Pay Pool – Process Overview

What Is Pay Pool?

USA Performance supports configurable Pay Pool functionality for eligible Senior Executive Service (SES) and Senior Professional (SP) performance plans. 

Agencies can enable Pay Pool processing, configure review workflows, assign employees to Pay Pools, and provide panelists with tools to perform consistent, calibrated reviews across their pool.
 

Who Does Pay Pool Apply To?

Pay Pool is available for employees on SES and SP performance plans. Agencies can enable it independently for each population — enabling it for SES does not automatically enable it for SP, and vice versa. Administrators configure, enable, and manage the Pay Pool process for their organizations. 
 

The Five-Step Pay Pool Process

Pay Pool follows a defined sequence of steps. Each step must be completed before the next becomes available.

Step 1 — Configure

Role: Administrator

Before Pay Pool can begin, an Administrator sets up the process for the organization:

• Enables Pay Pool for SES and/or SP plans
• Configures the Higher-Level Review (HLR) sequencing — whether HLR occurs before Pay Pool, after Pay Pool, or is allowed on either side
• Creates and designates PRB Groups for Pay Pool use
• Optionally links two associated plans for a single employee to provide additional context during review

Configuration automatically inherits to subordinate organizations. Once set at a parent org, child orgs do not require separate configuration.

Step 2 — Assign

Role: Administrator

The Administrator assigns in-scope SES and SP employees to their correct Pay Pool. This can be done:

• Individually — via a user's Performance Plans tab in Manage Users
• In bulk — via Admin > Assign Pay Pools

Pay Pool assignments are independent from PRB assignments and display separately in the system.

Step 3 — Rate and Review

Roles: Rating Official · Reviewing Official · Higher-Level Reviewer (if configured)

The standard rating and review process takes place as it does in non-Pay Pool cycles:

• The Rating Official scores each critical element and signs the plan. These initial ratings automatically become the default starting point in the Pay Pool workspace.
• The Reviewing Official reviews the suggested ratings and signs. For SES, the Reviewing Official can only sign — they cannot provide ratings. For SP, the Reviewing Official can provide a narrative and a recommended summary level rating.
• The Higher-Level Reviewer (HLR), if configured, completes their review at the point in the workflow designated by the Administrator (before Pay Pool, after Pay Pool, or both). For SES, the HLR can only provide comments. For SP, the HLR can provide a recommended summary level rating, which is shown in a separate column to the PRB.

Note: If HLR is configured to occur after Pay Pool, Pay Pool consensus ratings will be visible to the HLR as context during their review.

Step 4 — Pay Pool Panel Review

Roles: Pay Pool Panelist · Pay Pool Chair

This is the core of the Pay Pool process. Reviews happen at the critical element level, not the summary level.

Pay Pool Panelists:

• Access a filtered workspace showing only the plans assigned to their Pay Pool
• Review each critical element and submit a suggested rating for each
• Can view linked plans (if configured) for additional context

Pay Pool Chair:

• Reviews all panelist inputs for each critical element
• Sets a consensus rating for each critical element
• The summary rating recalculates automatically based on the consensus values
• The Chair's consensus ratings become the default "Final" ratings carried forward to the PRB

A full audit history of all consensus decisions is maintained and available in PowerBI reporting.

Step 5 — PRB and Final Approval

Roles: PRB Member · PRB Chair · Appointing Authority (SES) / Approving Official (SP)

PRB Members:

• Review Pay Pool consensus ratings as reference context
• For SES, see the Rating Official's ratings and the Pay Pool Chair's summary recommendation
• For SP, see individual critical element ratings and can adjust the "Final" CE ratings (note: changes override the Pay Pool Chair defaults)
• Can add notes and share them with the full PRB group

PRB Chair:

• Reviews all element-level ratings and PRB Member comments
• The "Final" CE rating section defaults to the Pay Pool Chair's consensus ratings
• Has authority to amend the "Final" rating at the element level, overwriting Pay Pool Chair scores
• Signs and advances the plan to the Appointing Authority / Approving Official

Appointing Authority (SES) / Approving Official (SP):

• Reviews the complete final package, including the full Pay Pool and PRB rating history
• "Final" Critical Elements default to the PRB Chair's recommended ratings
• Can make final adjustments before signing and approving the rating of record

How Ratings Flow Through the Process

The table below shows how ratings default and carry forward at each stage.

SES vs. SP: Key Differences

Some behaviors differ between SES and SP plans throughout the Pay Pool process.

Reporting and Audit History

• Administrators have access to PowerBI reports with full historical rating review across all stages
• The Pay Pool Chair's consensus history is fully captured in PowerBI
• The PRB Chair's final recommendations are included in reporting
• The Appointing Authority / Approving Official does not have direct reporting access — the Administrator runs the full rating history report on their behalf 

Role-by-Role Articles

For step-by-step instructions specific to your role, see the articles below:

• Pay Pool – Administrator Role 
• Pay Pool – Pay Pool Panelist (SES) and Pay Pool Panelist (SP)
• Pay Pool – Pay Pool Chair (SES) and Pay Pool – Pay Pool Chair Overview (SP)
• Pay Pool – PRB Member (SES) and Pay Pool – PRB Member (SP)
• Pay Pool – PRB Chair (SES) and Pay Pool – PRB Chair (SP)
• Pay Pool – Appointing Authority (SES) and Pay Pool – Approving Official (SP)

 See this document for more about the Pay Pool Rating Process Workflow.