Legal basis and related issuances
- The Circular is issued pursuant to Rule IX of the Omnibus Rules Implementing Book V of Executive Order No. 292.
- MC 2, s. 1978 is repealed.
- MC 12, s. 1989 is repealed.
Coverage and required establishment
- A Performance Evaluation System (PES) shall be established in all departments or agencies of the national and local governments.
- PES must be established in state universities and colleges.
- PES must be established in government-owned and controlled corporations with original charters.
Purpose and objectives of PES
- The PES must be designed and administered to continuously foster improvement of employee performance and efficiency.
- The PES must be designed and administered to enhance organizational effectiveness and productivity.
- The PES must be designed and administered to provide an objective performance rating that serves as a basis for:
- incentives and rewards
- promotion
- training and development
- personnel actions
- administrative sanctions
Minimum PES requirements
- The PES must identify performance outputs and job-related behaviors of the position/function and adopt corresponding performance standards mutually agreed upon between the supervisor and the subordinate.
- The PES must assign a greater weight to actual performance outputs in rating an employee’s performance.
- The PES must assign a lesser weight to job-related behaviors that critically affect performance, and employees must be rated on their manifestation of those behaviors.
- The PES must provide feedback to advise the employee of progress in accomplishing assigned tasks.
- The PES must document supervisors’ observations, comments, and recommendations on employees’ strengths and weaknesses instrumental to career development and constraints that may impede development.
- The PES must include performance evaluation and rating twice a year or once every semester, with appraisal periods ending on June 30 and December 31.
- The PES must allow shorter or longer appraisal periods only when organizational needs require it, but the minimum appraisal period must be at least 90 days or three months.
- No appraisal period may be longer than one year.
- The PES must impose sanctions against raters found to give undue advantage or disadvantage to the employee they rate.
Adjectival ratings and rating standards
- The PES must adopt adjectival ratings Outstanding, Very Satisfactory, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory, and Poor.
- An employee must receive Outstanding when the employee EXCEEDS HIS TARGET BY AT LEAST FIFTY PERCENT and demonstrates exceptional job mastery in all major areas of responsibility; achievement and contributions must be of marked excellence even recognized by peers through a forced comparison/distribution method established by the agency.
- An employee must receive Very Satisfactory when the employee EXCEEDS THE EXPECTED OUTPUT/PERFORMANCE BY AT LEAST 25% but falls short of what is considered outstanding; peer recognition must also be through a forced comparison/distribution method based on criteria established by the agency, and employees screened out for outstanding in forced comparison must be included in this category; only Outstanding and Very Satisfactory ratings qualify the employee for promotion.
- An employee must receive Satisfactory when the employee MEETS 100% of standards or ordinary requirements of the duties of the position; employees screened out for Very Satisfactory performers in forced comparison must be included in this category.
- An employee must receive Unsatisfactory when performance is FIFTY ONE PERCENT TO NINETY NINE PERCENT of minimum requirements but could stand improvement; the next rating period must be under close supervision with an expectation the employee will improve to at least Satisfactory or receive another Unsatisfactory rating.
- Two (2) successive Unsatisfactory ratings are a ground for separation from the service.
- An employee must receive Poor when the employee fails to meet performance requirements or meets FIFTY PERCENT or below of minimum requirements and there is no evidence the employee can improve performance; a Poor rating is a ground for separation from the service.
PES structure, sub-systems, and standards development
- A PES must include the following parts:
- Objectives (basic policies adhered to by the agency in implementing the PES)
- Procedure/Mechanics of Evaluation
- Mechanics of Rating
- An agency with diverse functional groupings may develop several PES sub-systems for evaluating different functional groups.
- A PES sub-system must contain these basic parts:
- Mechanics of Rating
- Performance Standards
- Critical Factors Affecting Work Performance, defined and presented in graphic scales.
- Agencies must develop common performance standards for positions engaged in the same or similar functions, duties, and responsibilities to ensure objectivity of performance ratings.
- Common performance standards must be agreed upon and established, then reviewed and fine-tuned to suit prevailing workplace circumstances and organizational needs.
Submission, review, and pilot testing
- A newly developed PES must be submitted by the Head of Agency to the Civil Service Commission for review and approval.
- Approval depends on two criteria:
- Completeness: the PES contains all minimum requirements under Rule IX of the Omnibus Civil Service Rules and Regulations and the pertinent provisions of the Circular.
- Acceptability: the Head of the Department or Agency certifies that the system was presented to staff for initial validation and found acceptable as a tool for performance evaluation.
- A CSC-approved PES must be pilot-tested in the agency for at least one rating period to determine effectiveness and confirm acceptability.
Implementation, documentation, and monitoring
- Agencies must conduct Orientation seminars for new officials and employees on performance planning, evaluation, and improvement.
- Orientation must promote awareness and interest in the System as a management tool for employee development and performance planning and control.
- The highest ranking officer in charge of personnel management and responsible for administering the PES must collect performance rating reports of all employees covered by the system within fifteen (15) days following the end of each rating period.
- The Personnel Division must safeguard performance rating reports of all personnel.
- Performance rating reports must be included in each individual personnel folder made available to the Selection/Promotion Board.
- Performance rating reports must be open at all times for inspection of the Civil Service Commission.
- The Civil Service Commission must conduct in-depth monitoring of PES implementation to gather data on the extent of implementation, usefulness in accomplishing objectives, and strengths and weaknesses.
- The monitoring results must be communicated to the Head of Agency for fine-tuning the system and improving implementation.
Technical assistance and adoption of PES model
- The Civil Service Commission must conduct round table discussions and workshops with representatives from different agencies and offices to assist in developing common performance standards for technical and non-technical positions.
- Heads of agencies are encouraged to request technical assistance for developing, implementing, refining PES and establishing performance standards for different functional groupings.
- Agencies without a PES may adopt the PES Model attached to the Circular.
- The PES Model may be modified and expanded to suit organizational needs.
- Agencies adopting the PES Model must inform the Civil Service Commission of:
- the plan to pilot-test the Model, and
- the schedule of pilot-testing.
- The Civil Service Commission must be ready to assist agencies in orienting employees on the PES Model.
Non-submission and consequences
- Failure to submit a PES to the CSC for approval and/or non-implementation of an approved PES constitutes a ground for disapproving promotional appointments and other personnel actions requiring performance-based ratings.
Transitory and compliance direction
- All existing Performance Evaluation Systems must be revised in accordance with Rule IX of the Omnibus Civil Service Rules and Regulations and submitted to the Civil Service Commission.
- All other agencies without a PES must adopt the PES Model or establish a PES consistent with the minimum requirements and approval framework in the Circular.