighting areas where they may need to discuss improvement.”