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Developing Effective Performance Evaluations
- 1. Developing Truly Effective Performance Evaluations Presenters: Meg Delaney, Main Library Manager and Amy Hartman, Chairperson of the Association of Public Library Employees (APLE)/Collection Development Librarian August, 2016
- 2. Who we are • 440,000 population in Lucas County • 3.1 m visitors last year • 20 buildings – Main Library and 19 branches • 400 employees • 2 labor unions organized in late 1980s: • APLE (professional non-management) - 95 members • CWA (clerical, facilities & operations) - 162 members
- 3. Evaluations: From Panic to Opportunity
- 4. Evaluations should NOT be… • Punitive or vindictive • Nasty surprises or GOTCHA! moments – employees should never see significant disciplinary issues for the first time on an evaluation • One-way, one-time communication
- 5. Ideal evaluations should be… • A way to examine where we are and stay on top of any issues that need addressing • Opportunities for discussion, growth, encouragement • A way for employees to develop personal goals and find ways to make work meaningful • A way to receive formal recognition for work done well
- 6. Importanceof Alignment • Provides a point of connection between organizational values and individual actions • Serves as a tool for managers to align agency goals with the employees goals TLCPL Goals Administrator Goals Branch Goals Individual Goals
- 7. New Evaluations are part of a larger endeavor • Constant progress: • Updated job descriptions • Defined Core Competencies • Updating Performance Standards • Creating Evaluation templates • Manager training • Staff forums held to introduce new process/forms
- 8. What we developed • Standard TLCPL expectations for job competency • Basic knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors expected from all employees • Additional competencies included based on classification • Standardized evaluation forms • Opportunity for employee input • Database of SMART goals • Peer review guidelines
- 9. The Form –thoughtfulinputrequired! 1.Employee input sheet 2.Evaluation grid & commentary 3.SMART goals • Specific • Measurable • Ambitious/Attainable • Relevant • Time-bound
- 10. Employee Input: the Four Questions: • What have you accomplished within the last year? • What are you most proud of? • What would you like to do during the upcoming year? • How can your Manager help?
- 13. Evaluation grid - translation • Intent is to be realistic – all of us always have room for growth in all things • A “good” employee is right in the middle • Perceptions of letter grades persist: “A”, “B”, “C”, “D” • Make sure managers understand and apply evenly across system – peer review helps with this
- 14. Grid defintions • Does Not Meet Expectations – employee is not performing the required parts of the job proficiently. Improvement plan will be developed to increase the skills to an acceptable level. • Meets Some Expectations -- employee is performing the required parts of the job proficiently some, but not all of the time. SMART goals will be developed to increase the performance level from some to most/all of the time. • Meets Most Expectations – employee is performing most job duties proficiently most of the time. SMART goals will be created to assist the employee with further career mastery. • Fully Meets Expectations – employee has reached mastery/fluency, and results clearly meet goals. SMART goals might be developed to further strengthen skills. • Exceeds Expectations – employee is consistently delivering results beyond expectations/goals. SMART goals might be developed to teach and/or train others.
- 15. Specific, Measurable, Time-bound • All goals will clearly show: • What is expected • Who’s involved • Where it will happen • How much? How many? How will I know when accomplished? When should this be complete? What should be done 6 months from now? Six weeks? Today? • Quantifiable indicators of success Example: Fred will successfully demonstrate how to download books and/or music from any of our services (Zinio, Hoopla, Overdrive) to 2 different people (co-workers or customers) by November 2016
- 16. Attainable/Ambitious, Relevant • Neither out of reach nor below standard performance enough to be meaningless • Clearly states how the goal can be accomplished • Relevant goals are worthwhile, done at the right time by the right person, and match well with other efforts/needs that are currently priorities
- 17. The Process Employee • Completes input form Manager • Aspirational conversation with employee; set goals • Completes grid/form • Submits for peer review Manager & Peer • Discuss ways to make the document stronger • Prep/suggestions for conversation with employee Employee & Manager • Review document and amend as necessary • Print, sign, send to Administrator
- 18. The Follow-up • Employees encouraged to track accomplishments, ideas, and developmental aspirations throughout the year • New goals can be developed as others are accomplished • Managers following up on goals via Goal Tracker document…
- 20. Outcomes: • Alignment – employee goals with managerial/agency/system • Productively empowers difficult conversations • Encourages mutual responsibility for employee’s career development • builds manager/employee relationships • keeps manager responsible for check-in and further guidance • Managerial peer review builds relationships and database of productive, well-considered SMART goals • Successful completion of SMART goals clearly increased employee skills.
