Dear Faculty Relations - I just completed my employee's year-end review. Is it already the start of the new performance cycle? What should I do? How do I plan? - Planner
Dear Planner - Yes, the new cycle begins on the heels of the year-end review. This is the time to reset your employee’s goals for the new year. You can carry forward goals from previous cycles or start new ones relevant to the new planning year. Campus HR recommends creating new plans within the first 30-60 days of the new cycle.
The performance management cycle for University Staff employees runs from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. The current classified cycle ends on July 31, 2023. Consistent with those timelines, supervisors and their employees need to be participating in formal “planning” or cycle preparation sessions at the beginning of the cycles.
The planning session is a formal conversation during which supervisors and employees discuss performance related to the goals and core competencies that should be included in an employee's performance plan.
When working with your employees on their performance plans, consider the following:
- Does the plan help align employee work and campus resources to clearly defined institutional aspirations and imperatives (goals)?
- Does the plan establish clear expectations between employees and supervisors around work, professional development, and career growth opportunities?
- Does the plan reinforce organizational values by placing appropriate emphasis on competencies?
Tips for Creating a Performance Plan
When working with your employees on their performance plans, consider the following:
- Discuss and revise all goals within a performance plan to ensure the content, measurement method, tasks and targets, weights, and timeframe are still SMART. Are they still Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound? And if not, what edits should be made to make them SMART? Do timeframes need to change, or does the direct report need additional training or resources?
- Remember, performance plans are not static; they are meant to be altered and changed throughout the cycle year, depending on situational factors that change (i.e., perhaps funding changes, the employee goes on FMLA, there are changes to strategic visioning or goals, etc.).
- Does the plan help align an employee’s work and campus resources to clearly defined institutional aspirations and imperatives (goals)? If not, what edits need to be made to make it so?
- Does the plan establish clear expectations between employees and supervisors around work, professional development, and career growth opportunities? If not, what edits need to be made? Can clear deadlines, measurement factors, and behavioral expectations be added?
- Does the plan reinforce organizational values by placing appropriate emphasis on competencies? (Please note that an additional competency has been added to the performance planning form in support of Inclusive Excellence). Competencies are a great way to measure the “soft skills” imperative for a professional and successful work environment.
- Be clear and specific about the behaviors and communication styles that are expected.
Written by Kelly Leandro, Assistant Director of Employee Relations, and Natan Tuchman, IT Program Manager, Department of Human Resources