Employee Evaluation Reports (EERS)

1) Read (and heed) DS-5055I (Foreign Service Employee Evaluation Report, DS - 5055 Instructions), 19 State 28528  (Straight Talk: Ten Easy Ways To Strengthen Your EER), 18 State 99602 (Straight Talk 2018: General Observations from the 2018 Foreign Service Selection Boards), 19 State 12038 (HR/PE Fact Sheet:  Understanding The Foreign Service Selection Board Core Procedural Precepts), and 19 State 14578 (Inadmissible Comments in EERs).

2) List accomplishments in descending order of significance/importance.  This way, if the reader’s attention trails off, they saw the most important info up front.

3) Open with a unique and attention grabbing statement that draws the reader in.

4) If at all possible, insert the lead in to your accomplishment in the opening statement.

5) Avoid providing excess context in your EERs.  First of all, it’s not necessary to convey your accomplishment.  Second, all but the public member on the board have done your job so they understand the nuances of the programs and initiatives.   

6) Use strong verbs and avoid passive voice at all costs.  At best, passive voice  weakens your accomplishment statements and at worst, it makes it difficult to discern who is really responsible for the accomplishment.    

7) Once you have an initial draft, go back through and strike all unnecessary verbiage, even single words, if they don’t add value.

8) Always share credit and highlight collaboration, but make sure your leadership and/or influence permeates the narrative.  

9) Metrics, metrics, metrics.  Quantify your accomplishment whenever possible.  If you can’t measure it, how do you know it is succeeding?  And contrary to popular belief, everything you do can be measured. 

10) Get three non-DS types (but FS personnel) who are strong writers to review your draft.  Consider using the following if you respect them, you’ve vetted their writing, and they have been recognized by the panels for their writing:  one PD/ECON/POL officer, one IMO, and one DCM.  The first understands writing policy cables (albeit a different type of writing) to a State audience.  The second understands metrics as everything about their work is metric driven.  The third has risen to a DCM position partially as a function of their reporting/writing.  If you have been looked at and passed over three times and are still getting mid-ranked, change the people who are reviewing your draft, ask two colleagues who were most recently promoted to share their EERs with you (they’re not competing with you), and change the way you draft your statement. 

Writing well and writing EERs well are not the same thing. The latter can actually require you to change your writing style (at least for this purpose).  Everyone struggles with drafting and revising EERs. Among the most common EER deficiencies are (in no particular order):

1) Poor writing to include improper grammar, spelling mistakes, run on sentences, etc.

2)  Unnecessary verbiage that adds no value. Real estate is scarce in EERs so maximize your diction (economy of expression).

3)  Too much context leading into an accomplishment (or only context, no accomplishment);

4)  Description of work (or the work itself) is ordinary. Nothing sets the employee apart from their peers.

5)  No metrics or anything tangible to measure success by. 

6) Not sharing credit or highlighting collaboration.

7)  No linkage/the failure to link work to strategic objectives (check out DS’ Functional Bureau Strategy (FBS) and/or your Integrated Country Strategy (ICS); 

8)  No impact statements. When you draft your accomplishments, consider using the action-result-impact approach. Most people only state their action(s) and the result, but stop short of stating the impact. For example, say you assume responsibility for the local guard program overseas, audit the program, and identify excess coverage that can be (and subsequently is) reduced saving $50K/year. Sounds good right?  But what is the impact? Clue – it isn’t saving $50K/year; that’s the result. The impact is that you have freed up $50K that can now be used in more critical environments during a period of fiscal constraints (the focus of your accomplishment now shifts from post to the larger organization and demonstrates you understand the impact and context of your actions and mission). 

9)  Poor editing.

10) Statement includes one or more pitfalls identified by the previous year’s Selection Panel (indicating the employee drafting the statement does not read or ignores the panel’s guidance).