SENIOR RATER POTENTIAL EVALUATION
SENIOR RATER COMMENTS GUIDE
1. The Senior Rater Potential Evaluation (SRPE) documents an
employee’s leadership potential to serve in positions of increased responsibility
and grade. Comments made the by senior rater are among the most important
parts of the SRPE. Therefore, it is imperative that senior raters understand its
purpose and use language that will accurately and effectively convey the
employee’s leadership potential. The information in this paper is intended as a
guide to assist senior raters and not as an authoritative document that must be
followed by all. With experience senior raters will develop their own writing
techniques and, over time, these will develop into a common language
understood by all civilian senior raters, boards, and selecting officials.
2. The information in this paper is compiled from various sources. Much
of it is taken from a compilation of feedback from members of military promotion
boards and published on the U.S. Army Human Resources Command home
page. The Army has years of experience perfecting and documenting senior
rater comments on the Officer Evaluation Report. Since the SRPE is patterned
after the military process, use of this feedback seems a logical starting point.
3. It is recommended that senior raters address the following elements in
the comments section of the SRPE. While failure to comment on one or more of
the elements is not derogatory, it may convey the message that the employee is
weak in this element. Experience has shown that employees who consistently
receive constructive comments on all elements do better on boards.
Consequently, addressing all elements on employees receiving “above center of
mass” ratings is highly recommended.
Enumeration: Standing among other employees in the same
grade/broadband population
Promotion: Potential to serve in a position of increased responsibility
Schooling: Potential relative to selection for competitive premier schools
Key Leadership Positions/Program/Project Manger: Potential to serve in a
key leadership position
4. The following are examples of “strong” and “average” comments that
may be used to demonstrate the above elements. Note that strong comments
separate the employee from his/her peers—a desirable characteristic of
leadership. The average comments, while not detrimental in themselves, do not
