APPRAISAL POLICY STATEMENT
The Council expects that its entire staff will make a positive contribution to the achievement of its aims and objectives.
In order to support colleagues to do this,we recognise the importance of being clear about what is expected of them and of providing ongoing, regular feedback on performance, together with support and guidance on the achievement of their objectives. We do this through 121 meetings between each colleague and their line manager and through an annual, formal appraisal. For most colleagues the appraisal will be facilitatedusing an on line process known as OASYS.
The annual appraisal provides an opportunity to look back over the past year, reflecting on what has been achieved and on any areas of strength and weakness; it is also the time to set out the expectations for the next year.
All Council employees (other than relief workers) will be appraised each year between April and June. Preparations for the appraisal will begin earlier, once outline Service Plans have been completed. The appraisal is an essential part of the management of a colleague’s performance; so everyone needs to engage positively and fully in the process.
The appraisal itself must provide an honest, full picture of the colleague’s performance. Whilst the appraisal is the formal statement of the colleague’s performance and potential, a good quality dialogue throughout the year is expected and the appraisal discussion should be as open and interactive as possible toencourage and enable honest sharing of views.
The appraisal will identify an overall ‘performance rating’ for each colleague, on a scale of 1 to 5, with excellent performance being rated ‘5’ and performance below expectations being rated ‘1’ or ‘2’. It will also make an assessment of each person’s potential for future roles.
The appraisal will set out actions required to develop the colleague and/or provide support to enable them to meet their objectives. Colleagues whose performance is not meeting expectations and who are rated “1” or “2” will be required to have an improvement plan to support them in improving their performance.
GUIDANCE FOR APPRAISERS AND THOSE BEING APPRAISED
CONTENTS
Don’t understand something? – Meanings set out in the Glossary on page
Page
Section 1General Guidance3
Section 2The Appraisal4
Section 3Next Steps after the Appraisal7
Section 4Non- Standard Appraisals8
Maternity
Long term sickness
Colleagues new to role
Internal secondment
Relief workers
Section 5Overview of the Appraisal Process11
Section 6Step by Step Guide for Managers and12
Colleagues
GlossaryExplanation of terms used15
SECTION 1 –GENERALGUIDANCE
Whendoes it happen, what is the process?
The MKC appraisal takes place between 1 April and 30 Juneeach year.
An overview showing who does what at each stage is set out on page 11.
The various stages are covered in more detail below in Sections 2 to3.
Other guidance
This guidance is supplemented by “The MKC Appraisal Scheme – A Guide” and this should also be referred to.
Appraisals for colleagues needing a ‘non-standard’ appraisal
This guidance is to support all appraisals, whether undertaken using OASYS, or in written form, or whether they apply, for example, to colleagues who are in multiple roles or only recently in their role.
Variations applying to these ‘non-standard’ appraisals are set out in Section 4.
How the appraisal should work
The appraisal is important to both the Council and the colleague, in terms of the impact on them and in terms of what it says about them.
It is important that it is conducted professionally and objectively. Both the line manager and colleague must back up their views with evidence and examples and it is important that both respect the other’s views.
The appraisal must be a review of performance across the whole year; it is not simply about the most recent weeks or months or issues. Where performance has been varied it is important to get a balance across the whole year.
The appraisal should also include how the colleague has contributed to the delivery of council-wide priorities to improve performance or reduction sickness and absence levels. If a colleague is not meeting the required standards, the appraisal should reflect this - whether or not they are also already subject to some form of some other formal or informal process in relation to this
Having discussed all aspects of the colleague’s performance, it is the line manager, appraiser,who must make the decision on how the colleague is rated and assessed. Guidance is provided to support the decision; it is not prescriptive.
The appraiser will need to make a common sense decision based on the facts.
Updating during the year
The appraisal is an important part of the management of a colleague’s performance. However, it should not be the only time that a manager and colleague discuss this – there should be regular 121s between them throughout the year and a record made each time.
It is helpful for these 121s to be undertaken broadly in line with the appraisal - discussing whether objectives are being met, looking at any strengths and weaknesses and any support that may be needed for the colleague to achieve their targets. It is also important that both the manager and colleague address issues as they arise; they should not be left until the appraisal.
A template that may be useful for such discussions is at Whether or not this template is used, the record of 121 discussions can be uploaded to OASYS to provide a reminder of past discussions and inform the annual appraisal.
