1. The Performance Assessment Review Program: A Key to Implementing and Sustaining the Performance Budgeting Initiative
Good Afternoon. My name is Chris Randazzo. I am the Assistant Chief of Staff at the Civil Service Commission and I my presentation is about how the New Jersey State Employee performance assessment review program, commonly known by its acronym, PAR, is being developed as a useful tool for management to sustain the performance budgeting initiative led the State Treasurer as directed by Governor Christie in Executive Order No My presentation is 46 slides long, and trust me, even though I am a Marine, I am not trained to administer death by power point. This presentation will be available on the Civil Service Commission’s website. 1

2. Goals of the Civil Service Commission regarding the Performance Assessment Review:
Accountability
Flexibility
Sustainability
At the Civil Service Commission, and now I will employ another acronym, CSC, we are taking a long, hard look at the PAR and developing it so that management will be held accountable for issuing PARs on employees, a PAR that is flexible enough to allow for an honest performance assessment, and at the same time incorporates the principal of performance measurement of employees’ work so employees can be held accountable for the results indicated on their PAR; how the outcomes of their work contribute to the unit scope, division, State agency, in achieving its targets and thus justifying its budget and sustain the performance budgeting initiative. 2

3. Accountability
Statute and Regulations regarding performance evaluations for New Jersey State government
PAR Guidance via the LMS (Learning Management System)
e-PAR (Electronic Performance Assessment Review)
Accountability. It helps that there are laws and regulations about the PAR. 3

4. Performance Assessment Review
Civil Service Commission
Performance Assessment Review
Statutory Basis is N.J.S.A. 11A:6-28, which states: 1. “The commission (Civil Service Commission) shall establish an employee performance system for State employee in the career and senior executive services. The system shall utilize standards and criteria related to job content and program goals…” 2. “The Civil Service Commission shall adopt and enforce rules with respect to the utilization of performance ratings in promotion, layoff or other matters.”
Here is the law; New Jersey Statutes Annotated Title 11A. I am not a lawyer; I only know lawyer jokes, but I know how to read, and according to the statute, the responsibility for the PAR rests with the CSC. 4

5. Performance Assessment Review
Civil Service Commission
Performance Assessment Review
Regulations are in the New Jersey Administrative Code, N.J.A.C. 4A:6-5.1, et seq.
Who: “a PAR program shall apply to all employees in the career service, and those in unclassified titles as designated by particular departments or agencies.”
How: “The PAR program shall use standardized forms and rating scales for different performance appraisal models to be designated by the Department of Personnel”
When: “At the end of six months and at the end of one year, the employee and the supervisor shall review the employee’s performance. The supervisor shall designate an interim performance rating at the end of six months and a final rating at the end of one year.”
Where:
The rules for the PAR are found in the New Jersey Administrative Code, Title 4A, Chapter 6. And these rules state that the performance appraisal models are designated by the Department of Personnel; that is what the Civil Service Commission was called before a law was passed in 2008. 5

6. Performance Assessment Review
Any Good Performance System Must:
Link performance to Core Mission Areas, Goals, and Strategies
Tie individual results to program results
Measure individual results
Enable skill development
and job enrichment
Mission and Goals
Individual Results
Program Results
Because the CSC is tasked with designating the PAR, research into various performance appraisal systems and common sense dictate that the PAR link the employee’s performance to the agency’s core mission areas, measure how that employee ultimately contributes to the agency meeting its targets, and incorporate a way to promote employee development and improvement.
Now that most employees covered by State Collective Bargaining Agreements will be using a PAR, it is timely for the CSC to provide guidance on what makes a meaningful PAR. Previously, most State employees were evaluated under the PES, or Performance Evaluation System. This was a static Pass/Fail system that did not provide for meaningful a assessment or development of employees, it also hindered efforts to evaluate employee performance and link that performance to the goals of a State agency. 6

