Eastern Kentucky University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and educational institution and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, national origin or Vietnam era or other veteran status, in the admission to, or participation in, any educational program or activity which it conducts, or in any employment policy or practice. Any complaint arising by reason of alleged discrimination should be directed to the Office of Equity and Inclusion, Eastern Kentucky University,
Rice Building, 224 Summit Street, Richmond, Kentucky 40475-3102, (859) 622-8020 (V/TDD), or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Philadelphia, PA.
Table of Contents
Introduction...... 2
Performance Management Annual Cycle...... 3
What is Performance Management?...... 3
Role of the Supervisor...... 4
Supervisor Responsibilities...... 4
Part 1: Goal Setting...... 6
Guidelines for Setting SMART Goals...... 6
Writing Effective Goals...... 6
Example Goals...... 7
How to Start Setting Goals...... 8
Big Picture Goals...... 8
Training Gap Goals...... 9
Opportunity Gap Goals...... 9
Part 2: Observation of Performance...... 11
What are the Roles of the Supervisor and Employees?...... 11
Performance Planning...... 11
Monitoring Feedback, Documentation, and Ongoing Dialog...... 12
Best Practices for Providing Effective Performance Management...... 13
Part 3: Annual Performance Review...... 14
Competencies...... 14
Performance Goals and Competencies Rating Scales...... 15
The Evaluation Conversation...... 15
Evaluating Performance and Competencies...... 16
Encouraging Employee Self-Evaluation...... 16
Avoiding Common Rating Errors...... 17
Evaluations for Transferring Employees...... 19
Evaluations for Employees on Leave...... 19
Employee Refusal to Sign and/or Acknowledge Evaluation...... 19
Part 4: Prepare for Next Year...... 20
Introduction
Frequently when performance management is mentioned, people think of the employee performance appraisal or review. Performance management, however, involves so much more. Properly constructed appraisals should represent a summary of an ongoing, year-round dialogue. Focusing on only an annual appraisal form can lead to misunderstanding and under-appreciation of the benefits of performance management.
Regular communication between supervisors and their employees is an integral part of the employee development process. It is crucial to inform employees on not only how they are performing their jobs, but also provide them with direction for meeting and surpassing the expectations of their jobs.
An effective performance management process enables supervisors to evaluate and measure individual performance and optimize productivity by:
- Aligning individual employee’s day-to-day actions with strategic business objectives
- Providing visibility and clarifying accountability related to performance expectations
- Documenting individual performance to support career planning decisions
- Establishing focus for skill development and learning activity choices
- Creating documentation for legal purposes, to support decisions, and reduce disputes
Many of the practices that support performance also positively impact job satisfaction, employee retention, and loyalty. Recommended practices include:
- Delivering regular, relevant job feedback to your employees
- Setting and communicating clear performance expectations
- Identifying organizational career paths for employees
- Evaluating performance in a fair and consistent manner
- Providing appropriate and consistent learning and development opportunities
Employees want to feel successful, to do well at their job, and feel that they are making a valuable contribution to their organization. In order to ensure that this happens, employees need a clear understanding of their individual goals and how those fit into the larger organization. This technology-based solution offered at Eastern Kentucky University can provide goal visibility across the entire organization, offer extensive reporting options, and can have a considerable impact on the reduction of paperwork.
Management “buy-in” is equally important to the performance management process. Lack of understanding of the importance and value of this process can lead to consistently late or incomplete appraisals, mistrust, avoidance of performance discussions, and a lack of honest performance-related discussions. Supervisors need to be prepared to deliver quality feedback and facilitate effective performance discussions.
Human Resources has developed this Supervisor’s Guide to Performance Management to assist you in delivering effective performance management to employees. When employee performance is managed correctly, the benefits can have a huge impact on departmental productivity and the University’s overall success. The Human Resources department looks forward to working with everyone throughout this process.
Thank you,
Human Resources Team
Performance Management Annual Cycle
What Is Performance Management?
Performance Management is a collaborative, on-going process between a supervisor and an employee to plan for, develop, and evaluate an employee’s work. It aligns individual, departmental, and University goals with the daily functions of University employees and how those functions are accomplished.
Performance Management assists with recruiting, developing, and retaining an exceptional workforce. It facilitates on-going conversations between employees and their supervisors that benefit both parties. Performance management drives consistency and openness across the University in how we define and evaluate work. Effective communication between employees and supervisors is the key to successful performance management.
All benefit eligible staff will participate in the performance management process.