- 21. “Hidden” Skills development • We all get used to saying and hearing constructive criticism – to/from employee and supervisor • Everyone is learning, with allowances for varying paces • System-wide management team-building – opportunity to connect strengths. Strong evaluators model for peers, building relationships between managers and developing future administrators • Developing a shared vocabulary • Manager can talk about what needs to be discussed rather than just what’s easy to discuss
- 22. What we learned • Each point needs to have “obtainable specificity” – avoid catch-all verbiage that can be too open to interpretation • Always seeks to exceed standards for achieving excellence in customer service Compare with: • Utilizes all means possible to ensure customer leaves satisfied, and does not exhibit a value judgment on a customer • Initially all questions had 5 step grid – some are being adjusted to reflect true/false situations • Part of Pete-inspired trust meme Image courtesy of Miss Maddie Ward
- 23. What we learned(continued) • Hard deadlines are needed for completion of varying stages; communicated to all staff so expectations are realistic and understood by all • Need better tool for administrative tracking of each evaluation’s progress and better flags for when something gets stalled • Grid interpretation – we need additional calibration training so all managers are applying the same standards/understandings
- 24. Lessons learned - APLE • Employees had to develop patience with the process – hard to not take it personally as managers learn new paradigms - PETE • Employee forums were highly effective, BUT some still developed/relied on own interpretations of grids in spite of instructions • Employee involvement in the process makes it more meaningful BUT there will always be some who “refuse to play”. Don’t let them derail the whole process!
- 25. Lessons Learned – Management • Most employees are hungry for feedback • Peer review has many benefits • Need better tracking for incomplete evals • Admins and Managers need to model ownership • Continually evolving process/documents paves way for steady growth and accountability on all levels – ties in to larger Mission
- 26. Final thoughts… • No perfect evaluation process/form exists – move past waiting until you have everything figured out before trying something new • Accountability on all levels is vital • Be like Pete: • Keep expectations realistic and roll with whatever develops • Try and honestly evaluate new ideas; fix or let go of what doesn’t work • Always seek to improve - continue to develop the form and process as necessary
- 27. Handouts • Evaluation forms for Librarians and Clerks • Employee input form • Helpful evaluation discussion approaches and writing tips • Goal Tracker document • Peer Review Guide form • Sample SMART goals that have been particularly effective • Full explanation of SMART goals concept • Full step-by-step of TLCPL evaluation process and complete grid descriptions
- 28. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Fan mail? Tasty recipes? Meg.delaney@toledolibrary.org Amy.hartman@toledolibrary.org toledolibrary.org
Editor's Notes
- Meg: Good morning everyone. Amy and I are pleased to be with you again, this time to share details on the transformation of our staff evaluation program. Last time we came before you, it was to share ways you could capture institutional memory before long-standing staff sailed off into retirement. My name is Meg Delaney and I’m the Main Library Manager for TLCPL. Amy: Another of our PLA presentations was about dealing with difficult people, and we’re excited to be coming at you again with some great ideas we’ve developed with new evaluations. Please note that we have several handouts we’ll be discussing, and they are available as a PDF on the PLA page for this webinar. The table of contents are links, and you can use the bookmarks thingy at the side to also jump directly to another document from within the text.