7. Performance Assessment Review
Performance Factors
Job Achievement Factors
These factors are directly related to the outcomes of the job: Section 1 - Major Goals, Job Responsibility, and Essential Criteria
The Organization predetermines Job Achievement Factors
The PAR contains two sets of factors that measure employee performance; both allow management to rate how that employee’s performance, measured in outcomes, contributes to the State agency meets its targets. Each factor is defined by a job responsibility and essential criteria. 7

8. Performance Assessment Review8
Performance Assessment Review
Major Job Responsibilities Should:
Contribute to the Goals and Objectives
Be Critical to the job
Require a significant amount of Time
Include any that are Required by Statute or Regulation
Be Done Often
Accurately reflect the Actual Work over which employee has control (responsibility, authority and resources to act)
In order for a PAR to accurately measure what an employee does, the PAR reports job responsibilities performed by an employee that contribute to the goals/targets of the unit scope/division/State agency, involve significant expenditure of time by the employee to be done, perhaps because that agency is mandated to do certain things, and honestly reflects the actual work performed by that employee, work that the employee has been given the resources to do. As a manager, you can’t hold an employee accountable for a target if you haven’t given him or her the tools to be successful in meeting that target. 8

9. Performance Assessment Review
Essential Criteria
How many are
required?
At least one (1) Essential Criteria for every Major Job Responsibility
What are they?
Essential Criteria are statements of conditions that exist when a job responsibility has been completed successfully. Try to measure in outcomes, rather than outputs, when applicable.
Essential criteria are written statements describing how well a job should be performed. Performance standards are developed collaboratively with employees, whenever possible, and explained and discussed during the Initial PAR meeting.
They also identify the measurement used to determine how effective the employee is in meeting his or her goals. Again, the results are measured in terms of outcomes, not outputs. 9

10. Principles of Essential Criteria
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Reasonable
Tied to the Goals of the Organization
Effective Essential Criteria are “SMART;” Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reasonable and, most relevant to Performance Budgeting, Tied to the Goals of the Organization. An employee receives a salary for performing some function; that function should be somehow tied to the Core Mission Area of that agency. 10 10

11. 11 Supervisor’s Tips for Preparing Employee Evaluations
Your role as the supervisor should be to shape and develop efficient and effective work performance and behaviors. In an effort to make your meeting with your employees as pleasant and beneficial as possible, consider the following tips:
1. Schedule the meeting well in advance and advise employees of the meeting purpose; indicate what work
products and/or required documents should be prepared and brought to the meeting.
2. Review the employee’s departmental file including:
 job description and performance expectations;  letters/ s of commendation or complaints;
 documentation or notes on previous performance discussions;  samples of work products;
 anything else relevant to work behaviors and performance.
3. Determine what questions you will ask to get the information you need to complete the assessment.
4. Focus on the performance and behavior of the worker, not the worker.
5. Identify and establish the job responsibilities and your performance expectations.
6. Identify training needs and/or methods to improve his/her performance and competencies.
7. Identify what motivates your employees considering their future goals and aspirations.
8. Identify how customers, peers and team members view his/her performance.
9. Identify any conduct or performance issues (if applicable indicate date of incident).
10. Identify actions or behaviors employee will need to take to make improvements.
11. Identify what resources or support, if any, will be provided to assist the employee in making the required improvement?
12. Be mindful of the common rating errors:
 Leniency Error - Giving everyone high ratings  Central Tendency Error - Clustering all employees in the middle to avoid extremes
 Recency Error - Allowing recent events to carry  Contrast Error – Comparing one employee’s performance more influence to another
 Halo Effect Error - Allowing favored traits or  Horns Effect Error - Allowing a disfavored trait or work
work factors to influence all other areas of performance to overwhelm other, more positive performance performance elements
13. Reflect on your behaviors as a supervisor; have you given adequate time, attention, mentoring, coaching
and support
This is a test to see how fast those who are taking notes can write. In the above guidance to supervisors on preparing a PAR, please note how many times the word “performance” is reflected. The message is this; employees are expected to perform tasks tied to their title, and the employees are to be held accountable for achieving results that support goals of the unit scope/division/agency.
This page is taken from a PARs form training course that is now available on the Learning Management System, an online training system. 11

