USEFUL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83B00823R000600260010-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 14, 2000
• Sequence Number: 10
• Content Type: MF

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MEMORANDUM FOR: Executive Director/Comptroller
SUBJECT: Useful Policies and Procedures
Too often, MAG appears to concentrate only on problem areas,
neglecting successes. The attached paper is offered as a first cut
at a compilation of what policies and procedures not only work, but
work well. The paper has already stimulated the collection of addi-
tional material for a sequel to this paper, and contributions from
outside MAG will be gratefully received.
Management Advisory Group
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MEMORANDUM FOR: Executive Director,/Comptroller
SUBJECT Policies and Procedures in Separate Components
Applicable Elsewhere
1. A by-product of discussions at recent MAG meetings has been a
growing belief that various procedures and policies are being utilized in
some parts of the Agency which might have applicability in other com?
ponents . As the subject was explored, it, indeed, became clear that there
were many instances of apparently worthwhile procedures in use which could
prove advantageous if adopted by other offices. It was agreed, however,
that these policies did not have universal applicability throughout all of the
Agency. MAG, therefore, undertook the compilation of the following listing
of those more practical procedures which might be of interest. For your
convenience, the independent contributions have been collated under the
general categories of orientation, communications, 'personnel planning and
development, evaluation, and utilization of junior officers.
2. Orientation. As described below, all new employees receive over-
all orientation regarding the Agency early in their careers, but seldom is it
followed by systematic review and reorientation efforts.
A. Aenc:r. The Office of Personnel, Staff Personnel Division,
conducts an EOD orientation to introduce new employees to the Agency .
The orientation program is designed to acquaint newcomers with the basic
benefits, privileges, and responsibilities of Agency employees. Among
the topics included in the orientation are Agency organization, trial periods,
fitness reports, leave, promotions, insurance, the EAA, and the Credit
Union. To supplement this orientation, each new employee is given a copy
of You and the Central Intel.lience Aency. In addition, the Office of Security
shows the Need to Know film, and the Office of Training offers the Intelligence
and World Affairs course early on in the employee's career.
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B. Co, ir ponent. An exception to the r eneral. rule of lack of follow--
up orientation \1w,as found In the Office of Special Projects (OSP), DDS T. OSP
has recently begun an. interview program with new employee,- six months and
one year after they EOD. These conferences between the employee and a Per-
sonnel Officer address the employee's job, his career, and the Agency. They-
appear to be an effective two way exchange of information and views and a chance
to correct erroneous impressions which may have developed. The Personnel
Officer obtains the employee's views of his job, working conditions, and how
well or poorly he believes that he is being managed. While the latter probably -
tends to focus on personalities, it is an opportunity for the personnel people
to identify possible incipient management problems. The employee is
specifically encouraged to compare his job with his prior expectations and to
discuss his career plan. A further aspect of the conferences is a discussion
of the promotion policy within OSP and the Agency. In most cases, the em-
ployee is told of the head room constraint on promotions. He is also told about
the career board/panel operation within the, Office. The final portion of the
conference centers on the Agency mission in an attempt to ensure that the
employee understands it and where his Office and he, himself, fits.
3. Communications. In looking into this vital area (the subject of an
earlier MAG memorandum), several specific examples of current practices
were noted as well as a suggestion for a new vehicle.
A. Office Management Conferences. Some offices, such as OSI,
OSR, and CRS, hold Office Management Conferences to encourage a greater
flow of information. The Conferences have most frequently been one to three
day sessions held away from Headquarters where such issues as training,
office communications, the status of clericals, fitness reports, etc. have been
discussed.. Additionally, OSR. holds an annual "State of OSR" meeting in the
Agency auditorium to apprise its employees of the past year's achievements
and the prospect for the future.
B. Promotion Policy PublJications . OCI, in an effort. to acquaint
personnel with as clear a picture as possible on promotion policies, has
issued a memorandum for all employees spelling out procedures for promotion
through GS-15. The memo contained information on what levels of promotion
must pass through the Career Service Board, the membership of the Board,
how often it meets to consider promotions at each level, 1-Low it fu nctiorns , and
who makes the final decision, It also covered procedures for those promotions
not covered by the Board and OCI standards for minimum time in each grade.
OCI put out a similar memorandum on guidelines for granting quality step
increases.
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G. The Clandestine Services Personnel Staff (CEPS) has also
lished the requirements and criteria for each grade level. These precepts are
made available to all CS officers to ensure that they know what is required to
qualify for promotion. Duo to head room and other administrative factors, the
CSPS works out the minimum time in grade needed to qualify for promotion for
each grade level, and the files of qualified officers are reviewed by the ap-
propriate panel for each category of officer.
D. Office Newsletter. The DDI currently produces an aperiodic
newsletter for its overseas representatives to keep them informed regarding
developments within the DDI. No other component is known to have such a
publication, but it is believed that in certain cases it could be very worthwhile
as a means of keeping employees informed. It could serve as a vehicle for
such subjects as promotion and QSI policies, job changes or availability, and
significant developments and accomplishments within and by the office concerned.
4. Personnel Planning and Development. Although the Personnel Develop-
ment Program has been submitted. by the Office of Personnel, the following
practices are listed to show procedures now in use within the Agency.
A. Career Development. To give its personnel some idea of the
possibilities for career development and to regularize procedures, OCI has put
out several memoranda in the past year on these subjects. One listed all the
possibilities for rotational assignments, giving the general guidelines for
selecting candidates and other details. Another furnished statistics on those
in the Office who had in a certain time frame been promoted, had a change of
assignment, had a major training opportunity, or had a foreign TDY. The memo
also set up a new committee to deal with career development directed specifically
at officers in the GS-12-15 level. The committee will attempt to schedule an
officer's assignment three years in advance and to make recommendations in
most areas of career development.