- Amy: Here’s a brief numeric overview of our system (along with a slightly dizzying image of the vitrolite glass murals in the central court of our main library). As for who we are individually, I (Amy) have been at TLCPL for 21 years, APLE officer for about past 6 years, active in the union for many more. Outside of contract negotiations, my official role as union chair is basically to make sure the contract is observed, our members are treated fairly in disciplinary issues and to advocate for them when professional issues with managers arise. Unofficially, I usually spend a lot of time talking people down and doing what I can to build relationships and good work environments. TLCPL is in the minority with having organized librarians (HA! A little union humor there…) and extremely unusual in having TWO unions – please note that any organization can have staff representatives for projects like this no matter how you’re structured. Important thing is to avoid the temptation to choose a token “yes” person and select and honestly listen to someone who truly represents staff interests and is respected by their peers. Meg: As Main Manager, I’ve also been with TLCPL for more than 20 years, and spent 3 years as one of those unionized librarians. Throughout my career, I’ve managed small, medium, and large branches. I’ve written evaluations for a wide range of staff, custodians, shelvers, clerks, and librarians. Now, as the manager of Main Library, I supervise and evaluate the six public service department mangers.
- Amy: SURVEY QUESTION: In one of the little boxes on your screen, participants have little emoticon dealios to communicate and electronically agree/disagree, or raise your hand. If you could electronically raise your hand or respond emoticon-ally as you choose, please do so in response to this exciting question: As a manager or employee, have you ever had a “bad” review experience? Not necessarily a critical review itself, but an actual cringe-worthy interaction. I can think of about three just off the top of my head, maybe not as amusing as the cartoon above, but close! Amy: This is the experience and expectations we’ve been struggling with for years. Nobody really knows what to do with evaluations; we’ve always done them because we’ve had to do them. If one is lucky enough to have a good manager, they are usually rather painless. But a lot of times, even with good managers, they’re still awkward and annoying. Actual experience aside, for many of us on both sides of the desk, they don’t really mean anything and are just another ordeal. When telling people about this presentation Meg and I developed, I usually almost immediately see the mental lights go out and the shades go down, as people back away making pained faces. But as is so often the case with awkwardness in life, we have the power to make these interactions useful and effective if we let go of outdated traditions and put some work and thought into it. We decided to tackle the whole process and try to develop a new tool for professional development and alignment of effort. Our goal was to find a new focus on relevance. Meg: Again, as a manager, one of my primary goals is to help staff get a degree of objectivity on themselves. To do that we need real dialogue with real feedback. This appraisal system sets the stage for giving and receiving meaningful feedback.
- Meg: The chief thing we say with all evaluations is “No Surprises!” This is where you use phrases like “We’ve talked about this before…” Conversations around annual evaluations should touch on points which have already been discussed (for good or bad) throughout the year. One of the managers I supervise is still building skills and learning how to receive feedback. This process helped as I transitioned from being their peer to being their boss. Primary discipline structure should be separate Amy: No matter what, employee trepidation about this kind of experience is going to persist. Constant repetition on a new focus is necessary. I think I can summarize for most of us and say that Library staffers are a passionate people and likely to leap to some amazingly suspicious conclusions when considering new paths. We built in several checks and balances from the start to help stem the panic; most important from union perspective is managerial/administrative peer review, which we will talk about soon.
- Meg: The roll-out of our new process began with public service staff - a test group from the Circulation Staff in the Fall of 2013. That led to modifications and improvements. During Spring of 2014 we moved on to Librarians, and have now developed tools for Tech Services, and Facilities and Operations. Not to worry; Administrators are underway. Most importantly: they should be Honest, Encouraging, Meaningful There are several factors which are contributing to the successful rollout of this new process: - We’re all going through the change at the same time. All managers went through 2 days of training based on the Management Center’s Managing to Change the World. As a result we now have shared vocabulary for many of these concepts. The new tool is objective rather than narrative. Really. In the old days, managers started with a blank piece of paper and wrote paragraphs (and sometimes pages) for each employee eval. This process is collaborative - Admin, managers, and line staff are all communicating throughout the process. Amy: We tried to think of what an ideal evaluation experience would be and then build towards that, fostering communication and accountability for all sides. The dog image on the slide is a great representation of where a lot of performance problems arise. Most of us genuinely mean well when results are wonky, and we need a way to encourage that instinct for good intent while demonstrating or discussing what good/ideal results look like. Employees range from those on the verge of truly awesome/We can’t survive without this person! to those who on some days even I as a union representative (and I say this lovingly) want to drop kick out the door. We need tools to work with folks across the entire spectrum.