12. e-PAR (Electronic PAR)
CSC has received the required Technical approvals.
CSC conducted a focus group with HR Directors across State Departments and Agencies.
The e-Par system will be part of the My New Jersey portal.
CSC is preparing the design details and requirements.
CSC is working toward a single entry system that would include electronic approvals,  and required system reporting.
It is estimated that the e-PAR system will be ready by September 2013 
To make the performance evaluation system easier to manage, the CSC is also developing an electronic PAR. The current form is a fillable PDF form. The e-PAR will incorporate electronic approvals into a workflow that will be entirely paperless, and accessible through the My New Jersey portal. It will also create reports holding managers and supervisors accountable for timely reviews. 12

13. Flexibility Job Banding and the Competency Assessment Review 13
In part of the presentation, I will address an issue that all State agencies have been contending with for some time; an aging work force in a period of a promotional and hiring freeze. In the private and public sector, doing more with less and still justify one’s budget has become the norm. To address this issue, the CSC has instituted a Job Banding pilot program. 13

14. 4/9/2017
Job Banding
Getting the right people, with the right skills, in the right jobs, at the right time
Shameless self-promotion 14

15. Performance Budgeting
4/9/2017
Conceptual Basis
Core Mission Areas
Staffing Plan
Performance Budgeting
Key Performance Indicators
If you look at this diagram, you may not see it, but Job Banding is relevant to performance budgeting in the creation of a Strategic Plan and a Staffing Plan.
A Strategic Plan is a strategy for moving an agency forward to meet its performance goals. A Staffing Plan is how to staff an agency to meet its strategic goals.
I will now speak to how the CSC views the role of a Strategic Plan and a Staffing plan in attaining its performance targets, and justifying its budget.
Strategic Plan 15

16. 4/9/2017
What Is Job Banding?
Job Banding is a competency based human resource process where similar job titles are grouped together to form career bands.
Advancements are based on a multi-faceted approach including:
An organizational strategic staffing plan
Attainment of competencies
Structured interview
Job Banding is a competency based human resource process. The operative word here is “competency.” Please note, no testing! Just because someone is a good test taker does not make them a competent, productive employee. A test will still be administered for introductory titles and promotion to supervisor. 16

17. 4/9/2017
Why Job Banding?
To make the organizational structure relevant to the core mission
Tie individual performance to organization performance indicators
To develop a more cohesive and functionally relevant workplace
As you can see, Job Banding is viewed as a means to align a State agency’s workforce with its core mission, one that is structured to achieve that agency’s goals. 17

18. Who Benefits? Employees by:
4/9/2017
Who Benefits?
The Organization by:
Increasing employee productivity and efficiency by boosting competence levels;
Encouraging advancement tied to successful work performance
Management by:
Getting expanded scope, increased responsibility, and greater flexibility in deploying and promoting employees
Seeking out and enhancing the skill set of innovative and creative employees by aligning competencies more closely to their jobs
Employees by:
Providing the chance to acquire and demonstrate higher-level competencies
Getting the tools to grow through training and career development
Boosting confidence through skill enhancement
Increasing opportunity for mobility
Job Banding speaks to flexibility; managers have the flexibility to advance employees for their competency (read: productivity); the employees have the flexibility to acquire higher-level competencies and thus upward mobility resulting in an Agency that has a motivated and productive workforce. 18

19. Elements of the Job Banding Pilot
4/9/2017
Elements of the Job Banding Pilot
Pilot Program Proposal
Strategic Staffing Plan
Competency Assessment Reviews
Vacancy and Selection Process
Employee Training and Development 19

20. Step 1: Pilot Program Proposal
4/9/2017
Step 1: Pilot Program Proposal
Through a pilot project – N.J.A.C. 4A:1
Began in July 2012
Impacted titles in Civil Service Commission:
Human Resources Consultant Series
Test Development Specialist Series
Personnel and Labor Analyst Series
Impacted titles in OMB:
State Budget Specialist Series
*The supervisory level of each title series is not included in the pilot.
This is a list of the titles currently in the Job Banding Pilot Program. These are all non-union titles for reasons that shall remain obvious. The Civil Service Act (read: law) permits the CSC to establish pilot programs for a maximum of one year. 20

