PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND DEVELOPMENT PLAN INTRODUCTION
1. The purpose of performance evaluations.
Providing regular feedback and input to the employee regarding performance means that expectations are clear and there are no surprises and no ambiguity.
For performance evaluations to be constructive and effective, it is important that both supervisors and staff understand the various purposes for conducting evaluations. Some of these purposes are:
- To provide information concerning the employee's quality of work.
- To promote open and continued communication between the employee and the supervisor on related job performance issues and professional growth.
- To provide feedback to the employee on how s/he is perceived by colleagues and clients, and, if applicable, subordinates.
- To assist the employee in accomplishing present and future job performance requirements and skills development goals.
- To serve as documentation that can help differentiate between performance that deserves merit compensation and performance that does not.
The performance evaluation system is responsive to the employee's right to know where he or she stands with respect to ideal job performance and the employer's need to achieve necessary organizational goals and objectives. Ideally, supervisor and staff engage in ongoing dialogue on these issues. The performance appraisal document or feedback session should not contain any major surprises about performance weaknesses or failure to achieve stated goals. Rather, the annual performance evaluation represents a formal statement. The feedback session serves as an opportunity to discuss career planning.
The evaluation should be directly tied to not only the current job description, but it should also include other duties and responsibilities as they have been developed or assigned to the employee over time, along with any established personal, management group, and organizational goals and objectives. The employee and supervisor should discuss performance and set goals. The form must be signed by employee, supervisor, and unit director.
For a University-wide Performance Management Resource Guide, please visit http://www.indiana.edu/%7Euhrs/training/performance_management/intro.htm
As UITS continues to develop cross-campus and cross-unit project teams, stress service orientation (with both internal and external customers) and emphasize staff development as a most important criterion for evaluating management staff, we have developed tools to expand the evaluation beyond the direct line supervisor/staff member evaluation. Supervisors should assist staff in identifying names of both internal (e.g., co-workers, project team leaders/ colleagues, etc.) and external customers to whom feedback submission requests might be sent.
Employees will be directed to a web site ( http://webdb.iu.edu/uitsfs/scripts/uitshrfeedback/feedbackList_Menu.asp) that allows them to submit the contact information for ten colleagues or clients. Upon submission, these will route to the supervisor displayed at the top of the screen. Employees will receive email notification of manager's approval or disapproval including modification instructions.
The application is programmed to select six of these names to send an email soliciting feedback on employee's initiative and service orientation. Not only will employees receive feedback from these internal/external contacts, they will be invited to anonymously evaluate their current supervisor in the areas of staff development, service orientation, leadership, and resource utilization.
Ultimately, staff and supervisors will be able to view their feedback online and print a hard copy for their own records. This feedback will indicate how the employee or supervisor is perceived in the eyes of these important constituencies providing a resource for possible future professional development endeavors.
A skillfully conducted performance evaluation will allow for a partnership between employee and supervisor. Ideally, it will provide the employee and the supervisor with several desired outcomes, including:
- Setting of mutual goals and objectives that address personal and organizational needs.
- Improve open lines of communication between the employee and the supervisor.
- Improving understanding between the employee and the supervisor about expectations regarding job performance requirements and professional growth.
- Improving job performance, job satisfaction, and professional development.
- Assisting supervisory decision making with respect to personnel transitions (promotions, transfers, compensation, dismissal, etc.).
2. Schedule for conducting UITS staff performance reviews.
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Monday, January 12:
- Staff receive message about performance evaluation process. Staff members are encouraged to complete their portion of the evaluation and submit it to their supervisor.
- Staff receive message about feedback process. Prior year feedback participants are invited to visit feedback site to view and print prior year scores and contact name list. New participants are introduced to the process.
- Staff members begin submitting and supervisor begin approving feedback contacts at http://webdb.iu.edu/uitsfs/scripts/uitshrfeedback/feedbackList_Menu.asp.
- Feedback contact entry instructions are available here: Feedbackinstructions.doc
January 21, 2009: Performance review/Feedback process Info share WCC 110 and IT 303 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm
Please contact Toni Usrey or Panos Niarchos if you have questions or would like more information about the feedback process.
UITS HR staff will gladly attend individual team meetings to discuss performance evaluations upon request.
Friday, February 6:
Online feedback contact submission/approval deadline.
Tuesday, February 10:
Feedback solicitation emails sent out to system-selected
internal/external contacts and to staff inviting them to submit
feedback for their current supervisor(s).
February 2009 and beyond:
Supervisors complete forms initiated by their staff and schedule meetings
with them to discuss appraisals and formulate objectives.
Tuesday, March 31st:
Feedback ratings (employee and manager) collection deadline.
Scores viewable online. A message will be sent to staff with score viewing instructions. The employee/manager may print a paper hard copy of the report from the web site.
Friday, April 24, 2009 (anticipated):
All performance reviews and objectives due in UITS Human
Resources.IUPUI staff reviews go to Panos Niarchos. IUB staff reviews go
to either Lynda Johnson or Toni Usrey.
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Employee appeal process.
If, as a result of the performance evaluation process, consensus between employee and supervisor is not reached, opinions of both the staff member and the supervisor should be recorded on the form and forwarded to the next higher level of management for resolution. The final resolution will be determined by the applicable Director or AVP.
3. Suggestions for the performance evaluation process.
Step 1. Starting the meeting.
Objectives
- Relieve tension and anxiety.
- Get cooperation and participation.
- Set task-oriented climate.
Skills & techniques
- Be cordial and open.
- Spell out purpose : To appraise performance and set stage for objective setting.
- Establish benefits gained from the performance evaluation.
- Outline ground rules (this 5-step format).
Step 2. Getting the employee's view.
Objective
- Get the staff members' candid appraisals of their own performance, along with their reasons for having accomplished (or not accomplished) their objectives.
Skills & techniques
- Address one objective at a time.
- Focus first on achievement of the objective.
- Then focus on causes for both achieved and non-achieved objectives. Determine the effects of what the staff member did, what you did, and the impact of contingencies, on the achievement on the objective.
- Throughout the meeting, probe, listen, and summarize.
Step 3. Explaining your views.
Objective
- Give your reactions to staff member's appraisal, and then give your own appraisal.
Skills & techniques
- First, tell employee where you agree with his or her appraisal.
- Second, explain where you disagree.
- Finally, if necessary, present additional data about your appraisal.
- Ask for employee's reaction.
Step 4. Resolving disagreements.
Objective
- Mutually discuss and reach acceptable consensus on disagreements.
Skills & techniques
- First, use reflective statements to vent any interfering emotions.
- If there are several disagreements, identify and work on only one at a time.
- Clearly state the disagreement and the positions of both parties.
- Discuss both positions, starting with the employee's. Probe, listen, summarize.
- Reach final conclusions.
- Repeat the conclusions, to insure that both parties agree.
Step 5. Working out the final resolution.
Objectives
- Mutually work out and agree to the final performance evaluation.
- Write out the agreements.
- Obtain employee's commitment to the evaluation, and to areas for setting objectives for the following year.
Skills & techniques
- Work with staff member to come up with recommendations for the final appraisal and for next year's objectives. Summarize those recommendations.
- Add own views, as needed.
