Writing your own evaluation (NCOER/OER)? Is it really THAT bad?
This was a development strategy. He told me that if I ever expected to objectively rate subordinates later in my career I would first have to learn to objectively rate myself.
I keep a running NCOER and update it as I do things during my rating period. I believe that only you really know what you have accomplished over that time. I then present it to my rater. It is my raters options to write new bulletes or use what I have given them. Most of the time it becomes a colaberation. Overall, yes I have taken an active role in writing my NCOERs. It is a reflection of my carreer and if I do not take an active role it may hurt me in the long run. I have seen NCOs that do not take and active role in their NCOERs and get ones that they are not happy with.
On the award. I had to write my own MOVSM (volunteer award). I had worked hard volunteering and believed I deserved it for all my hard work. It was not important to my NCO at the time. He didnt want to write it up and basically told me if I wanted the award to write it up myself. So I sure did that, cause it was important to me.
This is my opinion on writing your own NCOER/OER. I have had
to do this several times; I would then have to go outside of my rating scheme to
peers and other PSGs that knew what type of leader I was. I had to do this because
how can you honestly see your faults that you have made and where you need to
pick your game up? This point was made by someone in a earlier comment it is
like grading your own APFT. Yes some of us have the integrity to rate ourselves
the way we feel we need to be, but again how do we see where we need to
improve?
Part of leadership is "Leader Development". What kind of example are we, as leaders, setting if you do not meet your responsability.
I have asked my soldiers to "hand-jam" an NCOER, but this is only for my reference. I am not perfect and could have missed a significant accomplishment of the soldier, that can greatly impact how the evaluation is completed.
It is my responsability to present my evaluation to my soldier, if the soldier takes it personnally or the counseling session becomes difficult, don't be a leader, that is what we do. Interpersonal Communication Skills are just as important as the evaluation, again you are teaching, mentoring and coaching your soldiers through your action in that counseling session.
I hated recieveing an NCOER that if you took my name off of it, you might not know who it referenced. NCOERs are a tool to help build better leaders and 'weed' out those that should not lead.
Section 8.1.4.1.3 of AIF 36-2406 (the regulation regarding performance reports) states that the Senior Rater "Will ensure no subordinate commander/supervisor asks or allows, an
officer to draft or prepare his or her own PRF. Note: Eligible officers may provide
input."
If you as a rater have a subordinate NCO write there own NCOER, you really should consider turning in your stripes. If you are an NCO and you don't nag your rater for your counseling, and basically force them to do there DUTY, then you are just as wrong as they are.
It is your report card, and if your not being counseling how do you know were you are going wrong, or if you are on the right glide path.
Raters and Senior Raters, if the counseling is not being done and you want to give the rated NCO a bad NCOER, all I can say is good luck. You don't have a leg to stand on. Just like when you want to frag a Soldier with AR15's and it doesn't happen do to lack of counseling. Any NCO that accepts a bad NCOER with no proof, shame on you.
End state is: Do your duty, and quit being lazy.
It should be interesting to see how long this works and if the NCOER system will follow suit.
I wrote my last 5 PCS awards, my retirement award, and a few impact awards.
As far as NCOER's, I probably did the base for about 5-6 of them, all annuals, and maybe 2-3 COR, and 1 complete the record.
Not saying it should be the norm, but many times it is becoming that way with many leaders stating they are too busy to do it over the past decade or so.
I do this monthly myself. I keep a word doc for just this purpose. I update my SPT form quarterly as well (very seldom in my career have the counselings that go with it been done - but the form has always been as up to date as I can make it). I start doing a draft OER about 3 months before the due date. 2-4 weeks before the thru date, I give it to the rater as "some starting ideas". Most times, the final OER is 75-80% my draft.
It will take a bit more finesse with the new ESS system, but I plan on following the same approach.