21. Step 2: Strategic Staffing Plan
4/9/2017
Step 2: Strategic Staffing Plan
Strategic staffing plan is the “roadmap” for the agency that sets forth a future organizational structure based on:
optimal staffing ratios;
right-sizing the organization; realigning positions, and
reducing costs for current and future needs
Strategic staffing plans differ from traditional staffing activities, which are mainly focused on filling empty seats with new employees
A Strategic Staffing Plan is key for a State agency to organize its workforce in a way to make it most productive. 21

22. 4/9/2017
Why Use a Staffing Plan?
The plan provides an operational guideline for the organization to make strategic staffing decisions based on fulfilling the core mission and achieving the performance indicators.
It gives managers the structure, tools, and process for defining and addressing the staffing implications of operational planning.
By thinking strategically, the State agency can make staffing decisions based on achieving its performance targets. 22

23. 4/9/2017
Why Use a Staffing Plan?
The Plan responds to organizational changes driven by:
reduced funding
expanded services
changes in technology
anticipated reduction of the number of workers
changing needs of customer base.
A Staffing Plan allows a State agency to be flexible in these times of an aging and shrinking public workforce. 23

24. Step 3: Competency Assessment Review (CAR)
4/9/2017
Step 3: Competency Assessment Review (CAR)
What is a Competency?
A competency is a set of defined behaviors that provide a structured guide enabling the identification, evaluation and development of the behaviors in individual employees.
What is the Competency Assessment Review Form (CAR)?
Tool used to evaluate the designated competencies
The key to achieving the flexibility allowed in the Staffing Plan is a system that evaluates employee competency. To address this, the CSC has created a Competency Assessment Review form, or CAR. 24

25. How Competency Model was Developed
4/9/2017
How Competency Model was Developed
Specialized workgroup in the Division of Classification & Personnel Management
Analyzed job specifications
Analyzed PARS and work experience
Identified and defined core competencies
The CSC utilized staff who are experienced in reviewing job specifications and determining knowledge and skills for a particular job. 25

26. How Core Competencies Were Defined
4/9/2017
How Core Competencies Were Defined
Based on Dreyfus Model of 5 Levels of Competency Development*
Contributing Journey Person Advanced
Novice
Beginner
Competent
Proficient
Expert
*Dreyfus S, Dreyfus H. A five stage model of the mental activities involved in directed skill acquisition. California University Berkeley Operations Research Center; Available from: [downloaded 12 January 2009]
Proof that the CSC used a respected outside source. 26

27. Dreyfus Novice to Expert Scale
4/9/2017
Level
Knowledge
Autonomy
Coping with Complexity
Novice
Minimal or “textbook knowledge
Needs close supervision or instruction
Little or no conception of dealing with complexity
Beginner
Working knowledge of key aspects
Able to achieve some steps using own judgment, but needs supervision for overall task
Appreciates complex situations but only able to achieve partial resolution
Competent
Good working & background knowledge
Able to achieve most tasks using own judgment
Copes with complex situations through deliberate analysis & planning
Proficient
Depth of understanding of discipline and area of practice
Able to take full responsibility for own work (and that of others where appropriate)
Deals with complex situations holistically, decision-making more confident
Expert
Authoritative knowledge and deep tacit understanding across area of practice
Able to take responsibility for going beyond existing standards
Holistic grasp of complex situations, moves between intuitive & analytical approaches with ease
If you are interested, this presentation will be up on the CSC website. 27

28. Management/Supervisor Role
4/9/2017
Management/Supervisor Role
Communicate & foster job banding concept
Learn and administer new processes
Evaluate competencies
Enhance career development plans
Role of Management; read: earn their pay. 28

29. Step 4 - Vacancy and Selection Process
4/9/2017
Step 4 - Vacancy and Selection Process
Vacancy Announcement
Selection Process
Structured Interview Process
These next few slides address the selection process for a vacant position. No test! 29