SECTION 2 –THE APPRAISAL
Colleague’spreparations and actions
The crucial preparation for each colleague being appraised is to review their objectives and how successful they have been in meeting them. They should consider how they could have improved on their performance (particularly where objectives were not met) and what the influences were on their ability to achieve them.
They should also consider the impact of their level of competence under each of the 6 competencies (7 where the post has managerial responsibilities) and whether they could have improved on that. This will inform their self-assessment in OASYS.
Looking ahead, each colleague should consider what objectives may be appropriate for them in the coming year. They should also review what their potential may be (using the table at page 6 of The Guide) and what support and development would be likely to assist them to achieve their objectives or personal development.
Manager’spreparations and actions
In advance of the appraisal period the manager should manage their diary in April and early May to allow up to 2 hours for each colleague’s appraisal. It should be their aim to have all appraisals completed by mid-May, with only exceptional circumstances leading to a later date.
The manager must ensure that they have evidence to back up their assessment of performance. This will include the year’s objectives and required outcomes and a record of progress during the year. This must all be thoroughly reviewed before beginning the appraisal. They must also have identified the colleague’s proposed objectives for the year.
The ‘appraisal window’ will close on 30 June. In only very exceptional circumstances a corporate director can agree to extend this period.
The meeting
The manager should arrange for a suitable room to be available for the meeting. Steps should be taken to ensure that they will not be interrupted – including by visitors and by phone or other mobile devices, which should be switched off for the duration of the meeting.
Making the judgement(s)
Performance Rating
Having considered the colleague’s performance over the whole year and had regard to their views, the manager must make the judgement on the level of performance achieved. The table on page 5 of The Guide sets out clearly what must be achieved for each level of the rating. At this stage the rating is provisional.
The judgement has two elements to it, the extent to which the colleague has achieved their objectives and the competencies they have displayed in doing so.
If the objectives have been modified during the year, the manager should consider the reason for that – was it due to the colleague or changed circumstances – and this must be reflected in the outcome.
A colleague who meets all their objectives but does not meet the required standards in relation to the competencies is not meeting the full requirements of the Council.
Potential Assessment
The second element of the judgement relates to the assessment of the colleague’s potential and ‘where they are’ (see page 6 of The Guide). This is about the potential they may be currently showing for changed responsibilities or for more senior roles (or in other cases not showing).
It is likely that their current performance will have a bearing on this judgement
There is no requirement for everyone to be seen as ‘high flyers’ nor is there any reason why this cannot change over time.
Setting objectives
The manager must set the objectives for their colleague, although they should have regard to the colleague’s views on what these should be. As far as possible these need to be outcome based and where possible measurableand/orSMART.
It is a mistake to set too many objectives or to make them too detailed – between 5 and 7 will usually be appropriate. These should not be a reiteration of parts of the job outline.
In setting the objectives a manager must consider to what extent the colleague can achieve the outcome or whether there are inevitably factors outside the colleague’s control in achieving that objective. This can then influence the precise way the objective is expressed.
An example of this would be of setting an objective to deliver an outcome which is dependent on a decision of councillors. In that case delivering a good readable report with a workable proposition for councillors to consider may be a more suitable objective than an objective which assumes that councillors will need to agree for the objective to be met.
However, for the most senior managers, achieving the right decision may well be a fairly required outcome!
Development and support
The manager must consider and discuss with the colleague what support or development would be appropriate.
This may be to help them in the achievement of their objectives (e.g. project management training where an objective is to deliver a project) or to address a weakness or to enable them to progress their career and personal development.
There are many forms of support and development but often it will be the direct support of the manager as a coach, or another as a mentor, which may be most effective. Making time for learning may be as critical as the learning itself.
Advice on support and development is available through HR Business Partners (BPs) and Assistant BPs.
Improving performance
If the manager has decided that the colleague’s performance is rated as ‘1’ or ‘2’ they will need to quickly initiate a Performance Improvement Plan for the colleague (unless one is already in place – in which case it is worth reviewing it). It should be clear from the appraisal where the colleague’s weaknesses lie and what they need to do to improve their rating.
If aPerformance Improvement Plan is already in place the manager should refer to this in the appraisal.
