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(U//FOUO) Mailbag Question: Are More Awards Given to Those
Working Highest-Priority Targets?
FROM: SIGINT Communications
Unknown
Run Date: 07/06/2005
(U) Here's a Q&A from the SID Mailbag
Question:
(U//FOUO) Promotions within SID are scarce, especially for technical workers, especially for
those seeking something higher than a grade 13. Hence my question below:
(U//FOUO) Are the chances for promotion to 14 or above increased by a person choosing to
work in offices whose projects are closer to the top in the SIGINT Strategic Missions List ?
(U) In other words, is the "sexiness" of the technical work you're assigned a major factor in how
your Personal Performance Package looks to the evaluators?
(C//SI) Those of us who plod away, who deal with WHOLLY EXULT shutting down our dataflows
for two days a week because our particular tasks aren't high enough in priority, who get sent
home in bad winter weather because we're "non-essential", need to know what we're up against
in terms of awards, because in the workaday world, our lives are already gosh-darned tough,
and seemingly made tougher by each upper-level decision.
Answer:
(U//FOUO) The short answer is no. Your chances for or against promotion are not influenced by
the target you work. Promotion is based on performance.
(U//FOUO) I refer you to questions that were posed a year ago this time -- even before the
Strategic Missions List existed, there was concern that people working "sexier" targets were
more likely to be recognized and rewarded for their work. This is simply not the case.
Question 236: (U//FOUO) Promotions are part of our philosophy of performance-based pay, and,
as such, are determined by an individual's performance and accomplishments against specific
performance objectives. Competition for performance is fierce and is based on a person's
contributions over a period of time and his or her potential for assuming more responsibility in
the future. Promotions are not tied to the importance of your job or the sexiness of your target.
Question 230: (U) On the question of performance pay: Performance-based pay is a systematic
method of compensating employees based upon performance against specific performance
objectives. It has nothing to do with the perceived importance (or lack of importance) of the
SIGINT target you work or the kudos you receive from customers. Payout (which could be an
increase to basic pay or a bonus or a combination of the two) is based on the performance score
you earned under the performance evaluation system. The better the performance, the better
the reward.
"(U//FOUO) SIDtoday articles may not be republished or reposted outside NSANet
without the consent of S0121 (DL sid_comms)."
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DERIVED FROM: NSA/CSSM 1-52, DATED 08 JAN 2007 DECLASSIFY ON: 20320108
