Performance Management and Appraisal Process

THE MANCHESTERCOLLEGE

Contents

  • Purpose
  • What is performance management ?
  • What do we want to achieve?
  • The Performance management process
  • The Performance Management agreement
  • Timetable of the Performance Management Process

Purpose

This guide has been produced to support a change in the performance management and appraisal process of our people to enable us to achieve our Principal priorities and continue to be a Leader in FE Colleges.

This process will establish a clear line of sight between the ManchesterCollege’s goals and our own individual objectives- in turn giving us the capability to offer a distinctive and consistent experience to our learners- putting them at the heart of everything we do.

This guide is aimed at anyone who has people reporting into them. Until you have attended a roll out workshop, you may find some of this new content difficult to follow- but there should be some useful information and tools in this guide to enable you to start using this today.

What is performance management ?

Definition

Performance management can be defined as :

“The process of improving and measuring individual performance by translating corporate values, aims and Principal priorities through departmental plans into individual objectives and personal development plans.”

“This process, is one of shared understanding about what is to be achieved and how it is going to be achieved, and an approach of interacting with people which increases the probability of achieving job related success.”

TRANSFORMING THE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PROCESS by Franklin Hartle

NO PROCESS WILL DELIVER RESULTS ON ITS OWN, the quality of the conversations aimed at improving performance are a significant feature in achieving successful performance.

The objectives of the performanceappraisal

The objectives of the performance appraisal are as follows:

  • To provide a platform for managers and their direct reports to review aspects of job performance on a regular basis so that each individual is provided with the wherewithal to perform his/her job to the best of his/her ability, and to make the best contribution possible towards the Colleges goals. The process should provide clear direction towards personal and organisational objectives, so that each individual is able to achieve his/her potential, gain maximum job satisfaction and contribute towards the College’s success.
  • To add value in identifying individual training, development and career needs. Discussions on such needs should focus upon genuinely assisting the appraisee in acquiring the relevant skills, knowledge and behaviours (competencies) for him/her to perform well in his/her current role. Opportunities for advancement or alternative work may also be on the agenda.

What do we want to achieve?

We want to create a performance culture whereby:

  • There is clear direction towards personal and organisational objectives, Individuals know how their objectives clearly fit to the overall Principal priorities and are able to achieve his/her full potential and gain maximum job satisfaction.
  • Managers and their direct reports review aspects of job performance on a regular basis so that each individual is provided with clear expectations and support to perform his/her job to the best of his/her ability.
  • Shared responsibility between managers and employees for discussing and agreeing what needs to be delivered and how.
  • To add value in identifying individual training, development and career needs. Discussions on such needs should focus upon genuinely assisting the individual in acquiring the relevant skills, knowledge and competencies for him/her to perform well in his/her current role. Opportunities for advancement or alternative work may also be on the agenda.
  • Pay increases are linked to the achievement of agreed objectives, achievement of competencies and contribution to the college’s achievement of goals and overall success.
  • Feedback plays a significant part of raising awareness with a view to learning.

The Performance Management process

The performancemanagement process is a continuous cycle, a year-round process which helps both managers and employees to understand what is expected and what must be done to achieve improved performance.

The Performance Appraisal process

Cascade of Principal priorities and Departmental aims

The Principal priorities will be cascaded to all employees each year along with their departmental plans, these form the framework for objectives to be agreed at an individual level.

Ist Meeting : Performance Appraisal planning meeting

Each year, each member of staff will take part in meetings with his/her immediate manager to discuss aspects of his/her work performance.

The objective of the 1st meeting will be to identify what needs to be achieved, by setting objectives and identifying actions and measures. This is a two way discussion to ensure both the manager and employee have a clear understanding of what is expected during the year and to ensure that these objectives contribute to the College’s values and priorities.

This initial meeting will also focus on how the objectives will be achieved, by assessing the individual’s competencies and identifying areas for development. Training, personal development, career aspirations and wellbeing will also form part of this discussion.

2nd Meeting : Mid year review

This meeting should be regarded both as a stocktaking exercise and a springboard. Continuous dialogue throughout the year between the manager and the individual of the progress towards achieving their objectives should inform the agenda of the meeting, and the outcomes of the discussion should be a review of progress on achievement of current performance objectives, competencies and personal development to date, along with any feedback collated and the determination of a mid year rating.

Additional objectives can be agreed throughout the year reflecting the

needs of the college.

3rd Meeting : Final year review

The 3rd meeting will involve a final review of all the objectives, competencies and personal development achievements. The manager will agree an overall rating for the individual.

