Performance Reviews

Three Sections of the Review

1. Job Goals and Objectives

• Worth 60%
• Use the five-point rating scale for each job goal and objective.
• Use robust, clear examples and evidence in support of your rating.

2. Competencies

• Worth 40%
• Review competencies, definitions, and examples.
• Use the five-point rating scale to indicate your ratings for each competency.
• Use robust, clear examples and evidence in support of your rating.

3. Professional Development Plan

• No rating
• Take time to celebrate all that's been accomplished this year!
• Review progress toward the professional development plan that was outlined at the beginning of the year. Reflect on efforts made, goals accomplished, and opportunities that might carry over into the next performance cycle.
• Remember, this section is not rated and is intended to support the employee's development efforts.

 

The Five Competencies

 

Work Quality

• Description
  • Demonstrates a commitment to quality by taking pride in one's work, striving for excellence, and delivering the best possible results.
  • Completes work assignments thoroughly and in an accurate, prompt, and organized manner.
  • Identifies and corrects errors.
  • Pays attention to detail.
  • Looks for opportunities to improve outcomes and generate ideas for building process efficiencies.
  • Utilizes feedback to improve work and builds on previous learnings.
  • Welcomes constructive feedback and monitors own work to ensure quality.
• Examples
  • Actively seeks new ways of working to improve productivity and efficiency.
  • Sets and maintains exceptional work standards and expectations.
  • Fact-checks work and seeks input for best possible impact.
  • Develops and shares best practices.
  • Designs processes to anticipate problems and develop contingency plans.
  • Develops and maintains systems for monitoring work quality.
  • Generates and tracks performance measures.

 

Initiative

• Description
  • Contributes fresh ideas that provide solutions to the work in one's role or beyond, where relevant.
  • Identifies ways to stay current in one's role and to meet organizational needs.
  • Uses sound judgment to develop new insights into situations and applies different and novel solutions to make improvements.
  • Utilizes analytical and conceptual abilities to formulate a practical plan with positive impact.
  • Thinks beyond the immediate imperative to the future.
  • Challenges norms with innovative thinking and approaches.
• Examples
  • Seeks out and is proactive in assuming additional responsibilities.
  • Has visionary ideas and turns them into action.
  • Generates suggestions for improving work.
  • Shares unique and creative ideas that improve products, services, or processes.
  • Contributes to creating an environment that fosters creativity.
  • Takes intelligent risk to promote progress.

 

Communication

• Description
  • Demonstrates clear, timely, and consistent speaking, listening, and written communications.
  • Listens and seeks clarification and responds clearly to questions.
  • Listens actively and communicates with others to build trusting relationships.
  • Written communication is clear, grammatically correct, effective, and relative to the needs and scope of one's role.
  • Relates effectively to all levels of the institution.
  • Fosters connections and a collaborative approach.
• Examples
  • Data are presented accurately and presentations are clear and informative.
  • Effectively and consistently communicates the organization's strategy and operational goals.
  • Helps develop and translate strategy into operational goals and priorities.
  • Create reports, memorandums, emails, and other required paperwork efficiently, error-free, and in a timely manner.
  • Tailors message and tone to be understood by the receiving audience.
  • Communicates with credibility and confidence.
  • Speaks directly, promptly, and tactfully to address concerns.
  • Asks questions to seek clarity.

 

Dependability

• Description
  • Reports to work regularly, on time, and is accountable during the workday.
  • Cooperates and interacts with employees inside and outside of the work unit contributing to improved operations.
  • Aligns individual efforts with University and unit goals.
  • Takes ownership of work and is accountable for outcomes.
  • Is aware of and follows University policies and procedures.
  • Establishes trust and respect by following through on commitments.
  • Completes tasks and assignments with minimal supervision.
  • Committed to meeting deadlines.
• Examples
  • Demonstrates consistency in the approach and delivery of work.
  • Builds relationships across organizational and functional boundaries.
  • Handles sensitive information and issues with discretion and tact.
  • Takes personal responsibility for outcomes.
  • Makes decisions based on sound judgment.
  • Models the behavior that you expect of yourself and others.
  • Follows through on commitments and agreements.

 

Inclusiveness

• Description
  • Actively creates and supports an inclusive and equitable workplace by embedding Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice into all aspects of the workplace.
  • This may include policies, procedures, training, mission, values, goals, office climate and culture, interactions with colleagues and co-workers, leadership practices, programming, hiring, marketing, evaluation, promotion, and other workplace dimensions.
• Examples
  • Builds knowledge of and seeks improvement in areas of cultural awareness.
  • Seeks out opportunities to attend and join the diversity and inclusion efforts on campus, such as events, training, workshops, classes, and committees.
  • Demonstrates skills and behaviors on the job related to competencies learned in diversity and inclusion training.
  • Seeks and considers perspectives from people different than oneself.
  • Demonstrates a commitment to improving the climate for historically underrepresented constituencies, e.g., people of color, people with disabilities, people of different sexual orientation, gender expression, and/or gender identity, religion, and new immigrant populations, etc.
  • Strives to manage differences with skill and sensitivity, accepting diverse ideas and differing points of view.
  • Creates a brave space for others to be themselves.
  • Identifies ways to recruit and retain underrepresented employees.

Rating Scale

• Exceptional (4.5–5.0)

  Employee exceeds expectations by stepping well beyond the scope of their position description to deliver real change to the department, unit, or organization. The individual is an exceptional employee who achieves an unusually high level of performance relative to all assignments and objectives. The expectation is that this rating should reflect performance in the top 5% of all performers.

• Advanced (3.5–4.49)

  The employee is a critical member of the team with performance that is consistently above established expectations. The employee seeks improvement of self, office practices, team, and/or department. The individual goes above and beyond what is expected to contribute to the success of the department or unit.

• Solid (2.5–3.49)

  The employee fully meets the established job expectations and is a reliable and solid performer. The employee generally performs well and requires little guidance. The individual demonstrates initiative to meet the goals and objectives of the position.

• Developing (1.5–2.49)

  The employee meets some of the job expectations, but not all. The individual requires support and direction to complete assignments. The employee generally performs at a minimum level of effort and improvement is needed to fully meet expectations. This rating may be given to a new employee who has yet to learn or master a specific skill. In this latter case, the rating reflects the employee's time in the position.

• Unsatisfactory (1–1.49)

  The employee's performance generally fails to meet the established expectations or requires frequent supervision and/or the redoing of work. The individual is not performing that the level expected. Unacceptable job performance is due to the employee's lack of knowledge, skill, or effort.

Performance Review Instruction

For user guides, training videos, and support materials to complete the performance review process, please visit the Resources page.