This handbook describes the processes that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) requires all Federal Agencies to follow in resolving employee problems. The processes are not difficult to understand. If you, as a supervisor, treat your employees fairly (i.e., the way you, yourself, would like to be treated if you were in a similar situation), and if you exercise good judgment in dealing with employee problems, you already have an understanding of the basic concepts and processes for correcting employee problems.

The best way to describe "fair treatment" is to give you a few examples of situations in which you can see yourself as the employee:

As a supervisor, you apply "good judgment" by ensuring that all performance and conduct expectations and deficiencies, and subsequent counseling are sufficiently documented (e.g., when you speak to an employee about a problem, you cannot be effective if you operate on the basis that you have a "vague feeling" his/her work is slipping). Good judgment is also applied by knowing when to call the experts in the Personnel Office to obtain advice and assistance in handling an employee problem.

In this handbook, you will see that the processes OPM requires agencies to apply in dealing with an employee's job deficiencies simply provide a specific structure for providing fair treatment and for exercising good judgment.

Thanks to Region 1 for allowing NCTC to adopt their
Employee Relations Handbook for NCTC students.