SUPERVISOR'S GUIDE TO
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT-DEVELOPMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EMPLOYEES

PREPARED BY
TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY HUMAN RESOURCES
 

1. Definition

          Professional/Administrative Employee - The position is the administrator or director of

          a recognized department or budgeted entity, not more than one level below a Vice

          President, and is responsible for the preparation and administration of the policies,

          programs, and internal procedures of the department or entity; or

          The position is the assistant or associate administrator or director of a recognized

          department or budgeted entity, not more than two levels below a Vice President, and is

          responsible for the duties and responsibilities of the administrator or director in his/her

          absence; or

          The position requires, as a bona fide occupational qualification, specialized training or

          certification beyond the Bachelor's level in a professional field of science or learning and

          is assigned work directly related to that academic training; or

          The position is a professional librarian or coach, and

          The position is assigned to pay grade 16 or above, and

          The position requires a four year degree; no substitution of experience for education.

2.       General Policy
          Each administrator is charged with the responsibility for the development of

          communication procedures and mechanisms as may be necessary to communicate job

          standards and other work criteria to employees under the administrator's charge and to

          provide each employee with periodic feedback regarding work performance.

3.       Purpose
          The premise of performance evaluation is that every individual is capable of improving

          his/her performance. An evaluation process is to encourage effective job performance

          and to stimulate the professional growth of employees. The evaluation process is a

          management tool to enable the supervisor to identify areas of job performance that

          need improvement, and to observe the improvement in such areas of need, and to

          reinforce quality job performance. Performance evaluations may be used to establish

          departmental and divisional follow-through on the progress toward goal attainment.

4.       How to Use the Performance Management-Development Plan

         a. The correct use of a performance management-development plan does not just

             involve completing and discussing with the employee a few evaluation forms. The use

             of performance evaluation forms is but one part of a total system. It is not an end or a

             beginning; it is part of a continuous cycle. Communications designed to aid an

             employee in improving job performance will come only through the proper utilization

             of all phases of a performance-development plan.

         b. There are five phases to this performance management-development plan:

            (1) The preparation phase;
            (2) The rating phase;
            (3) The administrative review phase;
            (4) The appraisal interview phase; and
            (5) The follow-up phase.

5.        The Preparation Phase

           a. The preparation phase consists of:

              (1) Developing with the employee a clear position description and clear statements

                   describing a job well done using clear job standards or work goals;
              (2) Maintaining records on performance; and
              (3) Providing feedback to the employee on how well the employee is doing.

           b. The position description should list specific duties and responsibilities for the

             employee's specific job in the department or section. This is not the job description

             developed by the Human Resources Office.

           c. The position description should have the following elements to be effective:

               (1) The principle duties and responsibilities of the employee, written so they can be

                    clearly understood;
               (2) The supervisor's aspect of the job, clearly defined; and
               (3) The supervisory relationship, who supervises the employee and who the

                     employee supervises.

            d. The supervisor and the employee should work together to keep the position

                description current, realistic, and understandable.

            e. Performance standards are:

                (1) Identified with a specific job responsibility in the position description,

                     (sometimes one position responsibility will have several performance standards);
                (2) Stated in precise terms expressing quantity, quality, manner of performance and

                      time;
                (3) Developed jointly by the supervisor and the employee;
                (4) Periodically updated to reflect changes in work conditions; and
                (5) Used to describe results the supervisor wants to obtain.

        f. Developing and communicating these performance standards are sometimes called goal

           setting activities. The better the supervisor and the employee understand what is to be

           done, the better the chance it will be done and the better the supervisor's appraisal will

           be of how well it was done.

        g. Every job has observable factors of quantity, quality, time, and cost that will help to

            identify satisfactory performance. The employee should know in advance what the

            supervisor is going to measure and what level of quantity, quality, time, and cost will

            indicate satisfactory performance on the job. Clearly defined performance/job

            standards, position descriptions, and goals are essential to good supervision and good

            performance management. The more clear the employee's understanding of the

            expectations, the greater the probability of success. An employee's progress or

            success can be measured only in terms of how well the work goals are accomplished

            or the desired results obtained. Ideally, goals and job standards are so clear that the

            employee can evaluate the work performed before the supervisor gets around to it.