The benefits of this process, is the improved communication and enhanced performance, both for the individuals involved and for the College. This will only be achieved by the continuous commitment of all those involved in the performance management process.

Please note, some managers may choose to complete the final review and set objectives for the next year in the same meeting, therefore reducing the number of meetings from 3 to 2.

The Performance and Development Agreement

There is only one document to be completed, this is known as the

“ Performance and Development Agreement”. This is a living document which is used to initiate conversations around performance management between the manager and employee.

The idea is that everything expected in a person’s role is captured in their performance agreement.

At the start of the performance year, the form is used to ensure agreement on the following:

Objectives

Objectives will cover all aspects of a person’s role, this will include, their day job, key performance indicators, job description requirements, developmental objectives. Objectives will be specific to the individual and will depend on the requirements of the college, the job, the grade, performance, ability, skill and potential of the individual. Objectives should be clear and concise and must be linked to the College plans and values.

The setting of objectives is the process that ensures that every employee knows what role they play and what results they need to achieve in order to maximise their contributions to the success of the ManchesterCollege.

Examples of objectives:

  • Linked to achievement in teaching observations
  • Specific tasks / Key Performance Indicators / to meet college needs / targets
  • Development of a individual in their job, knowledge, behaviour, style
  • Operational and functional objectives – linked to performance improvement
  • Delivery of service, quality , productivity,projects
  • Cost saving, people management

SMART Objectives

The Performance agreement is set out so that objectives are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound).

It is important that employees are involved in setting their own objectives and understand the link to Principal priorities and departmental plans.

Generic objectives for similar roles

Where similar roles exist, generic objectives may be set, however measurement of this may vary according to individuals- this saves reinventing the wheel and can help to get consistency in the way we manage performance.

How many objectives?

Best practice indicates 6-8 objectives over a period of one year. It may be appropriate to agree fewer objectives in the beginning and add further throughout the year.

Finally, objectives must be clearly referenced to the appropriate Value / Plan aims to ensure all objectives align to the strategic and operational aims of the college.

Core Competencies

We have developed a core competency framework designed to focus on “how we do things” and the “behaviours” that define the way in which we operate as an individual and as a college. These represent the softer skills required to achieve the Principal priorities and to embed our core Values.

This framework focuses on 8 key areas of competency :

  • Delivering change – Identifies and is responsive to improvements within the business
  • Providing Quality service – Provides excellent service to business partners and customers
  • Achieving goals- Ensures goals are met
  • Making decisions- Makes informed decisions
  • Planning-Effectively organises resources and time to deliver overall objectives
  • Improving performance-Actively seeks to improve own and others performance
  • Team working- Works effectively with others
  • Communicating openly- Ensures two-way communication in order to identify a way forward

Each core competency is broken down further into approximately 13 behaviours and three levels of competency behaviours have been identified.

Senior managementwill determine which level of competency is most appropriate for theroles in their areas and this will be communicated to all staff.

Guidelines :

All staff should be demonstrating level 1 competencies.

All staff working towards / at level 2 competencies should also be demonstrating Level 1 competencies.

All staff working towards level 3 competencies should also be demonstrating Level 1 and Level 2 competencies.

A minimum level of competency will be agreed for particular roles- however this does not limit staff from developing at a higher level of competency and should be encouraged where staff may always be demonstrating behaviours at the competency level for their role.

Competencies must be discussed at each meeting. At the first meeting, the individual and the manager will review all of the competencies appropriate for their role and document in the Comments / Progress box one of the following descriptions:

Always meets criteria (A)

Frequently meets criteria (F)

Sometimes meets criteria (S)

Rarely meets criteria (R)

Never meets criteria (N)

For guidance, the manager and individual should identify 2 or 3 behaviours per Competency which require further improvement and must link these to the individual’s objectives. This will vary according to the needs of the role. The key is to focus on those behaviours that are most important and require further development.

The manager and individual should prioritise the key areas for development and will indicate how this competency can be developed upon by linking it to how the individual goes about achieving their objectives. The number of the objective (1 to 8) linked to the development of the competency should then be recorded in the appropriate column i.e. :

Link to objective
(Number)

These behaviours should be reviewed at mid year and comments recorded in the relevant box on the Competency Review page Mid year review comments / Final review comments.

Once an individual is demonstrating the behaviours always / frequently, then further behaviours may then be selected for improvement.

Career Aspirations

Make a note of any career aspirations and any discussion and actions required as a result. Objectives and Personal Development Plans may also align to these aspirations.

Health and Wellbeing

Use this section to discuss general health, well being and work life balance needs of the individual and what actions and support may be required.

