“Training funds are the first to be cut. That’s one of those oldie-but-goodie truisms,” said Carol Bonosaro, president of the Senior Executives Association.

But with federal compensation moving in the direction of pay for performance, this could change. Under a performance-based pay system, it is critical that managers receive proper training on delivering proper performance appraisals, observers say. “If you want to cascade a [performance-based] system through the government, there is no doubt that managers would need more training to deal with performance appraisals,” Bonosaro said.

A movement to improve training resources could reach critical mass in the near future. And a bill now pending in the Senate will likely be at the center of the effort.

Sponsored by Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), the Federal Workforce Performance Appraisal and Management Improvement Act (S 3492) is supported by the Office of Personnel Management and key federal-management associations, including SEA and the Federal Managers Association. It would enact an enhanced system of performance appraisals and require OPM to provide more training for managers charged with delivering these appraisals.

The legislation comes after the Bush administration proposed a revolution in government pay last year in the form of the Working for America Act. The WFAA would have replaced the General Schedule system with a pay-for-performance plan by 2010.

But the legislation died on the vine in Congress, and Voinovich’s bill, in effect, now calls for the revolution to be taken one step at a time. “Instead of taking one giant bite at the apple, I believe it may be easier for some federal agencies to implement enhanced employee appraisals first, with the possibility of other changes later,” Voinovich said.

The bill mandates evaluation training for new federal managers within a year of appointment, and then at five-year intervals. The head of each agency would be responsible for establishing the training program, using standards promulgated by OPM.

OPM is foursquare behind the bill, said OPM deputy director Dan Blair.

But Blair also emphasized that OPM has been moving ahead on the training issue for some time. In regular meetings with agency heads, OPM executives have been discussing the nuts and bolts of delivering performance appraisals, as well as disseminating guidance on coaching employees, communicating clear performance expectations and goals, providing constructive feedback and mentoring, he said.

OPM’s overall effort also includes testing performance-based management practices at “beta sites” established at various federal agencies. OPM’s own division of Human Capital Leadership, for example, is serving as a beta site; OPM employees can earn bonuses based on detailed performance appraisals.

For the Federal Managers Association, the crucial issue is whether the bill will be backed by federal dollars, said FMA national president Darryl Perkinson. “OPM will give us good guidance,” Perkinson said, “but the linchpin for this is the budget.”

In the coming months, FMA will focus on making sure that if the bill does pass, there is also a line item in the budget to fund it, he said.

Whether the Voinovich bill will become law is an open question, especially in an election year. Voinovich is actively trying to build support, according to spokeswoman Garrette Silverman. “We are working with federal employee organizations and other members [of Congress], trying to advance the bill,” she said.

Regardless of the fate of the Voinovich bill, proponents plan to continue to push for training in performance evaluation.

“If the legislation doesn’t pass, will we slack off? The answer is, absolutely not,” Blair said.