NOTE: I ASK for quarterly (at least) counseling and take it where and when I can get it, I just don't take it not happening as absolving me of responsibility for my career. And I can state that on the several occasions my seniors HAVE counseled me regularly, I made huge strides as a leader. I also have a draft of my SPT form before I even show up in the new position.
You should not have to write your own NCOER. It is the raters responsibility to do so. However, more often than not, they fail to do so in a timely manner, NCOs "fill in" the admin data with a "few" suggested bullets nearly completing it. Those raters are also being rated and if they cannot properly conduct the counseling and ratings for their personnel, then it should reflect. And when you do it for them, it does not allow them to go through the process and learn to do it properly. They will never learn to effectively write an eval if they are taken out of the process.
Not saying it still wont happen, it just should not be your responsibility to do it.
Get input from peers, ask your rater for a few of his, etc to put together ideas. Get with the PSG or 1SG after your rough draft. Go to sites like NCOER.com for the word smithing. The integrity check is there since your rater still has to sign it and will call BS and make you rewrite if he disagrees with something.
Lets face it, you may not want him writing it... not everyone has a talent with words and if he's lazy enough to tell you to do it, he isn't going to put the effort into a good one if you insist.
If your Rater and Senior rater sign it, its fair.
I think the 1st thought by many would be the personal bias one would have for themselves in their own assessment.
While I agree with some of your other points, I think the integrity of the NCOER would be invalid since it was not a true assessment and write up done by the rater.
And if everyone did it, their would be nothing but walk on water NCOs in the military.
Nothing is more irritating to me than to hear a rater ask someone " what have you done"? It is our duty to track things, rough copy or draft, make notes so that come eval time we have the meat and potatoes.
How many NCO's have signed a falsified document? You know the NCOER with BS quarterly counseling dates that were never performed? That alone goes to the integrity of both rater and rated and puts the reviewer in question also for failing to verify as they are supposed to do.
Perhaps my desire to do things by the book and not be a "yes man" has prevented me from moving up as fast as others but in the end I will still have my integrity and I'm good with that.
Nothing is more irritating to me than to hear a rater ask someone " what have you done"? It is our duty to track things, rough copy or draft, make notes so that come eval time we have the meat and potatoes.
How many NCO's have signed a falsified document? You know the NCOER with BS quarterly counseling dates that were never performed? That alone goes to the integrity of both rater and rated and puts the reviewer in question also for failing to verify as they are supposed to do.
Perhaps my desire to do things by the book and not be a "yes man" has prevented me from moving up as fast as others but in the end I will still have my integrity and I'm good with that.
I see you are currently stationed at Ft Bliss Tx. That was my last duty station before leaving the Army in Jan 2001. I was assigned to D Battery, 2-43, 108th BDE, HQ Plt. Worked as a 63B in the motorpool.
You know, in my personal experience as an enlisted leader, Army and Air Force, enlisted evaluation reports are a pain to complete no matter how well in advance you have started or how well you may feel you have written them. Whether the evaluation is yours or your subordinates there are people within your chain that are involved in reviewing them that will feel compelled to make some kind of recommendation before the evaluation is finally put to bed.
I don't recall if the Army was this way so please correct me if I wrong, however, in the Air Force it was against regulations to write your own EPR. It was however, a "rule of thumb" that you do and for the very reasons you stated. Busy, busy, busy. So, who better to efficiently write about all the outstanding things you have done for God and country.
In the Air FOrce, you could "contribute" and shoot your list of "at a boys"/bullets but the odds of everyone in your chain having the same writing style as you are slim to none and would for the most part ensue a back and forth match between raters until everyone but the supervisor it seemed we re happy with the outcome. :) Of course, I am speaking about my experience. Some other folks may have had the fortunate experience to only have to resubmit once due to some grammar error if that. Thoughts?
I refuse to write my own awards. I don't feel right about it. I've been told to several times, but never have. Might explain why I don't have bookoos of awards.... But the ones I have mean a lot because the person who submitted them felt I was deserving.