- Meg: The standardization provided by shared vocabulary, shared tools, and a new Strategic Plan makes alignment possible. Previously, branches and departments were autonomous in the tools they used and the intervals for reviews. Employees now have a context & understanding of their role in the organization and in accomplishing our goals. Talk about the cascading effect of these good ideas – both ways!
- Meg: As we step purposefully toward being a 21st Century Library, we are updating a number of documents and processes throughout the organization. HR had a leadership role in developing/administering the new system (helpers in formalizing the process) They: Pulled the team together (HR, unions, heads of public service) Had conversations to discuss expectations Pilot with CWA, evolution from there Developed goals for the new system: To making the organization more successful To Align with our new statement of Values: Accountable & Collaborative To show What efficiencies we have gained Having standard managerial guidelines across the system Having a common yardstick to measure progress – and a shared vocabulary Training for Managers and Supervisors – Meg Amy: SURVEY QUESTION: Via a show of electronic hands: has anyone used a forum process to introduce new system-wide concepts? If you don’t know what that process is, hang in there: you’re about to find out! We’ve had a lot of success with forums in the system. We began using them waaay back in the day when we first added public internet PCs back in late 1990s – it’s hard for these youngsters today to realize how revolutionary (and scary) that was, but it was HUGE, and rather than just telling library staff to shut up and deal with it, we wanted to do what we could to address concerns, share information, and get staff to own this new responsibility that we all had to deal with. We also used forums to introduce Floating collections which was equally scary and intimidating, and now for these new evaluations. In our forum process, we do the same presentation three times: each one at a different location and on a different day/time to accommodate as many schedules as possible. The forums were voluntary, though everyone was strongly encouraged to attend and managers did everything possible to schedule. We shared information on the new process and forms, and the intent behind revamping the whole deal. Forums are a great way to make sure everyone hears the same message and has an opportunity to ask questions and get answers from those responsible for deciding things, even if it is “We don’t know that right now”. Most importantly, it’s also a safe place for people to freak out a little and for organizers and peers to talk upset or angry folks down, quell rumor-mongering before it even starts and to help people see the good intent behind institutional change.
- Amy: We developed basic skills and service expectations for all employees and for each work group, and this is still in process, and likely to ALWAYS be so, highlighting the most important aspects of customer service. We worked on a way to include formal employee input, feeling that the best way to make something meaningful is to involve someone in the actual process, and we feel we’ve hit the right approach. Meg: Ongoing Peer Review of evals in development to ensure consistency – Meg
- Amy – The form has three elements, and they are… Meg: SURVEY QUESTION: Anyone using SMART goals or have experience with them? incorporate: Libraries continue to evolve beyond access and lending, to provide a platform for learning, community partnerships, innovation, and creativity.
- Amy – we based employee input on these basic questions. The first two I like especially for those employees who are used to sleepwalking through the day. The nature of our profession doesn’t allow us the luxury of minimum effort being the baseline any more. Expecting this kind of input from employees encourages them to take an active interest in developing themselves – knowing this will be a part of one’s career record, it inspires people to WANT to have something to put here. Having a formal way to discuss aspirations with managers also keeps management accountable for helping and encouraging their employees along these paths.
- Meg: Share technique of creating document with all Summary and goal statements. Share experience in writing Overall Summary statements and observations of Managers working “up” to those expectations. As an example of the way we’re learning & growing, 2 weeks ago the heads of Main, Circ, and Branches had an “aha” moment when we realized we were using the Overall Summary box differently. Now, it’s a much more standardized format: Sentence 1 Sentence 2 Sentence 3 Talk about the “equalization” value of keeping track of what is written for each person. For example: Mary continues to learn and grow in her role as the leader and manager for the Children’s Library. She is building her skills in having difficult conversations with staff and colleagues, and she readily accepts coaching. Mary is able to communicate her vision of what the Department should be and has the organizational skills to create timelines for implementation of complex projects and programs. Within the grid section note the balance of objective statements and reflection in the Strengths/Comments
- Amy: An important concept in thinking about customer service is that customers can be internal as well as external, so non-public service staff are still held to high service standards. The “not applicable” option at the bottom of the page is useful to address varying roles and responsibilities with the same form, and particularly while we are still developing more nuanced evaluations for specific positions.