30. 4/9/2017
Vacancy Announcement
An open position is an opportunity to be creative, proactive, and forward thinking in order to create the building blocks for a future organization.
Lose One, Fill One We can no longer afford to simply fill a position when it becomes open
Lose One, Fill One; we realize at the CSC this will be an old habit that will be extremely tough to break. We are most likely not unique in this respect among State agencies. But that doesn’t mean that we aren’t going to try. 30

31. Vacancy Announcements
4/9/2017
Vacancy Announcements
Things to Consider:
How is the position related to the core mission?
What are the critical needs of the agency weighed against the budget restraints?
What are the benefits of filling the position?
What are the consequences of not filling it?
What are the work demands of the position?
What competencies are needed?
How has it changed since it was last vacant?
Must the position be backfilled at the same level, different level or at all?
And here’s how: when confronting a vacancy, CSC management considers how the vacant position relates to the CSC’s core mission and what the impact could be to the CSC meeting its performance targets (justifying its budget) if the position is filled or not. Further consideration: if the vacancy is filled, what competencies will that employee require? 31

32. 4/9/2017
An overview of the selection process. No testing! 32

33. Factors to Be Considered in the Selection Process
4/9/2017
Factors to Be Considered in the Selection Process
Performance Management Elements:
Competency Attainment
Structured Interview
PAR
Not Seniority
Is there anything here that sticks out? Yes, at the CSC, we are changing the paradigm of seniority trumping competency. If that is the third rail in human resources; we haven’t been electrocuted yet. Also, please note that the PAR is an important part of the process. 33

34. Step 5: Employee Development
4/9/2017
Step 5: Employee Development
Provide employees with tools to improve Performance
Including but not limited to:
Formal Training
On the Job Training
Special Projects
In order to have a pool of candidates available to advance, it is incumbent on supervisors and managers to develop their employees; with development comes increased competency as well as improved productivity. 34

35. Training and Career Development
4/9/2017
Training and Career Development
Conduct an electronic training needs assessment
Receive and analyze survey results for valued feedback, priorities, and training needs
Develop a training implementation plan
Conduct training courses
Guidance for managers and supervisors in training and developing their employees. You have to give employees the tools. 35

36. Training and Career Development
4/9/2017
Training and Career Development
Methods of Training:
Classroom Training
Partnering With The New Jersey Community College Consortium For Workforce And Economic Development (NJCC Consortium)
E-Learning (Learning Management System) courses on-line
Managers need tools, too. The CSC has committed itself (and part of its budget) with working with the New Jersey Community College Consortium to provide classroom training to develop competencies. E-learning is also an option, using the Learning Management System, or LMS. 36

37. Comparison of Performance Management Tools
4/9/2017
Comparison of Performance Management Tools
Job Specifications
PARS
CARS
Focus
Knowledge,
Skills,
Abilities
Task
Achievement
Successful Behaviors
Purpose
What are the Requirements for the job
What Tasks should be done
How you should perform tasks
Used to Evaluate
Qualifications
Task Performance
Behaviors Necessary for Job
Scope
Broad
Narrow
Broad & Narrow
Frequency of Use for Individual
Infrequent – to qualify for a job
Semi- Annually
Semi Annually until full achievement
The CSC views the CAR as a tool to monitor the development of its employees to becoming proficient and even expert performers. 37

38. CSC Competency Assessment Review (CAR)
4/9/2017
CSC Competency Assessment Review (CAR)
Competency
HRC Trainee to 1 Level
PLA Trainee to 1 Level
TDS Trainee to 1 Level
HRC1 to 2 Level
PLA1 to 2 Level
TDS1 to 2 Level
HRC 2 to 3 Level
PLA 2 to 3 Level
TDS 2 to 3 Level
Analytical & Problem Solving Skills x
Communication Skills
Customer Relations
Leadership Skills
Planning & Organizational Skills
Self -Management
Soft Skills
Teamwork
Technical Knowledge
Technology Skills
Total Number 8 9 10
This slide demonstrates the competencies that an employee will have to demonstrate in order to advance. 38

