Pay
For Performance
John
Miller, AHEDD
Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
The
Benefits Planning Assistance & Outreach (BPAO) Programs
are powerful new resources in our communities. Sponsored through
cooperative agreements with the Social Security Administration,
the BPAOs have been designed to provide high-quality individualized
benefits counseling to individuals receiving SSA benefits and are
either working or considering employment in the near future.
The growing roles of working aged adults and youth receiving and
maintaining SSA benefits in lieu of gainful employment is staggering,
given the array of resources directed at facilitating employment.
As such it is essential that the funds directed towards the BPAO
initiative be used to their maximum effectiveness. One such demonstration
of this intent is through a “pay for performance” strategy
within the BPAO program.
Pay
for Performance Strategy
AHEDD
is a private, non-profit organization with a mission to serve the
community as a catalyst in supporting persons with disabilities
in a variety of way to include employment. The agency has actively
pursued designing and delivering employment services under outcome
measurements, and has a history of pay for performance compensation
for it’s workforce and partnering organizations.
-
Currently, 15% of the compensation for the employment services
staff is strictly based on achieving measurable outcomes such
as placement and retention of consumers.
When
approved as a BPAO provider, AHEDD instituted a similar strategy
with the Benefits Specialists who serve SSA beneficiaries under
the BPAO program.
-
Each year, the project identifies a minimum number of beneficiaries
targeted to receive benefits counseling.
- The
completion of a written beneficiary narrative report submitted
to the Project Director and the beneficiary serves as verification
of services rendered to a beneficiary.
- These
standards are factored into the pay schedule of the Benefits Specialists
and are provided through a quarterly commission as a supplement
to their base salary.
This
program has been implemented as a team award, to ensure that the
program staff members share equally in the commission funds. While
annual performance reviews reflect individual performance, the team
commission heightens each individual’s sense of responsibility
to the overall program goals and objectives. This compensation program
continues to be monitored and can be readily modified to reflect
priorities such as services to youth and quality of data entry.
When faced with staff turnover, this strategy serves as a useful
yard stick for new staff to focus on measurable goals during the
learning curve.
Using
the strategies described here AHEDD has exceeded its performance
goals each year. Further, pay for performance has been a relatively
simple operational plan which has contributed to providing SSA with
a quality product for customers receiving services while maintaining
high levels of productivity.
For
More Information, Contact
John Miller, AHEDD
(717) 763-0968 ext. 118 |
