Guidelines for Fitness Report Preparation

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88B00553R000100180019-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 7, 1998
• Sequence Number: 19
• Publication Date: February 28, 1975
• Content Type: REGULATION

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. 2 8 FEB 1975
SUBJECT: Guidelines for Fitness Report Preparation
1. General Notice No. 76 rescinds General Notice No. 62,
dated 30 April 1973.
2. The process of preparing a Fitness Report requires a
structured approach because the resulting document not only
gives the employee an appraisal of his performance but is also
used as. background. information in comparative and competitive
evaluations. Consequently every reasonable effort should be
made to provide for uniformity in the points and values con-
sidered 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.
3. Emphasis is directed to the fact that each Supervisor
is responsible for insuring that work assignments have been
made grade compatible and that duties and expected performance
were made known to the employee in his Letter of Instructions.
The actual evaluation of duties on the Fitness Report must not
introduce considerations that were not contained in the LOI or
in written amendments to it.
4. 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.
5. Duty Statements in the Fitness Report must be as
carefully stated as they were in the LOI. By the choice of
words 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 start the written evalu-
ation with a clear understanding of the factors which establish
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GENERAL NOTICE NO. 76
SUBJECT: Guidelines for Fitness Report Preparation
Grade Level. To this end the ORD Career Service Panel and its
Special Panel for clerical and secretarial personnel have
established frames of reference for keying job responsibilities
to grade level. Two categories of guidelines have been gener-
ated; those for clerical and secretarial personnel are listed
in Attachment A and those for professionals in Attachment B.
Due to the diversity of assignments in ORD some employees do
not fall into either category and must be evaluated using other
guidelines.
6. Having established a frame of reference for grade level
performance expectations, one must then prepare Duty Statements
which reflect these expectations. It is recommended that a
standard set of duties be considered as a baseline for 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 in-
vestigation or development.
b. Manages technical projects in support of
office goals.
c., Participates in the development of an over-
all program of research and exploratory development.
d. Maintains liaison with appropriate elements
of the intelligence and R&D communities.
.e. Supervises project officers in the imple-
mentation 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.
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SUBJECT: Guidelines for Fitness Report Preparation
7. 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 Professional Image
Attitude Responsiveness
Creativity Versatility
Decisiveness Work 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.
8. 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 for any population of employees.
This will become the case in ORD; 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 for a specific memorandum, a copy of which is being
placed in the Office file of each ORD employee.
9. 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 extenu-
ating 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 develop-
ment. While such matters as training or selection for special
assignment are appropriate for discussion, promotion, per se,
is not.
10. In summary, the Fitness Report should be an effective
personnel management tool. The written evaluation and the
beneficial relationship developed between the employee and
his supervisor combine to inform both the employee and manage-
ment of an individual's status and potential. Preparation of
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GENERAL NOTICE NO. 76 (Cont'd.)
P053R000100180019-0
SUBJECT: Guidelines for Fitness Report Preparation
these Reports is an important supervisory duty. It is hoped
that the structured approach 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 assess-
ments and selections which arise from tine to time-.
FOIAb3b
V. Hirsch
Directoi--'of Research and Development
2 Attachments
As Stated
(See Criteria Guidelines)
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