39. Supervisor’s Observations
4/9/2017
Supervisor’s Observations
Specific – use actual examples and relate to definitions described.
Observable – behaviors that you have seen, heard, read, etc.
Actual Performance - tie to actual performance, not length of service
Relate to Achievement of Big Picture- tie employee contribution to performance indicators, unit goals and objectives
Of course, supervisors are paid to supervise. If supervisors or managers cannot provide specific examples of their employee’s competencies, then they are not doing their job. 39

40. Sustainability The N.J. S.T.E.P. Program 40 40
For the last part of my presentation, I will address how the CSC intends to sustain the performance budgeting initiative, through the introduction of the N.J. S.T.E.P. Program. 40

41. The N.J. S.T.E.P. Program
The N.J. S.T.E.P. Program (Supervisory Training Empowering Performance) is designed to provide supervisors in NJ government with skills that will build and enhance their foundational understanding of the roles, tasks and practices of effective supervision. Through interactive activities and classroom exercises, students will build their competence in applying these concepts in the workplace. 41
Over time, we at the CSC have noted that training for our employees, particularly for that of supervisors, has been lacking. 41

42. The N.J. S.T.E.P. Program
The N.J. S.T.E.P. Program was designed with input from our State customers to capture the needs of the target population: supervisors who may be new to the role as well as supervisors who have mastered the transition but have not received formal training in supervisory practices. The program has been developed in partnership with the County College Consortium who will take the lead in delivering the training.
We found that we were not alone. In consultation with our State shareholders, we have developed a program to train supervisors in partnership with the County College Consortium. 42

43. The N.J. S.T.E.P. Program
N.J. S.T.E.P. is a 7 day (42 hour) program that consists of 12 modules that have been organized around 3 main principles essential to the success of supervisors. 1. Managing Yourself - Leadership; Making the Transition from Co-Worker to Supervisor; Communication-Verbal; Communication-Written; 2. Managing Others - Performance Management; Motivation; Managing Change and Resistance; Addressing Workplace Conflicts; 3. Managing the Work - Planning and Organizing; Team Effectiveness; Problem Solving and Decision Making; and Cultural Competence. 43
Over seven days, not consecutively, supervisors are taught tools to make them leaders. 43

44. The N.J. S.T.E.P. Program
Performance Management – Developing an understanding of managing the performance of direct reports through job planning and standards setting, feedback, coaching, performance evaluation and employee development. 
By the end of this module students will be able to:
Explain the purpose and benefits of performance management to employees
Identify job tasks and set performance standards
Describe seven criteria for meaningful performance feedback
Identify the four requirements and five skills of the masterful coach
Name and explain the actions of each step of the coaching process 
Describe how human nature, culture and personal ethos play a role in human response to being evaluated.
Name and define thirteen common supervisory biases and errors in rating employee performance
Identify the evaluation model and form used in the State of NJ
Describe the supervisor’s responsibility and activities in developing employees
Identify the concept of mentoring in the employee development process.
Another test; how many times can you count the work “performance?” Seriously, one entire day of the seven in the N.J. S.T.E.P. Program is dedicated to ingraining in supervisors the concept of performance management.
As I said earlier, as Management, you cannot expect your employees to be successful if you do not give them the tools to succeed. The N.J. S.T.E.P Program is one such tool that will enable supervisors to be successful managers of their employees, assist them in achieving their State agency’s performance targets and justify the budget allocated to that agency.
This brings me to the conclusion of my presentation on the Performance Assessment Review Program: A Key to Sustaining the Performance Budgeting Initiative. Thank you very much for your time. 44

45. The Buck Stops Here!
“I have ordered the Treasurer to begin using this data to help determine what agencies will be allowed to spend in the future, and which agencies will be cut back for not performing. In this administration, we will pay for performance; not for failure.” Governor Chris Christie from 45 45

46. Thank You! Questions? Contact: Christopher.Randazzo@csc.state.nj.us
N.J. S.T.E.P.: Wayne Jeter, Education Program Development Specialist, Civil Service Commission; Phone: (609) or 46 46