The Role of the Supervisor
The role of the supervisor in this process is multi-faceted and critical. As a supervisor and potential mentor, you should serve as a knowledgeable resource to those employees that report to you. You should be open and approachable when they have questions and take the time to address their questions. Most often, they will be seeking guidance from the person that they feel has the most influence on their reputation as a good-employee, their job security, or their promotional potential. They likely view you as the person that has the mostauthority to determine what role they themselves will serve within University. When they come to you seeking guidance or direction, your response will send a strong message. Regularly finding time throughout the year to meet individually with direct reports to discuss their progress and/or any current concerns they have will show them that you are invested in their success at EKU and value their contributions as an employee.
Your attitude and approach to this process will most likely set the tone and dictate the kind of attitude that they will have towards the process. Taking the time to devote your attention to setting expectations for employees can be challenging, but is a necessary and rewarding function of being in a supervisory position. Employees should know what you expect of them and should be able to reiterate the standards that are set within your area. You might provide them with some examples of goals that help capture the vision that you have for your area, or you might reflect on ideas and identify things that are more long-term goals that you would like them to make progress towards in the short-term. It is the role of the supervisor to provide and promote the vision for your area and the direction that you would like your department to work towards. When employees know what is expected of them and how those expectations will help the department achieve its objectives, their performance is reflective of the shared understanding and strong leadership that they experience on the job.
Supervisor Responsibilities
Before you can accurately evaluate someone on the job that they are doing, you should know what the job entails. If you don’t already have a strong understanding of their position, you should first get familiar with their job. You might review their job description or have a conversation about how their job has changed or evolved over time. You could also observe them performing their job duties and ask questions to develop a better understanding of their responsibilities.
It is the responsibility of the supervisor to set the expectations for performance. Oftentimes, people assume that everyone is on the same page, or overlook differences in personality and work-style that can have an impact on job performance. Within your area, there should be some general work expectations that are shared among all your employees, as well as job-specific expectations for the variety of titles that you might supervise.
When you are talking with your employees, it is important to give HONEST, and ACTIONABLE feedback. While each supervisor’s approach might vary, being direct and factual about performance should be consistent. If you have an employee whose performance is consistently lower than par, it is your responsibility to address that. Consider whether or not you have set forth a standard or expectation of which your employees are knowledgeable, and if not, do so. If you HAVE been clear about performance expectations, you should be honest with the employee if they are not meeting them. Identifying specific ways employees can enhance their performance, or even developing a training plan to address certain particular job duties on which they can improve will add value to your conversation and give them a tangible starting point in developing their skills.
Supervisors are responsible for communicating one-on-one with those employees that report to them; they should not always communicate through notes, emails, or other employees. Additionally, conversations about performance should happen on a continual basis, not just once a year at the end of the review period. Providing feedback and following up on the things that were addressed in the previous meetings is a helpful way to ensure that you and the employee are still committed to the goals that were set previously and that progress is being made. Having face-to-face conversations and initiating an open dialogue with your employees throughout this process is more than a responsibility; it is a requirement. This process is purposefully structured to be an interactive and interpersonal process that allows supervisors and their employees to discuss the issues and challenges that the work generates and the achievements and accomplishments that can be realized. The convenience of an electronic system should not substitute for appropriate management.
The role of the supervisor is to offer clear goals that reflect the direction that the Department Management and University Administration have established as our strategic plan. You are also responsible for providing guidance and support to employees in developing and documenting their individual goals. Human Resources will provide support throughout the process, but it is ultimately the supervisor’s responsibility to make sure that their employees are participating in the goal-setting process, actively working towards their goals, and successfully meeting the deadlines.
Part 1: Goal Setting
Guidelines for Setting SMART Goals
The purpose of setting goals is to give employees targets on which to focus.Setting mutually agreeable performance goals with employees allows you and the employee to share hopes and ideas for the future. Setting goals annually will lead to higher levels of performance and more motivated employees.
Your employees will most likely ask you how many goals they need to write. The number of goals is not nearly as important as their quality. Three or four well thought out, specific goals will help set expectations for employees and help them reach their full potential. If there are groups of employees you supervise in the same job group, doing the same functions, they can have similar and/or shared goals that are agreed upon by employee(s) and supervisors.
Goals are meant to stretch oneself as an employee. A goal is not simply to show up to work on time. This is an expectation of everyone in their job. Strong goals have specific attributes that will be discussed further.
Writing Effective Goals
S – Specific
M – Measurable
A – Attainable
R – Realistic
T – Time-Oriented
Specific – write a concise statement of the goal that explains what needs to be accomplished and when
Measureable – include in the specific goal statement the measurements to be used to determine that the results or outcomes have been achieved; measurements are not necessarily numeric in nature.
