PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT GUIDE
Additional Resources
The information below is divided into categories with additional links to suggested reading for each area.
Effective Interactions:
Address personal needs with Key Principles:
- Maintain or enhance self-esteem
- Listen and respond with empathy
- Ask for help and encourage involvement
- Share thoughts, feelings and rationale
- Provide support without removing responsibility
Meet practical needs and structure discussion with Interaction Guidelines:
- Open with purpose and importance of reviewing progress
- Clarify progress to date
- Develop ideas for achieving or maintaining) desired results
- Agree on performance level
- Close by summarizing and confirming confidence
Use the process skills of checking for understanding and making procedural suggestions.
Balance seeking - encouraging employees to think through situations themselves and to formulate their own ideas - and telling - sharing your experience, insights, and ideas - properly for the type of discussion.
Use your DDI Discussion Planner to help you structure the conversation and incorporate the elements above.
*Copyright DDI
Effective Feedback:
- ST (Situation or Task): the problem, business opportunity or challenge or task
- A (Action): what was said or done to handle the situation or task? For feedback for improvement, what did the employee say or do that was less effective?
- R (Result): what changed, for better or worse, because of the employee's actions and what was the impact of the result?
- /AR (Alternative Action and Result): something the employee could have said or done differently and the enhanced result that might have been produced
*Copyright DDI
Effective Objectives (Goals)
Goals state the specific activities or specific results to be achieved. The most useful goals are those that are time specific and that are stated in more quantitative, results-oriented terms.
- Goals statements should be one sentence in length
- Goals are statements of end results
- Goal statements should support the strategic plan of the university and department
- Employees should have control over the goal outcomes (attainable)
- Goal statements should use Action Words
- Use action verbs that describe definite, observable actions that can be measured (See: Bloom’s Taxonomy & Verb Power)
- Indicate an appropriate level of competency that is assessable through one or more indicators (criterion)
*Adapted from California State University, Bakersfield, PACT Outcomes Assessment Handbook (1999) and Diamond, Robert M., Designing and Assessing Courses and Curricula
- Use action verbs that describe definite, observable actions that can be measured (See: Bloom’s Taxonomy & Verb Power)
- Indicate an appropriate level of competency that is assessable through one or more indicators (criterion)
Bloom’s Taxonomy (1964) is a well-known description of levels of goals. It may be useful to consider this taxonomy when defining your goals:
- Knowledge Observation and recall of information; knowledge of major ideas, events, dates, and places; mastery of subject matter
- Comprehension Understanding information; grasp meaning; translate knowledge into new context; interpret facts, compare, contrast; order, group, infer causes; predict consequences
- Application Use information; use concepts, methods, theories in new situations; solve problems using required skills or knowledge
- Analysis Seeing patterns; organization of parts; recognition of hidden meanings; identification of components
- Synthesis Use old ideas to create new ones; generalize from given facts; relate knowledge from several areas; predict, draw conclusions
- Evaluation Compare and discriminate between ideas; assess value of theories; make choices based on reasoned argument; verify value of evidence; recognize subjectivity
Verb Power Concrete verbs such as “define,” “argue,” or “create” are more helpful for assessment than vague verbs such as “know,” “understand,” or passive verbs such as “be exposed to.”
Common Rater Errors
All of the errors below have in common that they do not accurately reflect performance for the review period:
- Bias - bringing personal feelings or prejudices into the rating process
- Recency - failing to take into account performance for the entire review period
- Past Performance - allowing a prior level of performance to influence the current rating
- High Potential - applying future performance potential to current performance
- Halo effect - performance is all good or all bad
- Central tendency - giving all employees a medium rating
- Leniency - giving more favorable reviews in order to avoid problems
- Severity - giving less favorable reviews in order to be seen as tough
- Similar-to-Me - giving more favorable ratings to people who are more characteristically like the rater
- Stereotyping – applying generalizations (that may also be discriminatory) based on race, gender, nationality, religion or membership in a group
Rating Scale Reference
The following considerations may be used in assigning ratings for employee performance:
"Consistently Exceeds Expectations"
- Independently and completely performs all aspects of the standard(s) or objective(s)
- Significantly exceeds the expectations on a uniform and consistent basis
- Work is exceptional in all areas of responsibility
- Makes an exceptional contribution to the unit, department or University
"Occasionally Exceeds Expectations"
- Independently and completely performs all aspects of the standard(s) or objective(s)
- Frequently exceeds expectations
- Performs well above expectations based upon job standards
- Identifies needs and executes beyond assigned job responsibilities
"Consistently Meets Expectations"
- Independently and completely performs all aspects of the standard(s) or objective(s)
- May periodically exceed expectations
- Demonstrates consistently good performance at the level expected of a fully trained, capable individual
"Occasionally Below Expectations"
- New employee exhibits appropriate progress in the course of learning the responsibilities of a new position
- Seasoned employee not performing at expected level
- Performance improvement should be reflected in setting objectives for the new review period
"Consistently Below Expectations"
- Does not meet expected job standard(s)
- Must show change in performance to competently perform most aspects of this job
- This rating requires a written Performance Improvement Plan and progress review
Completed Samples
Glossary
Annual Performance Review (APR) : A formal discussion the summarizes an employee’s development and performance for the designated review period. This includes reviewing what has been achieved and setting a plan of action for performance for the next review period.
Annual Review Period: Time frame for which employee performance planning and review are completed. The current review period is based upon the calendar year, January 1st through December 31st for Administration Staff and fiscal year (July - June) for Academic Staff..
Corrective Action: HR Corrective Action form
Core Competencies: The methods, behaviors and values demonstrated by employees while working to complete job duties and achieve performance objectives (or goals).
Eligible Employee: To be eligible for evaluation under the EKU PE system, employees must be full- or part-time University staff who have successfully completed the 90-day orientation period. To be eligible for an Annual Performance Review, the employee must also have begun employment prior to July 1st of the review period (Administrative Staff); January 1st (Academic Staff)..
Evaluator: The terms evaluator and supervisor are used interchangeably in this guide. The evaluator is responsible for completing the employee's performance planning, feedback and annual performance review. The evaluator for an employee is generally the employee's immediate supervisor. In some cases (extended absence or position vacancy) the evaluator may be the next line supervisor.
Job Duties: The functions and tasks of a position that describe the expected results of work.
Objective, Performance : (Goal)
Objective, Professional Development: (Goal)
Performance Evaluation (PE) Form: The document that summarizes the planning and review phases of an employee's performance management cycle.
Performance Improvement Plan: A formal, written plan that addresses chronic work problems. Contact the HR Director for assistance with developing Performance Improvement Plans.
Performance Log: Written documentation of specific observations of performance that may be kept by a supervisor or by the employee. A performance log should focus on key performance indicators.
Performance Management Cycle: Composed of Performance Planning, Tracking and Feedback and the Annual Performance Review.
Performance Plan: Composed of the review of the expectations related to job duties, competencies and establishing performance objectives for the review period.
Reclassification: A reassessment of a job resulting in a higher salary range when the existing job has been expanded by the addition of new duties or job requirements and responsibilities but where the core job remains unchanged. Contact HR Compensation for more information.
