Regent University
Employee Handbook
Section II
Employment Policies
Performance Evaluations
View Performance Review PowerPoint presentation.
Policy Statement
The primary purpose of the Professional Development and Review Process is the continual improvement and development of each employee's talents, skills and abilities as they relate to job performance. It is a process of on-going planning, review and development involving the supervisor and the employee, who together identify common goals which correlate to the higher goals of the department and the University.
Overview & Guidelines
Each January, a full Professional Development and Review Plan will be completed for all employees to review the previous calendar year and to plan for the new year. This review will include Goal Setting (Part 1), Development (Part II), and a Competency Review (Part III). Each July, a Mid-Year Status Update will be completed to review progress on current goals and to discuss any mid-year adjustments, improvements, and/or changes in goals or performance. The full review in January and the status update in July will be required for all regular full-time and regular part-time staff employees.
Performance evaluation should be an on-going process between supervisor and employee. There should be no surprises at the time of the review or mid-year status update. Performance evaluations should be conducted in a private interactive face-to-face meeting with only the employee and immediate supervisor present. The employee should be provided at least a week’s notice of the meeting.
A portion of the supervisor's responsibilities includes timely evaluation of each employee supervised. Therefore, satisfactory completion of performance reviews may be included as part of the supervisor's evaluation. Supervisors who fail to ubmit performance evaluations when due will be reported to their dean or department head. Eligibility for salary increases for the supervisor and their subordinates may be delayed or temporarily suspended.
Human Resources will work with the supervisor to identify and/or provide training to the employee, when a training need is identified in the review process.
Human Resources will schedule training sessions prior to the due date of each performance evaluation or one-on-one, as needed, throughout the year. All supervisors of regular full-time and part-time staff from each department must be trained in the Professional Development and Review Process.
Professional Development and Review Plan
Available on the Forms page.
Part 1 -- Goals
Supervisor’s Role:
- Supervisor will provide each employee with their department and/or school goals and the related University goals as listed on page 2 and 3 of the Professional Development and Review plan document.
- Supervisor will distribute the Professional Development and Review Plan document to all employees or direct their employees to the document on the Human Resources website, allowing at least one week for completion.
- Supervisor may need to initially assist employees in writing goals in a S.M.A.R.T. format (see S.M.A.R.T. Guidelines) and in determining how their individual goals align with department and/or University goals. Supervisor may choose to edit goals, write in additional goals, or signify agreement with submitted goals in the “Supervisor’s Comments” section.
- Supervisor will provide feedback on any necessary changes (if any) or updates to an employee’s job description and ensure an updated job description is submitted with the review to Human Resources.
Employee’s Role:
- List goals from their previous review, whether or not they have been accomplished and why.
- List any additional major accomplishments, if any.
- List proposed goals for the next year.
- List changes that should be or have been made to their job description, if any.
- In setting goals, employees should write goals in the S.M.A.R.T. format (see S.M.A.R.T. Guidelines) and ensure goals do relate to department goals provided by their supervisor
Part II -- Development
Supervisor’s Role:
- Supervisor may provide feedback or recommendations on areas they believe their employees could develop or improve upon; training their employees may want to look into for the new review period; or areas for professional growth.
- Supervisor should be open to and willing to discuss suggestions for improvement under “Communication.”
- Supervisor should be open to and prepared to discuss any topics that employee may list under “Other Areas to Discuss.”
Employee’s Role:
- Under “Areas of Growth or Improvement”, employee will list skills or job duties listed on the previous review for development and/or improvement and any progress made. They will then list new or continuing areas to for development and/or improvement for the new review period.
- Employee may list any training completed in the review period, if any.
- Employee may list any plans for professional and/or personal growth, if any.
- Employee may provide specific examples, if any, of how they have demonstrated the 10 competency areas for which they will be rated by their supervisor. These areas include: Excellence, Innovation, Integrity, Communication, Customer Service, Job Knowledge, Judgment and Problem Solving, Self-Management, Teamwork, and Supervision (if applicable).
- Employee will provide ratings on communication within their department and the University and provide suggestions for improvement, if certain aspects of communication are rated below a 3 rating.