Personal development plan

This section is to be used to identify and prioritise individual development needs in line with the requirements of the college and to evaluate the benefits of such training and development. This is about identifying the skills and knowledge gaps to help the individual to be able to perform their role effectively and addressing these.

Feedback and review

It is important that individual’s know how they are performing. Feedback provides information on how well someone is doing, if anything needs fine tuning or completely redirected. Without feedback- people have no idea what is expected of them and any problems will only get worse.

Feedback increases self awareness and managers should encourage their staff to gather this to support their performance review. 360 degree feedback is encouraged. This can be as simple as asking 3 questions- What do I do well? Not so well? What could I do differently?

Performance reviews

There are several sections in the performance agreement in which to document the review of an individual’s performance.

In addition to the final year end review, the individual requires at least one interim review mid way through the year. Managers and individuals are also encouraged to provide feedback through regular informal communication and have a joint responsibility to provide feedback on progress against objectives.

Preparation for the Mid year review / final reviews

Both the manager and individual should prepare for the review as follows:

  • Individual should be given at least 2 weeks notice of the meetings and the preparation required as set out below.
  • Review individuals performance in role and against their objectives/ LTOs and their progress
  • Individual and manager to collate feedback from appropriate sources :others / peers /clients / learners/ colleagues / mgrs. Individuals may prefer to collect feedback during the year.
  • Provide examples of achievement of personal competencies
  • Determine if the objectives are still relevant, need adjusting, reflect any changes in circumstances.
  • If some objectives achieved, do further objectives need to be created.
  • What other support, action can be taken to help the individual to succeed.
  • List key achievements and any concerns the individual wants to discuss and record in the Mid year review.
  • Estimate rating for each objective, competency and for overall mid year performance.

Mid year review-Ratings for objectives

At the end of the mid year review meeting, progress, any changes, mid year ratings must be recorded and the Mid Year Summary of Performance completed. The manager and employee will have a joint view of the ratings. However, managers have the responsibility for ensuring a consistent and fair application across their areas and to ensure that the ratings given are justified by performance. This rating will be provisional until confirmed following a moderation process.

Determining what rating to give an objective

The benchmark against which a decision is made will be

“Achieved the objective” –

To determine if an objective has been achieved then you will need to consider the following as a guideline:

  1. Achieves the planned results/ outcomes on time
  2. Meets customer / learner requirements
  3. Uses resources effectively
  4. Does what says on the tin !
  5. Use management judgement

“Exceeded the objective”-

  1. Results and outcomes have exceeded expectations
  2. Where achieving the objective may have been harder than first thought
  3. Above and beyond what was expected and wider results

“On going”-

  1. Still continuing, - discuss whether on target

“Not achieved”-

  1. Where there has been a short fall or negative impact on results
  2. Where the objective measurements have not been met and where realistic
  3. One or more of the measurement criteria has not been achieved.

All ratings and a copy of the performance agreement must be sent to HR by a set date as determined by the principalship.

The HR department will also provide guidance on moderation of performance agreements to ensure ratings are fair and consistent between departments.

The final review

There should be no surprises at this meeting, Managers and employees should prepare for this review in line with the preparation listed earlier. A final rating will be agreed for the year. This meeting should also be used to give the employee an opportunity to provide the manager with any feedback on how the process has gone and if the manager could do anything differently next time.

Both the manager and individual should complete the Summary of performance sheet and sign this.

Provisional Final ratings and a copy of the performance agreement must be sent to HR by to ensure employees are rewarded appropriately. All ratings will be provisional until confirmed following a moderation process.

Proposed performance rating descriptions

Outstanding performance

  • All of the objectives where substantially exceeded
  • Performance has resulted in significant benefits for the individual, team and college.
  • Performing all requirements of their role and is a “role” model for others.
  • Individual is recognised as a key contributor to team / college performance, with a reputation for quantity and quality.
  • Role models all core competencies and college values.
  • Acts upon feedback and adapts approach.
  • Takes ownership for own work and requires little or no guidance in delivering against objectives.
  • Future objectives and development planning may concentrate on broadening the role of the individual or preparing them for a future role.

Exceeded Expectations

  • Performance often exceeds the agreed standards.
  • Achieved all objectives and exceeded some
  • Performance has resulted in considerable benefits for the individual, team and college.
  • Recognised as a key contributor to the team.
  • Performance is consistent without lapses.
  • Role models all core competencies and college values,
  • Takes ownership for own work and requires little or no guidance in delivering against objectives.
  • Future development plans may focus on developing the individual further in their current role.

Fully met expectations