Attainable – the expected results or outcomes must be within the authority, skill, and knowledge level of the employee, and the resources needed to achieve the goal must be available to the employee.
Realistic – a goal must represent an objective toward which the employee is both willing and able to work.
Time-Oriented – deadlines for achieving expected results and outcomes should be set, not left open ended.
In other words, the goals you and your employee write should answer these questions:
- WHAT specifically do you want to improve or accomplish?
- By HOW MANY, HOW MUCH, or TO WHAT EXTENT?
- By WHEN?
Example Goals
- Needs Clarification and Editing:
Title: Clean up my work area
Goal: Finish projects on my desk, so that I can file papers away and not look so cluttered.
Better:
Title: Enhance personal organization, professional image, and strategic impact.
Goal:
- Earn certification in my field of study by May 30, 2017.
- Clean desk & work area by finishing projects on my desk by September 30, 2016, so I can file papers away and not look so cluttered.
- Polish professional image and communications through coaching & practicing on written communications.
- Seek opportunities for public presentations and practice with high-level audiences (ongoing).
- Needs Clarification & Editing:
Title: Customer Service
Goal:Greet people as they come into the office and be friendlier.
Better:
Title:Improve Customer Service
Goal:Achieve and maintain an average student service rating of at least 4.0 (out of a possible 5.0) on our annual survey by June 30, 2015.
- Needs Clarification & Editing:
Title: Office Supplies
Goal:Order office supplies on time.
Better:
Title:Improve Inventory Order Process and Costs
Goal:
- Check supply inventory bi-weekly and re-order as needed to avoid shortages starting February 2015.
- Develop inventory spreadsheet to track orders and costs to reduce waste by 2% by June 30, 2015.
How to Start Setting Goals
Big Picture Goals
- Create the “big picture” of what needs to be accomplished; goals are about identifying ways you can make a contribution to the initiatives of the department. A few topics to explore initially include:
- Current departmental challenges that need to be resolved or addressed
- Current job challenges that cause frustrations among employees
- Departmental initiatives in which you are involved
- University initiatives in which your department is involved
- Then, break these down into smaller targets that will help you in meeting the “big picture” goal.
- Finally, test them against the SMART principle to determine their feasibility
Examples
Departmental Challenge:Our department received a large number of customer complaints about problems using an online system.
Goal: Create systems tutorial manual to assist customers in maneuvering through the system.
Goal: Develop a list of frequently asked questions to make available to the customers.
Goal: Facilitate a customer survey to obtain their views on the system.
Job Challenge: I’m in charge of the file room and the files are used by many different areas. The files are not organized in a logical way, and over time, the files become torn or unorganized. Currently, employees take files without notifying me and I have no way of knowing their location when others inquire. This is very frustrating for me and causes me a great deal of stress.
Goal: Facilitate a project to update file quality and come up with a consistent way of sorting files that will be both logical and more efficient for the areas that use them.
Goal: Develop a checkout procedure for employees removing files.
Job Challenge: I’m a Custodian and many of the employees in my area place food and beverages in the trash cans, causing offensive odors and stains that add a great deal of work to my day. This is time that I could be using to work on other areas of the building.
Goal: Develop a solution for the growing problem of food and beverages in waste containers in the offices in my building.
Departmental Initiative: My department has been charged with finding an automated solution to a manual application process.
Goal: Investigate potential products/vendors that offer solutions to our manual application process and make recommendations for a group of 3-5 possible options.
Goal: Survey peer institutions to determine what automated processes they are using for their application process and be prepared to present findings to supervisor.
Final Steps
Once you have broken down the “big picture” into small parts, you can apply the SMART principles.
Training Gap Goals
Gaps are usually in terms of areas of knowledge, skills or abilities. Training plans can be designed with clear-cut training goals to give direction to the employee. With training goals, it is critical that the employee have strong ownership and commitment to achieving the goal.
Examples
Departmental Challenge: In our department, we are tracking our statistical data on paper and it would be a great deal more productive if we could track using Microsoft Excel.
Goal: Register and complete beginning and intermediate Excel training by May 2015.
Departmental Challenge:
Departmental Challenge:
Opportunity Gap Goals
These gaps are identified during career planning. Employees perceive certain areas of knowledge and skills that they would like to accomplish in order to qualify for certain future roles and positions. Employees often appreciate having clear-cut goals that mark what they need to do to advance in their careers.