Monday Matters
Last week I shared a draft of a staff bonus policy that is intended to reward exceptional performance and high productivity. One of the key elements of this policy is that a supervisor's recommendation for a staff bonus should be accompanied by supporting data that includes the most current evaluation of the staff member. As state employees, we are required to use the state-approved evaluation form. This form is sometimes confusing, as are the evaluation procedures that we must follow, so this week I want to briefly discuss College evaluation procedures and provide some tips on using the evaluation form to clearly identify exceptional performance.
It is the responsibility of a supervisor to make sure that all staff members in the office or department are evaluated on an annual basis. This rule has not been followed by all departments in the past, so I have established a list of staff evaluation dates and will be proactive to make certain that this is done. If you are a member of the staff it is also in your best interest to ask to be evaluated annually. This establishes a performance record. Under the newly proposed bonus policy an evaluation is a requirement in order to be eligible for a bonus.
Staff Evaluation Procedures
Here is a chronological ordering of the procedures that supervisors should follow for evaluating the job performance of a staff member.
(1) At the time of hire you should review the position description with the new staff member to clarify their job responsibilities.
(2) At the one year anniversary of the date of hire you will receive two forms. One of these is used to evaluate the staff member based on the original position description. The second is to plan for the next year. Coinciding with this planning you should review the position description to determine if any changes are needed. This evaluation, planning, and position review process is then repeated every year thereafter.
(3) Once you have written up your evaluation and planning document, those should be sent to me for review. Also send to me recommendations for revision of the position description. If you wish, you can meet with me for this review. This is especially useful if you are dealing with a difficult case or if you want help creating criteria for exceptional performance. If you send me the documents and I have any questions about the employee or planning for the next year, I will contact you. Note that this step is required prior to your meeting with the staff member.
(4) Once I am satisfied with the documents, they will be returned to you. You should then have a meeting with the staff member to discuss the evaluation of the previous year and planning for the next year. If you and the employee wish to propose any changes, you can send those to me for approval. The staff member should sign both documents at this meeting.
(5) Return the completed evaluation and planning documents to Pat Price. Pat keeps a copy of these for our files and sends a copy to the Human Resources Division.
Additional Suggestions and Ideas
The most important feature of the evaluation process is that it should be an honest evaluation of strengths and weaknesses as well as a meaningful time to plan for the next year. If you discover that you are filling out evaluation paperwork simply to meet a paperwork requirement then this is probably a worthless exercise. I believe that every employee has the right to hear an honest appraisal of their performance. This is a chance for both the supervisor and the employee to address perceptions, beliefs, and expectations. This can be accomplished if a supervisor makes both the planning documents and evaluation comments as specific as possible.
The evaluation form is available at http://hr.sc.edu/forms/nonsup.pdf. One of the most common problems I see when reading these forms at the planning stage is that the supervisor has failed to provide an operational form for the success criteria. For example, suppose that the duty listed is to "Type all letters for the Executive Director of the University Division of Weather and Entertainment." I consider it redundant to list "types all letters" as a success criterion. A better list of criteria would include the appearance of letters, the amount of errors in letters, the speed with which the task is accomplished, and the correction of grammar and wording in the letter. Acceptable performance would be listed as meeting these criteria to a certain specification. Exceptional performance can then be readily documented if the actual performance exceeds the acceptable level stated for these criteria.
I believe that every planning document should include some expectations for professional development. That is, each of us should be striving to enhance our skill set and increase our performance. Even the most exceptional employees can have improvement goals. In fact, I often find that those employees I consider the most exceptional are among the first in line for professional development activities. This is no accident. An employee who simply meets the day-to-day requirements of the job will eventually become bored with these tasks. This can influence attitude and demeanor. Contrast this with the ever-evolving staff member who frequently brings in new skills and new ideas of how to use those skills to improve the office. I encourage supervisors and staff members to work together to establish clear professional development goals at least once each year.
Note that the evaluation form has several pages at the end for supplementing the standard form requirements. These pages are perfect for developing criteria that are office-specific and that may not be listed on the first pages of the form. Also, these pages can be used to provide examples of standard and exceptional performance and to set professional development goals. I encourage you to take advantage of this extra planning space.
The Human Resources Division has a page of additional tips for evaluating staff
members. This can be found at http://hr.sc.edu/relations/erempevl.html.
One fact you will find on this page is that evaluation training sessions are held
on a regular basis. I encourage new supervisors to take advantage of this training.
This would also be an excellent way for long-time supervisors to get new ideas for
evaluation as you think about ways to improve your current system. Remember, a strong
evaluation is validated by a strong evaluation system. By clearly specifying criteria,
by providing honest appraisals that distinguish between standard and outstanding
performance, and by encouraging professional development you will be assisting the
members of your staff in demonstrating their productivity and propensity to improve.
Until next week,
Mike