B. ~omponent Training Policies. The Office of. Logistics (OL) and
the CRS have prepared "component training policies" for their personnel. The-
OL effort is the more sophisticated but both offer promise in developing an in-
telligent and flexible tie between training and both component needs and
personnel career development.
C. Intra-Office Rotation. Intro-office or directorate rotations have
been commonplace, but often without any sense of pattern that can be proven
to advance either one's overall usefulness to the Agency or his career develop-
ment. A key element has frequently been a lack of a systematic approach to
such rotations. OSR apparently is an office which has overcome this problem.
Analysts and branch chiefs, with some exceptions,, are rotated within C)S?R on
a rat- her systematic basis. The objective is to expand their understanding of
the tc ta! Office mission as well as their own expertise.
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E . Assignment Questionnaires. Several offices within the Agency
utilize assignment questionnaires in an attempt to take into consideration the
employee's desire for his future within the framework of availability of jobs.
The CS has its Field Reassignment Questionnaire and Headquarters Reassignment
Questionnaire, the Office of Security has its Individual Career Assignment
Preference form, and OCI has its Employee Biennial Assignment Report. Un-
fortunately, many employees view the completion of these forms as a sterile
exercise which will have little if anything to do with their future assignment.
They are, however, a step in the right direction if they are properly utilized
and could well be employed in other offices.
5. Evaluation. A continuing problem-facing all parts of the Agency is
that of obtaining honest, objective evaluations of the performance of Agency
employees. This subject was addressed in some detail in MAG's memorandum on
Fitness Reports, and it is hoped that the forthcoming Office of Personnel recom-
mendations for a revised Fitness Report .system will help to alleviate previous
deficiencies. The following procedures are currently in effect in an effort to
ensure better evaluations and understanding of the evaluation system.
A. Fitness Report Explanation. When the Agency announced cer-
tain changes in the overall fitness report system in 1.969, OCI -- to give its
personnel a clearer understanding of the rating process -- put out its own memo
explaining how the OCI Career Service Board would interpret the system.. Ex-
planations were given as to precisely what assignment to each category meant.
It was made clear that a majority of the personnel would fall into the proficient
category, which was broken into three categories itself.
11. Follow~u Interviews. In order to assist operating and Career
Service officials in connection with their responsibilities for evaluating the
performance and potential of Career Provisional employees, the placement
officers in the Office of Personnel, Staff Personnel Division, review the fitness
reports of all Career Provisional employees. Additionally, they personally
discuss performance, work attitudes, and career interests with those Career
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Provisional employees who are available for interview each year and, a=
appropriate, with the supervisory and Career Service officials concerned.
Under the new Career Selection Process, Career Provisional employees are
screened at the time Fitness Reports are prepared at nine, twenty---one, and
thirty month intervals,
C. Clandestine Services Personnel Panels. The CS Personnel
Evaluation System. provides for anannua.l review by a CS panel of the files
of all personnel within a grade level. The panel, after reviewing all. officers'
files, ranks them. Area divisions and components carry out the same type of
review and rankings separately and report their findings to the CSPS. Great
care is taken. to ensure that panel members do not serve as division or com-
ponent representatives; they are working for the DDP and guard their inde-
pendence from their parent units. The panels determine those officers who
are :Fully qualified for promotion and so recommend. They also recommend
awards, QSI's, training, etc. At the other end of the spectrum, they also
determine the lowest ranking officers, particularly the bottom 5%, and send
the DDP their conclusions and recommendations. The System has been suc-
cessful in introducing a CS-wide competition based on established and accepted
criteria. It is overseen by representatives of all CS elements so as to ensure
varying points of professional views. While there are flaws in the System, it
is producing better fitness reports and greater confidence on the part of CS
personnel in the promotion and evaluation system.
6. Utilization of Junior Officers. The following examples show cases
where offices have brought Junior Officers into the management chain.
A. NPIC. Each year, NPIC circulates two memoranda to all per-
sonnel inviting young officers (from ages 25-35 and from GS 9-:1.2) to indicate
their interest in serving either as Executive Secretary of the Training
Selection Panel or as Executive Secretary of the IP Career Service Board. In
the memos, guidelines for the selection are listed, duties are explained, and
the nominating procedures are spelled out.
B. OSI. OSI has a "junior" Contract Review Board including the
Executive Officer and the Assistant Executive Officer. It advises OSI personnel
submitting contracts as to format, justification, presentation, etc. before a
contract goes into the bureaucratic mill.
C. OEL. With a substantial number of personnel involved in
worldwide field operations, OEL had a continuing problem, in that the office
directors and division chiefs did not know many of the younger staff members.
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Promotion and other career actions were obviously difficult when based on
comparisons of personnel folders '-- in many cases on personnel who had
never served a Headquarters tour. To meet this problem, the Junior Advisory
Panel was created with members drawn from the GS 11-13 range with a maximum
age of 35. The eight member panel reviews all professional staff employees
(excluding secretaries) of GS 10 or lower rank regarding promotions, reassign-
ments, and training. The panel's recommendations are forwarded to the Career
Service Panel for its monthly meetings. To date, a great majority of the recom-
mendations have been approved without modification -- a strong vote of con-
fidence in the group.
Management Advisory Group
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I thought you might be interested in this,
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not intended to be an exhaustive survey, but
rather an illustrative cross-cut.
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