        h. Keeping accurate records on how the employee is doing is necessary. Formal

            evaluation requires the supervisor to summarize the work of an employee up to an

            entire year. Keeping a record of notable incidents affecting an employee will help the

            supervisor make summaries of the work in a more accurate and just manner.

        i. Each supervisor should develop an incident file. This is a file in which the supervisor

           keeps written factual examples of specific occurrences that are better than average or

           less than average. Very good things go into this file; less than satisfactory things go into

           it as well. This file should be a record that describes who, what, when, and where,

           along with the consequences of the incident. The following rules are recommended in

           maintaining an incident file:

           (1) Keep a separate file on each employee.
           (2) Do not make the file secret, let the employee examine the file upon request. (It is

                against the law to maintain secret files on your employees.)
           (3) Always discuss the incident with the employee before putting a record of an

                 incident in the file; and
           (4) Continually review the files and destroy material 3 to 4 years old.

6.     The Rating Phase

        a. The rating phase consists of the completion of the appropriate form. Prior to

            completion of the rating form, however, a supervisor should review the position

            description, clearly define performance standards, review the incident file, and other

            factual material. The form should summarize the effectiveness of an employee's work

            since the last formal review.

        b. Contact the Human Resources Department to obtain evaluation forms.

7.     The Administrative Review Phase

        a. Complete the rating form before discussing it with the employee, the supervisor should

            review the proposed ratings with the supervisor's administrator. The purpose of the

            review by the next higher administrator is twofold:

           (1) The administrator serves as a leveling agent to bring about consistency between the

                various evaluators (supervisors) in a given area of responsibility; and
           (2) The discussions between the supervisor and the administrator provide feedback to

                 the supervisor as to how the supervisor may be fulfilling the supervisory role and

                 how well the supervisor's individual unit might be functioning.

        b. Discussions between a unit supervisor and the administrator may result in redefining

            the employee's work objective(s). In this manner, each supervisor is a link in a

            communication chain both to the supervisor above and the employee below in that

            organizational unit. Two levels of supervision are thus brought into the goal setting and

            review process for each employee.

8.     The Appraisal Interview Phase

        a. A supervisor should discuss an employee's work performance with the employee

           frequently enough to provide the employee with adequate feedback to perform the

           work satisfactorily. The frequency of these discussions differs with each individual and

           is dependent on the individual employee's skill level, type of work performed, work

           environment, etc. An atmosphere that encourages frequent discussions of work

           performance will often build-up an environment that encourages an exchange of ideas

           and feelings about the job between the employee and supervisor.

        b. An optional self-evaluation form is available should the administrator choose to receive

            evaluation information from the employee's perspective of his own performance

            assessment. The self-evaluation assists in developing the two-way communication of

            job standards and expectations. The employee should complete the self-evaluation

            and take it to the formal appraisal interview.
 

        c. The formal appraisal interview, as recommended in this guide, immediately follow an

           official written evaluation. It is a summary of the other less formal evaluations or

           discussions that have taken place throughout the year.

        d. These interviews are but one opportunity for the supervisor to perform one of the

            most important tasks of a supervisor, that of providing feedback to employees and

            encouraging professional development. It allows the employee to determine how the

            employee is doing, both generally and in relation to specific objectives. It also

            provides an opportunity for the employee to give feedback to the supervisor.

        e. The formal appraisal interview takes considerable preparation. To prepare for this

            interview the supervisor should:

            (1) Let the employee know ahead of time when the formal appraisal will take place

                 since the employee is also entitled to prepare for the interview;
            (2) Review the employee's position description; and
            (3) Review the completed rating form, incident file, and any other records indicating

                 degrees of performance.

