1. Employee Performance Appraisal
Employee Briefing Session/Training
9 and 10 December 2014

2. Purpose of Session Appraisal System Emphasis on Behaviour and Coaching
Linking to the Council Priorities and future developments.
Refer to Handbook

3. What makes a success 3 things:
Management is the intervention of getting things done through others
Managers and Employees need each other to deliver a successful service
A manager’s job is to manage employees’ behaviour within the parameters of the organisation’s priorities
Explain to employees how that affects them – how important their performance is to the Council and Service meeting their priorities.

4. Performance at HDC
Corporate and service priorities are delivered through your employees – they need to know exactly what is required of them to deliver the priorities. Understand where they fit.

5. Performance Process at HDC
The whole process is about ensuring that Council and Service priorities are delivered. Employees play a key role in this.

6. Planning and Reviewing Performance
Define behaviour/performance required:
Link to corporate priorities/service planning
Other Corporate/Service Specific guidance such as Terms and Conditions/Job Descriptions and Person Specifications
Annual performance objectives – ensure objectives are understood/employees have ownership
Link to priorities – employees need to know where they fit – clear direction to ensure their performance will produce required outcomes for service/Council.
Example: Objective “Meet customer requirements 95% of the time” - How would this fit with someone who doesn’t want to pay their Council Tax? Council Aim – Improve the performance and productivity of our services.
Refer back to - A manager’s job is to manage employees’ behaviour within the parameters of the organisation’s priorities.
Ensure objectives are understood – ask employee to repeat objective if have any reasons to believe not being understood.

7. Planning and Reviewing Performance
Monitoring/Motivating Performance/Behaviour
Ensuring you are on track. “Cant just set them and forget them”
Positive reinforcement – working together to find solutions
Opportunity to constructively support under performance – you are responsible for your performance.
Annual and six month reviews
1 to 1 – recommended
Link to priorities – as previously stated.
Example: Objective “Meet customer requirements 95% of the time” - How would this fit with someone who doesn’t want to pay their Council Tax? Council Aim – Improve the performance and productivity of our services.
Refer back to - A manager’s job is to manage employees’ behaviour within the parameters of the organisation’s priorities. What you do should only be activities which are in line with service priorities. They should be in context and meaningful to you.
If you are not sure you understand the objective say so. Or repeat it back in your own words so it can be confirmed whether you have understood.
You need to know if your performance isn’t satisfactory – can’t change your behaviour/performance if you are unaware that it doesn’t meet standards.
Monitoring needs to be done regularly – annually isn’t enough. May need more support in times of change or new areas of working.

8. Planning and Reviewing Performance
Management of behaviour – links to HR policy
Disciplinary
Capability
Engage positively with Appraisal process
Recorded performance appraisals can form an important part of Disciplinary/Capability procedures.
Employees engaging positively with appraisal process less likely to be involved in a Disciplinary or Capability.

9. 8 Steps to Performance Appraisal
Be prepared – questions to help you prepare
Conduct the meeting in a tone of partnership
Identify both good and bad performance
Find the root causes of performance gaps
Plan to close performance gaps
Re-evaluate performance objectives
Get it on record – Performance Appraisal Form
Follow up
Talk through preparing for an appraisal – state steps aimed at Managers but show where they fit as an appraisee:
Be prepared – prepare for your review meeting. Review your objectives and how well you have achieved them. Write notes. Think about any development needs you feel you have.
Meeting – Two way - Work with your manager to find solutions.
Good and Bad Performance - Keep it constructive and positive. Make sure you have examples of where your performance has been good and how it has tied in to service priorities. Consider if objectives need re-evaluating because they no longer fit. Consider barriers you have experienced to achieving objectives and think about solutions to the problems. Try not to get defensive if your manager raises issues of under performance – be solution driven.
If underperformance is an issue think about the root cause. Is an internal process the problem – important to state this. Think about improvements to a process to solve the problem. Do you need more support/development?
Take ownership/responsibility for closing the performance gap too. Ask for support but take responsibility.
If you feel some of your objectives need re-evaluating – no longer relevant – say so.
Appraisal form is a record of the meeting – the meeting shouldn’t be just about completing the form.
Follow Up - You should have at least an Annual and a 6 month review. Regular 1 to 1 and/or team meetings are recommended as important of managing performance.

10. The Performance Appraisal Process at HDC Documents on HINT
Documentation on HINT

11. 
Form – is a means of record keeping – it isn’t the be all and end of all of performance reviewing
Print copy for employee to work through as part of their preparation – encourage them to provide evidence of good performance.
Refer to Handbook and Appraisal Form

12. The Performance Appraisal Process at HDC
Driving for Work – Checklist (Page 8 of Handbook)
Reviewing Health and Safety Issues/Training
Reviewing Workstation Safety – DSE Assessment (Page 9 of Handbook)
Driving Licence check is an annual requirements.
Health and Safety and DSE a reminder if relevant to visit these topics.

13. Closing Gaps in Performance
Understand reason for gap
Skills/Knowledge gap – different methods of learning (Page 14 of Handbook)
Your performance is your responsibility – your development is therefore also your responsibility
Time to develop
Behaviour – changing behaviour – coaching.
Reason for gap as will affect support/choices for development. As previously stated – may be something out of your control - could there be a problem with the internal process, is there conflict in the team, is another department you work with hindering the process, is it a skills/knowledge.
Your Performance is your responsibility – stress the importance of this. Manager defines the performance required – you perform it.
If you need to learn new skills ask for time to develop them – one off courses often aren’t enough time.
If you don’t know there is an issue you can change it. If your manager raises an issue – try not to get defensive – view it with an open mind – work with manager towards a solution. We are human sometimes our performance is under par for various reasons – stress, process not working etc. Important to be positive and constructive.

14. Exercise
Why is it important you take responsibility for your own development?
Looking at the Methods of Delivery (Pages 14 to 18 of Handbook) – pick two methods you feel are the most effective and why.
Select someone from the group to feedback
15 minutes discussion and 15 minutes feedback.

15. Future Considerations
Team Performance – this should be measured linking through appraisals to service planning
Development of an appraisal framework that allows flexibility and means of measuring performance more effectively
Team performance – Sharing workloads, team captures its own performance.
Improving the system – reviewing the approach – mechanism for measuring performance more effectively.

16. To Summarize Key Points Council Plan/Service Plan Links to Appraisals
Each employee will own their own Appraisal
Performance - focuses on behaviour – understanding issues around under performance and providing support for improvement when necessary.

17. Employee Ownership of Appraisal
Preparation Questions
How did you do last year?
What went well/did not go so well?
What areas would you like to be involved in next year and
how can this be developed into your objectives?
What challenges have you faced this year and how can you progress these next year?
What challenges do you face next year?
Questions will be added to Employee Guidance. Important that Employees feel ownership of their appraisal. Coaching style questions constructive puts the onus back to the employee.