Douglas County School District

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Douglas County School District

Performance Evaluation Guidelines

for

Department Admin

Pro/Tech

Support Staff Employees

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DISCLAIMER

The evaluation process does not create any property right or expectancy of continued employment. The evaluation process shall not establish any guarantee relative to renewal or non-renewal of an employee’s transfer, assignment, dismissal (except on grounds of unsuccessful performance), or other employment decision relating to school personnel. An evaluator acting in bad faith or failing to apply a procedure, or adhere to a prescribed time line, shall not be any impediment to or prevent an administrator from

recommending to the Board of Education modifying an employee’s employment status.

OVERVIEW AND PURPOSE

The Classified evaluation instrument is designed to document the expectations of individual and organizational performance, provide a meaningful process by which employees can be rewarded for noteworthy contributions to the organization, and provide a mechanism to improve

individual/organizational performance as necessary.

To accomplish these objectives, managers will identify organizational goals to be accomplished, communicate individual and organizational goals to employees that support Douglas County School District’s Strategic Plan, monitor and evaluate employee performance, and use performance as a basis for appropriate personnel actions, including rewarding noteworthy performance and taking action to improve less than successful performance.

In an effective organization, work is planned in advance. This includes setting performance expectations and goals for individuals in order to channel efforts toward achieving organizational objectives.

Involving employees in the planning process is essential to their understanding of the goals of the organization, what needs to be done, why it needs to be done, and expectations for accomplishing goals. This evaluation instrument outlines the specific competencies the employee is expected to accomplish during the evaluation cycle. The performance competencies are measurable, understandable,

verifiable, equitable, and achievable.

EVALUATION DOCUMENT LOCATION AND PROCESS

The following evaluation tools are available on Human Resources Google Site under the “Evaluation” tab.

• Evaluation Guidelines • Employee Self-Evaluation • Evaluation worksheet

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4 1. The evaluator will use the Google document to establish annual goals, rate the employee’s

performance, and provide comments.

2. Downloading the information from the evaluation document into the Google form using your access will be considered as your electronic signature.

3. Once completed, the evaluator and the employee will receive a copy of the completed

evaluation via gmail. HR will download the document into the employee’s personnel file and the overall rating will be downloaded into Oracle.

4. Increases to the employee’s salary will be determined by the evaluation rating and will be effective the beginning of the school year.

TIMELINE

Employees are evaluated on an annual basis. The timeline is listed below.

On or before: Oct 15 Feb. 15 April 15 May 1 May 16/23

Pre-evaluation and goal setting conference Mid- year conference and review of goals

Employee writes self-evaluation

Evaluator reviews the tentative rating with his/her evaluator for final approval

Submit final evaluation in the Evaluation

Conduct final evaluation conference and submit on the Evaluation Submission form located on HR’s Google Site (Classified – 5/16, Dept. A/P/T = 5/23)

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Adjusted timeline for mid-year hires

• Employees hired prior to March 1, are required to have a performance evaluation. • Employees hired on or after March 1, are not required to have an evaluation until the

following school year.

• Employees transferring into a new position after March 1, must be evaluated by the supervisor of the previous position.

• Department Admin/Pro/Tech employees hired on or after January 1 are not eligible for a pay increase.

• Classified employees hired on or after March 1 are not required to be evaluated and are not eligible for a pay increase.

COMPETENCIES

The performance competencies are expressions of the performance expectations. They must be focused on results and include credible measures, such as: quality of work, timeliness, cost- effectiveness, and customer focus. These competencies can be applied to every position.

MONITORING

Effective and timely feedback during the performance appraisal period, addressing employee

performance based on the competencies is an essential component of a successful evaluation program. Employees will know in a timely manner how well they are performing. They will be told what they are doing well and if there are areas needing improvement.

Feedback can come from many different sources: observation, measurement systems, feedback from peers, and input from customers, just to name a few. It will be up to evaluator to determine how best to gather the information, and from which sources, to ensure an effective rating of the employees under their supervision.

Part of the monitoring process includes the following minimal conferences each year: • Goal setting session at the beginning of the school year

• Mid-year progress review. • Year-end review

SELF EVALUATION

In order to support a collaborative evaluation, it is encouraged employees self-evaluate their performance. A Self-Evaluation form that is a duplicate of the Evaluation form is available on Human Resources Google Site for employee’s use.

In addition to specific performance feedback, conversation in the following areas is recommended: • Communication

• Training needs (formal, on-the-job, etc.)

• Sufficiency of skills and knowledge level for successful performance • Status of work (challenging, fulfilling)

• Getting/giving regular feedback

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throughout the year. Doing this will create a two-way conversation during each conference.

USING THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR GOAL SETTING

The Development Plan should be developed jointly with the employee. It should focus on either improving performance to better enable the employee to become highly effective or to help position the employee for a different position within the District. The items in the plan should be reasonably attained

within a school year. This does not mean that the intended goal would be met in that timeframe but that it is directionally correct and a new plan can be created the following year.

Not all of the five categories need to contain something but the more the better. Remember, all components assigned in the development plan either needs to be completed during the employee’s work time or the employee must be compensated for their efforts outside of their work schedule.

• The first category (Assigned Projects, Assignments, Research, Readings and Committee) is designed to identify projects or committees employees join to garner the knowledge they need to further develop in a specific area. Readings and research involves assigned papers, books,

periodicals, etc. that relate to the developmental area.