- Amy: It’s hard to break away from our experiences as students getting report cards, and this has been one of our larger challenges with this process. We’ve been trying to get everyone on board the “Let’s All Be Realistic” train, with the understanding that EVERYONE, regardless of seniority, experience, and knowledge, ALWAYS has room for growth. We want “fully meets” and especially “exceeds expectations” to really, really mean something. Many staff are uncomfortable hearing that they are not always “exceeding.” But this isn’t supposed to massage egos, no matter how good that feels (for managers and employees). The important thing is to make sure all managers apply the same standards and expectations for everyone.
- Amy: Before you scramble to write them, please note that these definitions are included in our handouts. Each definition states meaning and intent to build employee skills. Read through and comment. Most important thing is that SMART goals apply to every level – note that the first 3 levels stipulate that goals WILL be created/developed, the last 2 levels give the option, which keeps managers accountable for helping employees achieve a higher level of functioning. Realistically, most of us live in the blue zone here, and we’re working hard to help everyone understand that this is a good thing.
- Amy : The next 2 slides break down what we mean by SMART goals, dividing the concept into “SMT” and “AR” concepts. SMT are basically the pieces that are clearly defined/measurable.
- Amy: The ARRR concept is the more thoughtful part of creating the goal and goals can be nuanced to meet the needs of the individual. Meg: The handouts that we’ve posted will have super-SMART goals. Here are examples though, to give you an idea right now: Circulation Clerk: When communicating negative information, focus on what we can do for the customer and strive to deliver the information in an empathetic manner. Meet with your Supervisor once a month for the next 12 months to discuss instances when you’ve had difficult conversations with customers. During this 1-on-1 meeting, you may share what you did and brainstorm additional language, options, and outcomes to improve future customer experiences. Librarian: Because of your interest in using Outcomes Based Planning and Evaluation in relation to program planning, please share your findings with the manager to be followed by presenting this information to the rest of the department at a staff meeting. This should be completed by June 2016. Manager: Build delegation skills by choosing 2 projects in the first quarter of 2017 for which you follow the delegation process described by the Management Center. Share feedback with your manager along the way. Early on, when we began with Circulation Clerks, we started compiling the SMART goals as they came in on individual evals. Some managers are great at writing these! Our “dream team” of managers, the ones that conduct the training, have reviewed the compiled goals and made them even SMARTER! Now managers browse through the list of goals, and, when possible and appropriate, use one of the already-written goals. This has a side benefit of emphasizing consistent expectations all across the system (cite clean workspace example…) Together these agreed-upon goals will contribute to our customer service initiative, which is currently in development.
- Meg: Walk through these steps (without looking at the screen!) In a perfect world, we use the following timeline: Employee alone: 1 – 2 weeks Manager alone: 2 – 3 weeks Manager & Peer: 1 week Employee & Manager: 1 week Breaking that down: - Once the employee completes the self-eval, the employee and manager meet to discuss that. They come to agreement on 3 – 5 goals for the year - After the peer review, when it’s time for the formal review, the document should be printed for the employee to read AND remain open for editing on the computer to reflect any changes resulting from conversation - Manager inputs goals into calendar for updates/review according to agreed upon schedule - Evaluation is submitted to appropriate administrator - Employee may add a response or request review from HR Meg: Stress that some of the goals and statements of strengths come from the employee input sheet.
- Amy: Just as important as the actual evaluation, the follow-up process is key to keeping it meaningful. This is not a one-time deal with conveniently forgotten goals. Nothing robs meaning like neglect. Therefore… Meg: Both employees and supervisors have some work to do!
- Meg: I copy and paste each manager’s goal onto this sheet. We review the goals at appropriate intervals while surrounded by unicorns and rainbows! The handouts posted for this session have filled out examples of the goal tracker.
