June 20 brown bag kicks off UCOP performance review cycle
The 2011 performance appraisal season is here.
Written evaluations documenting and rating the year’s performance for all UCOP employees — covering the period July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011 — will be due Friday, September 16, 2011. But now is the time to start planning.
UCOP Local Human Resources has assembled a range of resources for managers, supervisors and employees to make the annual review process as straightforward, consistent and rewarding as possible.
HR staff will host a brown bag lunch on June 20, 12 to 1 p.m., in Franklin Lobby One Conference Room to discuss the role of those both giving and receiving performance reviews. The event will also be broadcast on Ustream TV.
“Performance reviews are an essential part of the work experience,” says John Fox, executive director of UCOP Local HR. “[They] give all of us a role in our own job satisfaction and career development as well as an opportunity to make UCOP a better place to work.”
The review, Fox says, should give each employee a clear picture of where he or she stands as well as guidance for future success in the job. Supervisors must be objective and respectful; where performance gaps do exist, the focus should be on giving advice for improvement.
Employees receiving reviews can make the most of the process by regarding it as an opportunity to clarify achievements they are proud of, areas they consider critical to their jobs and hurdles they have faced in achieving expectations as well as creating a collaborative relationship with their supervisor.
The review process is also the time for everyone to identify and discuss their goals for professional development and career growth.
Tools and resources for employees and managers
The best place to start is the UCOP Performance Appraisal website. There you will find links to evaluation forms, online courses, in-person class sessions, guidelines and policies.
Supervisors can take advantage of an online class, Leading the Annual Performance Review, as well as an online toolkit. New sessions of the four-hour class, Conducting Performance Appraisals, will be scheduled soon; look for announcements in Link and on bulletin boards for this and other upcoming classes.
HR staff also conduct learning sessions tailored to individual departments, giving managers and supervisors the benefit of consistent procedures and tools for conducting their reviews department-wide. If you would like to schedule a session for your department, contact Linda Klink at linda.klink@ucop.edu.
For employees, HR offers two online classes as well as class sessions in The Employee Role in Performance Appraisals, which will be offered throughout July and August at both the Franklin and Kaiser buildings. Check the Link calendar and bulletin boards for specific dates and locations.
The class emphasizes playing an active role in the evaluation process to ensure that it goes beyond an assessment to include a meaningful plan for professional development. It also provides tools employees can use year-round to manage the annual review process, including self-assessments, checklists and performance logs for documenting meetings, accomplishments and articulating goals and priorities.
Required elements and ratings
This year’s forms have been streamlined in response to feedback from managers and employees. Core competencies to be rated have been consolidated to make ratings more meaningful. However, departments with established procedures of their own may continue to use alternate forms for the annual reviews if they prefer.
Regardless of format, each employee’s review should cover the following elements:
- What was accomplished, including performance goals and objectives with supporting data;
- How accomplishments were achieved, including examples of projects and behaviors that demonstrate competency; and
- An overall rating for each individual’s performance using the following five-point scale:
- Exceptional (5): Performance consistently exceeds expectations.
- Above expectations (4): Performance often exceeds expectations.
- Meets expectations (3): Performance consistently fulfills expectations.
- Improvement needed (2): Performance is inconsistent, with expectations only partially achieved; deficiencies should be explicitly addressed in the performance review.
- Unsatisfactory (1): Performance fails to achieve most expectations; deficiencies should be explicitly addressed in the performance review.
If you have questions, consult the website, attend the June 20 brown bag or contact your HR Business Partner.