• The second category (Self Awareness/Self-Improvement) is used to identify ways to provide the employee feedback about his/her performance or behavior. Examples include 360 degree feedback, peer surveys, team building exercises, and personality profiles. • The third category (Coaching/Mentoring) involves the supervisor assigning a subject

matter expert to coach the employee in a specific performance area and/or providing the employee the opportunity to coach or mentor someone else.

• The final category (Courses/Trainings) should spell out those trainings, seminars and courses that would support the employee in these developmental efforts.

SETTING S.M.A.R.T. GOALS

A goal is a general statement about a desired outcome with one or more specific objectives that define in precise terms what is to be accomplished within a designated time frame. A goal describes accomplishment, not activities.

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

Specific: Goal objectives should address the five W’s… who, what, when, where, and why. Use

action verbs… create, design, develop, implement, produce, etc. Example: Resolve accounting

discrepancies within 48 hours.

Measurable: Goal objectives should include numeric or descriptive measures that define quantity,

quality, cost, etc. How will you and your staff member know when the goal has been successfully met?

Example: Increase lunch meals by 2% this year.

Achievable: Goal objectives should be within the staff member’s control and influence; a goal may be a

“stretch” but still feasible. Is the goal achievable with the available resources? Is the goal achievable within the timeframe originally outlined? Example: Obtain the XYZ professional certification within two years.

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Relevant: Goals should be instrumental to the mission of the department (and ultimately, the organization).

Why is the goal important? How will the goal help the department achieve its objectives? Example: Develop

and implement a diversity recruitment plan that increases the number of diversity candidates by ten percent.

Time-bound: Goal objectives should identify a definite target date for completion and/or frequencies for

specific action steps that are important for achieving the goal. Example: Respond to all emails and

phone calls within 16 working hours.

Example:

Not SMART “Be more receptive to coaching suggestions and feedback.”

SMART “At our monthly progress meetings, ask for feedback on what you are doing well and what

things to improve. Keep a notebook with this information, try out the suggestions, and document each week what worked and what didn’t RATING

OVERALL RATING

The overall rating is determined by evaluating the employee performance against the criteria. The rating of record is based on work performed during the annual evaluation cycle.

When assigning a rating for each competency, the evaluator will consider the “Effective” performance rating as the base rating. The evaluator should provide comments that support the rating.

Each performance competency will be assigned one of the following ratings based on the employee’s performance.

• Highly Effective 4 points

• Effective 3 points

• Partially Effective 2 points

• Ineffective 1 point

Evaluators assign a rating based on the criteria, not on an arbitrary distribution system (such as a bell curve). This is contrary to the intent of the evaluation system.

A narrative summary must be written for each competency assigned a rating of Highly Effective or Ineffective. This narrative should contain examples of the employee's performance that substantiate and explain how the employee's performance falls within the levels assigned. A narrative summary is encouraged, but not required, for ratings of Effective, and Partially Effective.

ADDRESSING POOR PERFORMANCE

If at any time in the performance evaluation cycle, the employee’s performance is at the Ineffective level, the evaluator will document and discuss the significant area(s) of concern with the employee.

If concerns are significant and/or persistent, a formal Letter of Warning will inform the employee of the concerns. The Letter of Warning will be copied to the Director of Human Resources and placed in the

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8 employee’s personnel file. The employee has the right to respond in writing to any portion of the evaluation and/or Letter of Warning and such response will be attached. Copies of all supporting documents will be maintained in the supervisor's working file.

If concerns persist, a Professional Improvement Plan (PIP) will be developed collaboratively between the employee and evaluator, specifically addressing the area(s) of concern related to the performance indicators. The employee will receive a copy of the PIP and copies will be placed in the supervisor’s working file, the employee’s personnel file, and sent to the Director of Human Resources.

If the employee fails to satisfactorily complete the Professional Improvement Plan, one of the following will occur: (1) the Plan may be modified and continued into the next school year, or (2) the employee will be marked Ineffective and dismissed.

The Human Resources Office is available for advice and assistance through this process.

Note: Poor performance and misconduct.

Poor performance (can’t do) is failure of the employee to do the job at an acceptable level that is at

least fully successful. Misconduct (won’t do) is generally failure to follow a workplace rule (whether written or unwritten). Examples of misconduct are: tardiness, absenteeism,

unprofessional/discourteous conduct; damaging/destroying government property; falsification, etc.

A separate process is used when addressing misconduct. The Human Resources Office is available for advice and assistance through this process.

OVERALL RATING DETERMINATION

1. Assign one of the Performance Evaluation Rating levels that accurately reflect the employee’s performance for each competency.

(Use only whole numbers: Highly Effective = 4 points; Effective = 3 points, Partially Effective = 2 points, and Ineffective = 1 points)

2. Add up the numerical competency ratings.

3. Divide the total score by the total number of competencies to get an average, which becomes the Overall Evaluation rating.

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4-POINT MATRIX

4 Highly Effective:

• The employee frequently takes initiative to solve problems and improve process; is a subject matter expert; is innovative, significantly impacts positive outcomes for the District/site

3 Effective:

• The employee frequently successfully carries out regular duties of the job; effectively applies skills and knowledge to get the job done; plans and performs work accordingly to priorities and goals

2 Partially Effective:

• The employee has a superficial understanding of his/her responsibilities; requires assistance from supervisor or peers to meet basic requirements of the job

1 Ineffective:

• The employee’s work frequently needs revision or adjustment to meet a minimally successful level; the quality and quantity of the employee’s work is not adequate for the position.

Douglas County School District