- Meg: We’ve had a number of positive results from this new process. Bullet 4 (managerial peer review) has been especially important in bringing managers together for collaborative meaningful work. As we said at the beginning – with 20 locations, it’s tough to keep everyone on the same page – or even in the same book! HR appreciates Bullet 5: Increased skills: employees are building comfort/success with downloadables. We now have a formal structure through which both hard and soft skills increased.
- Amy – My favorite benefits are the skills we build without even realizing we’re working on them. Releasing the baggage of yesterday for the progress of today is huge. Meg: Last 3 On the very last bullet, what I needed to discuss was a particular managers’ excessive use of “Exceeds Expectations.” We needed honest talk about calibration and the fact that they would have to have honest conversations about staff & the “real” level of their performance.
- Amy: When designing the form, it’s important to check your urge to get too “pie in the sky”ish and make sure to keep expectations lofty but realistic. So keep the wording as clear as possible. Compare “Always seeks” with “Utilzes all” Grids need to be realistic too. All of this has led us to develop a very useful trust meme based on Pete the Cat. SURVEY QUESTION: Raise your electronic paws: Who knows about Pete the Cat? Are you smiling right now??? If you don’t know about him, then RUN, don’t walk and grab the best of his books (I love my white shoes) off your shelf, ASSUMING THEY’RE NOT ALL CHECKED OUT BY THE COOL PEOPLE. One of our HR admins is a huge Pete fan and had a picture of him posted to remind her of his gentle but mighty wisdom, and many of us have followed suit. Basically, Pete is an advocate for mindfulness and being okay with whatever happens. So based on this, we’ve developed a reminder of the importance of Test and Try – creating a climate of trust, which leads to Learn and Let Go. Staff are more willing to try new things if they know there will be an honest evaluation and problems will be addressed or the idea will be let go if it doesn’t work. Again, this is a gigantic concept and a really important part of organizational change. We’re careful not to use this to reduce important concepts to “well if PETE can do it, than you shouldn’t have a problem!” so please don’t think the intent is to deny people a healthy skepticism and feelings of trepidation. And even being huge Pete fans, sometimes we’re not as good at doing this as we’d like to be, but it helps to have it as an aspiration for everyone.
- Meg: I learned that this task takes time. We need to allow time for employees to reflect and for managers to communicate clearly. This is the work that gets dropped or pushed back when things get busy out of the public service floor!
- Amy – READ SLIDE POINTS, then: This is all an ongoing process, cooperation and understanding increase as managers become more experienced and employees see results and the importance their own growth Everyone seems to appreciate losing the “I like you, do you like me!?” awkwardness of the old narratives. Everyone appreciates the standardization aspect of system-wide expectations. Initially we got some eye rolls when people saw the forms, but once people went through it and understood what this really means and see it applied to everyone, appreciation rose dramatically. I cannot stress enough: Employees need to be a part of the process to achieve true relevance.
- Meg: Forms and processes we’re talking about today are already evolving into more streamlined and focused endeavors, we’re just showing you a snapshot of how we started down our path. Building tolerance for the fact that managers are learning as they go – in a fishbowl. This is how you build a learning organization – more comfortable with employee feedback and questioning. It’s okay to learn alongside each other – do you remember the way we used to want to have the finished/perfected product before we did anything? I’m reading a great book by Bob Quinn right now. It’s called Building the Bridge as you Walk on It and contains many lessons for leading change. He founded the Center for Positive Organizations at the University of Michigan Business School. That title kind of says it all. We are Building the Bridge as we Walk on It – and we are doing it from a perspective of strength and unity.
- Amy: So there it is; still very much a work in progress. I wish we had the perfect product and process to share with you, but we don’t. All we can do is share what we’ve learned, what works for us (for now) and our commitment to continue our journey towards constant improvement. Meg: Libraries continue to evolve beyond access and lending, to provide a platform for learning, community partnerships, innovation, and creativity. This tool helps us get there.
- Amy: And that’s what we have to share – we’re now ready for the flood of comments and questions. While participants are submitting them, I’ll review the electronic handouts we’ve provided…
- Meg: Our new strategic plan has 3 pillars. One of them is “Foster a Culture of Innovation and Leadership.” This plan helps us get there. QUESTIONS? WHAT WORKS FOR YOU? WHAT DOESN’T??