Guidelines for Fitness Report Preparation

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88B00553R000100180005-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 7, 1998
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: April 30, 1975
• Content Type: REGULATION

AUMINIS'I'RATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY
Approved For Release 1999/09/27 :CIA-RDP88B00553R000100180005-5
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
30 April 1973
SUBJECT: Guidelines for Fitness Report Preparation
1. The process of preparing a Fitness Report requires
a structured approach for the resulting .documents are frequently
used in the evaluation of an individual with respect to his
peers. Consequently every reasonable effort should be made
to provide for uniformity in the points and values considered
and in their documentation. It is the purpose of these
Guidelines to provide a means for preparing; documentation
that offers a common basis for personnel assessment thereby
insuring the filing of fair and just Fitness Reports.
2. Emphasis is directed to the fact that each Supervisor
is responsible far insuring that work assignments have been
made grade compatible and that duties and expected performance
were made known to the employee at all times. The actual
expression of t:nese duties on a Fitness Report must not
introduce new considerations.
3. This General Notice deals in turn with the key areas
of the Report; namely, Duty Statements, Overall Performance,
and the Narrative Section. The use of the Letter Ratings
is discussed separately.
4. Puty Statements must be carefully prepared, By the
choice of wards one can swing a given function (duty) over
several grade levels and thereby swing the letter rating
over several values. For this reason, it is essential to
staxt the written evaluation witri a clear understanding of
the factors which establish Grade Level. To this end the
ORD Career Service Panel and its Special I?anel for clerical
and secretarial personnel have established frames of reference
for keying job responsibilities to grade :level. Two categories
of guidelines have been generated; those for clerical and
secretarial personnel are Listed in Attachment A and those
far professionals in ..^~ttachmer_t B. Due to the diversity of
assignments in ORD some employees do not fall into either
category and must be evaluated using other guidelines.
Approved F~rD~g~~~~'~9v/~Q9/27I~,~~P~~~$~~~3R000100180005-5
 Approved For~~F~~~~/~~/27 ~~,#~i~~jPAQ{~3~t000100180005-5
GENERAL NOTICE N0. 62 (Cont'd}
SUBJECT: Guidelines for Fitness Report Preparation
5. t-Laving established a frame of reference for grade
level performance expectations, one must then prepare Duty
Statements which reflect these expectations. It is recommended
tYaat a standard set of duties be considered as a baseline far
clerical, secretarial, and professional personnel at various
grade levels; details or other duties may be added when
appropriate. Taking the case of a project officer as an
example, the suggested duties (which should be appropriately
modified to reflect grade differences) include:
a. Develops new concepts of intelligence collection
or analysis and prepares studies relating to the initiation
of contract actions for their investigation or development.
b. Manages technical projects i.n support of office
goals.
c. Participates in the development of an overall
program of research and exploratory development.
d. Maintains liaison with appropriate elements of
the intelligence and Rf~D communities.
e. Supervises project officers in the implementation
of the research and exploratory development program
(where appropriate).
Clearly, an employee on a scientific track will have a different
mix of duties from one on a managerial track. It is important,
however, that some consistency exist in the duties upon which
various officers are rated if competitive evaluations are to
be made.
6. At this point it is appropriate to address the topic
of "Overall Rating." This evaluation is intended to include
certain considerations not directly involved in the Duty
Statements. Typical of these points are:
Ambition
Attitude
Professa.onal Image
Responsiveness
'~~
Creativity
Decisiveness
Versatility
Woxk Habits
The Overall Rating is not some attempted average of the letters
.assigned to the Duty Statements. The meaning of the letter
evaluation is very literal.
Approved For ReleaseT199~~9/27 ~~~i~~~~8~~b~v~v3YR000100180005-5
 ADMINISTRATIVE - IN'I'EkivAL USE ONLY
Approved For Release 1999/09/27 :CIA-RDP88B00553R000100180005-5
GENERAL NOTICE N0. 62 (Cont'd)
SUBJECT: Guidelines far Fitness Report Preparation
7. The letter ratings cover a wide spectrum:
Outstanding Marginal
Proficient
Strong Unsatisfactory
Each. rating is carefully defined on Form 45; when properly
applied to Duty Statements appropriate to the incumbent's
grade, Proficient becomes the norm fo-r any population of
employees. This will become the case in ORI); it is
anticipated that any letter value will be used, including
Marginal and Unsatisfactory when called for. The impact
of this change in Office usage is the basis far a specific
memorandum, a copy of which is being placed in the Office
file of each ORD employee.
8. The Narrative Section of the Fitness Report should
address (a) specific strengths and weaknesses, (b) any change
in performance during the Rating Period, (c) personal
extenuating circumstances, (d) the general relationship of
the individual's performance to that of others in his peer
group, and (e) recommendations as to continuing professional
development. While such matters as training or selection
for special assignment are appropriate far discussion,
promotion, per se, is nat.
9. In summary, the Fitness Report should be an effective
personnel management tool. The written evaluation and the
benefi~ia~ relationship developed between t:he employee and
his supervisor combine to inform both the employee and
management of an individual's status and potential.
Preparation of these Reports is an important supervisory
duty. It is hoped that the structured appr.aach presented
here will improve the capability of review groups such as
the Career Service Panel to do a fair and Effective job in
making the personnel assessments and selec1tions which arise
from time to time.
FOIAb3b
Sayre Stevens
Director of Research and Development
2 Attachments
As stated
3
Approved For Release 1999/09/27 :CIA-RDP88B00553R000100180005-5
.ADMINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY