The Foreign Service Journal, April 2011

E mployee Evaluation Report season is upon us and, as usual at this time, AFSA is hearing from and assisting raters, reviewers and rated employees. AFSA is happy to advise members during any phase of the EER process, in- cluding providing an objective, third-party opinion of how a review or rated officers’ statement might be interpreted by a promotion board. My position inAFSA has deepenedmy surprise that many Foreign Service members —who have no trouble drafting a complex bilateral agreement or defending an International Co- operative Administrative Sup- port Services position — freeze and fret when it comes to ana- lyzing their subordinates or de- scribing their own accomplish- ments. Indeed,AFSA recently received a serious request from a member in the field, urging the department to exempt FS members from annual reviews on the theory that writing EERs and, in general,managing subordinate employees, takes FS members away from their “real” work for the American people. AFSA is currently helping the department develop an on- line EER course for all employees, which may well be released before this article is published. The course will address the ba- sics of EER writing but, more importantly, should serve as a tool to address a very real problem. Many members find it hard to evaluate their colleagues and expend the energy neces- sary to develop (rather than merely coordinate) subordinates in the Service, so they struggle at evaluation time to fit an en- tire year’s worth of supervision into a single writing session. As a result, far too many employees rise through the system without ever receiving a true appraisal of their skills and abil- ities, and without the guidance and training that their super- visors should provide. Many of the workplace and morale issues brought to AFSA’s attention are in some degree rooted in the deficiencies of what should be a year-round process of communication, supervision, feedback and guidance— in short, proper man- agement. Done correctly, the supervisory cycle virtually guar- antees ease in EER writing, as both supervisors and rated employees will be familiar with the issues involved. Ideally, a good supervisor should: • Recognize that developing subordinates and colleagues is a key requirement of every Foreign Service supervisor's duties, and apply to that task the same effort and talent as is applied to other tasks. • Get to know subordinates and take the time to assess, without value judgments, their strengths andweaknesses (un- derstanding that no one is always good at everything, and weaknesses can usually be addressed by training, closer su- pervision or redistribution of duties within a section). The benefits of such an investment far outweigh, in the long run, any temporary inconvenience. • Know what his or her subor- dinates actually do. A person who supervises an employee in a differ- ent cone or specialty should make the effort to fully understand the requirements and priorities associ- ated with that work at the begin- ning of the rating cycle rather than at the end. This alsomeans respecting the expertise of one’s subordinates, particularly when they are trained or experienced in a different discipline. • Communicate frequently and frankly, ensuring that not only do employees know what is required of them, but also that they are welcome to convey their own concerns and opin- ions to the supervisor. As a corollary, listen. Good commu- nication is a two-way street. • Ensure that expectations and duties are accurately re- flected in work requirements and kept up-to-date. These should also indicate special requirements, such as frequent travel that is a basic component of work or supervision con- ducted by a person at a different post. • Offer opportunities for subordinates to demonstrate in- dividual talents. Particularly in a section or field where every- one does pretty much the same thing, it is important to give people opportunities to head special projects, draft reports, participate in task forces or otherwise demonstrate a strength that sets them apart from their colleagues. While refraining fromvalue judgments, a good supervisor must have the courage to be frank, early on, when an em- ployee is not living up to expectations. He or she must make the effort to honestly assess whether the failure is due to em- ployee weakness, a lack of resources or training, or the super- visor’s own failure to lead. Yes, the process is time-consuming. But the payoff is greater efficiency and higher morale. And best of all, you’ll be able to write EERs as easily as you write about any other mat- ter with which you are intimately familiar. A P R I L 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 49 A F S A N E W S Good Supervision Leads to a Good EER Season V.P. VOICE: STATE BY DANIEL HIRSCH AFSA is currently helping the department develop an online EER course for all employees, which may well be released before this article is published.