Before awarding a rating of ‘1’ or ‘2’ managers should consider whether it would be appropriate to discuss the matter with their own manager. Ideally this will have formed a part of their own earlier 121 discussions with that manager in the period leading up to the colleague’s appraisal.
Further guidance on Performance Improvement Plans can be found at and managers should seek advice, from the Assistant HR BP for their service on the creation and management of these.
A manager should not wait for the completion of moderation processes to initiate an improvement plan. This would delay the colleague’s opportunity to demonstrate improvement in line with the plan and potentially contribute to poor service.
SECTION 3 – NEXT STEPS AFTER THE APPRAISAL
Moderation
Once all appraisals have been completed they will be ‘moderated’ in 2 stages - as shown on page 15 of The Guide - first within Directorates and then at CLT.
It’s about consistency
The moderation process will be used to ensure that the standards within and between services are consistent. The first (directorate) stage of moderation will normally be the only one where changes are made to individual colleague’s rating or assessment.
It is sometimes the case that a particular manger may make harsher (or more lenient) judgements than those intended or those being applied elsewhere. The moderation process will look at this to make sure the judgements are as fair and consistentas can reasonably be achieved, across the whole Council.
What if the preliminary judgement is changed?
Of course, the moderation process may result in the preliminary judgement being altered - and this could mean the rating going up or down.
If this is the case, the manager will arrange a further meeting with the colleague(s) to explain the reason for the change and identify the new rating.
This process will also be applied to the Potential Assessment.
What will CLT do?
CLT will look at patterns of appraisal across the whole Council to ensure that they are consistent and fair. They will also moderate the appraisals of the most senior managers who report directly to members of the CLT team, to ensure that their outcomes are also consistent with all others.
A part of their review will be the number of colleagues whose rating is at the highest (5) or lowest (1 or 2) levels and the number of colleagues being assessed as 1,2 or 3 under the ‘Potential Assessment’.
They will use the learning from this moderation process to refine and improve the process in the following year, as well as to brief the JNC on general trends and outcomes.
Confirmation of ratings
Once the moderation process is complete the ratings and Potential Assessment will be recorded with the colleague’s employment record. Colleagues will receive an e-mail confirming their rating in August.
Colleagues whose performance is rated 3,4,or 5, and whose contract of employment provides for them to receive an increment, will receive the increment in October.
SECTION 4 – NON STANDARD APPRAISALS
How to appraise colleagues who do not follow the standard process.
Maternity
Worked more than 3 months of appraisal year / Assessment based on the part of the year not on maternity leave.Worked less than 3 months of appraisal year / Assessment based on 3 months prior to maternity leave
Absent for more than one appraisal year / Assessment made prior to maternity leave will apply
Long Term Sickness
In cases of long term sickness the below would apply in the first complete year of absence only, with no further incremental increase if absence is extended beyond the first year.
Worked more than 3 months of appraisal year / Assessment based on the part of the year not on sickness leave.Worked less than 3 months of appraisal year / Assessment based on 3 months prior to sickness leave
Colleagues new to role (NTR)
Individual has more than 6 months but less than 12 months in post as at 1st April /- Performance based on probationary period objectives.
- New objectives agreed.
- No increment due.
Individual as less than 6 months in post as at 1st April /
- Continue to use probationary Assessment Form
- After 6 months transfer probationary objectives to the full appraisal process at either the half or full year point.
Colleagues with multiple posts
Where posts are similar but with different managers / One appraisal conducted by the manager of the post with most hours (prior input from other manager required)Where posts are different and with different managers / An appraisal is required for each post.
Colleagues on Internal secondment/change of role
There are many types of secondments or situations where a colleague changes role. Below are guiding principles, although should you require further clarification please speak to your HR Business Partner.
Secondment/change of role at same level/grade
Less than 6 months – in role at the same level/grade / New manager should obtain feedback from the previous line manager for the review/rating element and then agree new objectives with the individual.More than 6 months – in role at the same level/grade / New manager should carry out the whole appraisal.
Secondment/change of role at a higher level/grade
Less than 6 months – in role at higher level/grade / New manager should obtain feedback from the previous line manager for the review/rating element and then agree new objectives with the individual.More than 6 months – in role at higher level/grade / New manager should carry out the whole appraisal.
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Relief Workers
Relief workers are not subject to the appraisal process and are not entitled to increments. However their performance needs to be monitored.
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