        f. The appraisal interview should be conducted in private, close to the employee's work

           area. This will reduce any feelings of strangeness or strain.

        g. The best appraisal interview is one in which the employee being appraised does most

            of the talking and accurately appraises the work performance. This is ideal. Starting

            the interview and getting the employee involved immediately in the decision is

            extremely important. From the start, strive for a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

            Begin by explaining the purpose of the appraisal and its value. The supervisor should

            then discuss the job itself and the established performance standards before discussing

            how well the employee may have met those standards. The supervisor should let the

            employee know that the supervisor is really interested in making the interview as

            productive as possible for the employee and for the department. The supervisor

            should show appreciation of the employee's successes. Any criticism must be job

            related at the employee's work performance. Avoid directing any criticism at the

            employee personally.

        h. Discuss the evaluation and write out with the employee the coaching, counseling and

            training activities the employee will be needing before the next formal review to

            continue to grow, to develop new skills, or to improve other aspects of job

            performance. Identify any recommended changes in job performance needed to

            promote the employee's development.

        i. The evaluator should be a good listener, should be patient, and should ask leading

           questions that permit learning about the department or office. Above all, the evaluator

           must not be argumentative. The objective is not to criticize, but to help the employee

           understand and accept the positive and negative aspects of job performance.

        j. Close the interview by summarizing both the good and the poor aspects of the

           employee's past performance. A plan of action should be developed with the

           employee. Such a plan should include specific objectives and, if appropriate, time

           tables for the supervisor and the employee that will assist the employee in improving

           work performance.

        k. An optional goal setting form is available should the administrator choose to establish

            goals with the employee.

        l. Finally, the supervisor should have the employee sign the appraisal form and provide

           copy of the appraisal and any attachments to the employee.

        m. The distribution of the Employee Performance Evaluation forms should be made by

             the supervisor as follows:

            (1) The first copy to Human Resources for placement in the employee's Personnel file;
            (2) The second copy should be given to the employee; and
            (3) Retain the third copy marked "Department" for the department files.

9.     The Follow-up Phase

        a. The follow-up phase involves the supervisor making sure the plan or action agreed

           upon during the appraisal interview is being carried out. This may be something the

           supervisor agreed to do, or something the employee agreed to do.

        b. It also involves creating a climate of communication so open that the employee will

            find it easy and desirable to approach the supervisor for further help or discussion at a

            later date.

        c. The follow-up phase of one evaluation also becomes the preparation phase for the

            next evaluation. In this manner, the cycle continues from the employee's first day of

           work until retirement, or other separation.
 

Other P&A performance criteria that may be considered:

(1) Willingness to work long and irregular hours - has displayed a willingness to rearrange

      schedules when necessary in order to see that projects are appropriately completed. Uses

      time well at work; does not waste other's time in idle conversation. Willingness to give that

      "extra" effort on each project.

(2) Honest - Is honest and fair in dealing with their supervisor, peers, and subordinates. Also,

     gives the perception of being honest.

(3) Ability to keep confidence - Has the ability to keep confidential the information shared

      with them.

(4) Candor and loyalty - Is committed to defending the legal and ethical positions of their

      superior tactfully and aggressively.

(5) Managing subordinates/achieving results - Effectively organizes and delegates work to

      subordinates.

(6) Detailed planning and follow-up - Sets forth extremely good plans for all major projects

     and follows up regularly. Requires the same of subordinates.

(7) Financial commitment - Is always concerned with the financial responsibility of the

     University.

(8) Progressive Innovation - Is well read in innovative approaches and effectively screens and

     applies new ideas.

(9) Sensitivity to the University's image - Always considers financial, academic, political, and

     interpersonal effects of every action.

(10) Performance as a team player - Keeps others at the equivalent level informed; yields to

       others in their area of responsibility.

(11) System of regular reporting - Develops and implements a system of verbal and written

        reports.

(12) Reports on time - Always submits reports on, or before, the due date.