While writing self-assessments are a major part of your role as an employee under the NSPS, it is important to remember you must address the contributing factor as well. When you and your supervisor choose a contributing factor for each objective, you want to pick the contributing factor that is most useful in carrying out the objective. We recommend picking one contributing factor; as the more you pick, the more you will have to address in your self-assessment.
While you are rated on your objectives, you are also rated on use of the contributing factor. Thus, there needs to be a section in your self-assessment that describes how you used the contributing factor in carrying out the objective. A key is looking at the language for the accepted and enhanced levels of the contributing factor, then make decisions as to how you will carry out the Contributing Factor. Then…carry it out throughout the year. Finally, when you get to assessment time, you simply express what you did and how you used the Contributing Factor.
If you’ve attended our workshops, you know the process we created—using the A.I.R. model—helps you to articulate how you used the contributing factor. However, regardless of the process that you use, the bottom line is spend the time to articulate how you carried out the contributing factor.