- Employee may then list other areas they wish to discuss with their supervisor, if any.
Part III -- Competency Review
Supervisor’s Role:
- Supervisor will meet with all employees prior to beginning the review process, to ensure all employees understand the rating system and the definitions for each rating category and competency area. Supervisor will provide guidance on what is expected in order to obtain various rating levels.
- Supervisor will complete their review using the employee's previous Professional Development and Review plan, Part I and II the employee submitted for the current review, notes from the review period on performance, attendance, and any other materials that will support evaluation comments.
- Supervisor will provide a rating for each competency area. Comments are not required for every competency, but may be beneficial for the employee to have in writing specifically how they excelled in that area or could improve in that area. A rating of 8 or 9 must be supported by specific examples of exemplary performance. A rating of 1 or 2 must be supported by specific examples of unsatisfactory performance, and should include documentation of any corrective and/or disciplinary action taken or planned.
- Supervisor should pay particular attention to the areas of Excellence, Innovation, and Integrity. The supervisor should consider nominating an employee for Employee of the Month Award, if specific examples are noted in which an employee exemplifies these key values of Regent University.
- The "Supervision" competency may not be applicable to all employees. A rating of “N/A” may be used.
- Supervisor will provide an overall rating for how the employee performed in all 10 competency areas and an overall rating for the employee’s ability to meet and accomplish goals set for the review period. The supervisor will then take the average of these two rating for a Combined Overall Rating that will be entered on the cover page of the Professional Development and Review Plan document.
- Ensure the Professional Development and Review Plan document has been discussed between the employee and supervisor; finalized with any edits or changes; signed by employee, supervisor, and next level of supervision (if possible); copied for both employee and supervisor; and submitted to Human Resources for the employee’s personnel file (the original signed copy).
Employee’s Role:
- Employee should familiarize themselves with the rating system and the 10 competency areas for which they will be evaluated.
Mid-Year Professional Development and Review Status Update
Available on the Forms page.
Employee’s Role:
- Employee will list goals set on their January Professional Development and Review Plan and check off whether they have been completed, are on target for meeting completion dates, have been revised, or are no longer applicable.
- Employee will list any new goals that have been established or previous goals that have been revised, if any.
- Employee may then list other areas they wish to discuss at this review.
Supervisor’s Role:
- Under “Supervisor’s Comments,” the supervisor may choose to:
- edit new or revised goals or signify agreement with these goals;
- provide comments on areas the employee is excelling in and meeting performance expectations; and/or
- provide comments and guidance on goals or performance areas the employee may need to improve upon.
- Ensure the Mid-Year Professional Development and Review Status Update has been discussed between the employee and supervisor; finalized with any edits or changes; signed by both employee and supervisor; copied for both employee and supervisor; and submitted to Human Resources for the employee’s personnel file (the original signed copy).
Job Description
Each employee's Job Description will be reviewed during the full review conducted in January and the Mid-Year Status Update conducted in July, and revised as needed. If the Job Description is revised as a result of the review, it will be signed by the employee and supervisor (to signify agreement on the current and growing responsibilities) and forwarded to Human Resources with the Professional Development and Review Plan or Mid-Year Status Update.
Use the Job Description template that is provided under Forms on the Human Resources website. Use it as a guide, and not as a fill-in-the-blanks form. This template must be used as it has been designed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as it pertains to written job descriptions.
New Employees
Within the first week of employment for a new employee, the supervisor should discuss with their new employees goals that should be met by their first review date, resources or training they may need to be able to meet their goals, competency areas they will be evaluated on, and clear expectations that will help them determine their success within their new role.
For a new employee hired between:
- January 1st and March 31st, the full Professional Development and Review Plan should be completed in July.
- April 1st and June 30th, the July Status Update may be used to establish goals for the following six months, to address any concerns, and to prepare them for the full review that will be completed in January.
- July 1st and September 30th, the full Professional Development and Review Plan will be required at the January review.
- October 1st and December 31st, only Part I and II of the Professional Development and Review Plan should be completed.
Be sure to provide and discuss clear goals and expectations with each new hire, to prepare them for the review process.
