PERSONNEL

Personnel

Performance Evaluation (6.29)

PURPOSE

Tennessee State University recognizes employees have a need and expectation to be continuously advised of how their performance is perceived by their supervisors. The performance review process is used for that purpose.

The performance review process is not a disciplinary process. It is a developmental process. Although Tennessee State University's performance review process is designed to measure an employee's overall job performance during the performance year, the evaluation should be directed towards goal planning and goal attainment.

POLICY

It is the policy of Tennessee State University that regularly scheduled performance measurements (evaluations) be conducted for administrative, professional and support staff annually, usually in April or May of each fiscal year. The evaluations should effectively measure the competence, efficiency, conduct, merit and other job related functions of each employee.

It is the responsibility of the Personnel Director to assist deans, directors and department heads in the development of performance standards, methods and procedures and to assume overall responsibility for the University's performance evaluation system.

Tennessee State University maintains a policy of evaluating the job performance of its employees as a means of measuring operational efficiency and effectiveness, providing employees with meaningful information about their work and aiding the University in making personnel decisions related to such areas as training, compensation, promotion, job assignments, retention and long­range planning of its operations. Evaluation of employees is intended to be participatory in nature, involving the employee's input as much as the rating supervisor, thereby helping employees to contribute to the progress of the University.

PROCEDURE

Administrative/Professional Employees

The performance evaluation process for administrative and professional class employees should focus on specific goals and developmental training needs of the employee. Performance goals should be realistic, measurable in time, quantity and/or quality and challenging.

Support Staff

The performance evaluation process for this class of employees should also focus on specific goals. Employees in this class may routinely perform similar duties and in such cases may have similar organizational goals. Performance evaluations for support staff should measure employees' contribution to overall departmental goal achievement. The Personnel Department provides guidance in the development and measurement of specific and team- oriented goals.

During the initial year of employment, employees will be evaluated at least twice: once within the 6-month probationary period and at the conclusion of their first year. Thereafter, evaluations will be conducted annually or more frequently as deemed appropriate by supervisory personnel.

Among the factors evaluated during formal performance reviews are the employee's quality and quantity of work, work habits, interpersonal relations and adaptability to job conditions. Each employee is to be given an opportunity to meet with the evaluating supervisor to openly and candidly discuss the evaluation before it is finalized, whereupon the employee will be given a copy of the completed form. Where an employee has received deficient ratings in any category or aspect of work that represents a significant area of job responsibility, the evaluating supervisor may recommend specific corrective action to the appropriate dean, director or department head and notify the employee accordingly, Specific performance goals must be in writing. It is the responsibility of all supervisory and management personnel to provide reasonable training of employees, to initiate efforts to assist employee's in correcting deficient performance behavior, and to evaluate employees objectively.

Probationary Evaluations

Employees at Tennessee State University are hired with the expectation they will contribute to the success of the University. It is therefore reasonable to initiate certain measures during the employee's initial probationary period to maximize their potential for success. The initial probationary period for all non­faculty employees is six months.

Each employee shall receive a formal performance evaluation during the initial probationary period as a means of determining such job characteristics as adjustment to employment conditions, integration into the University's work force, job learning process, attendance and any other feature of the individual's job success. During this period of initial employment, each employee is to receive close supervision, instruction, review of work, training and any other guidance that is supportive of the employee's opportunity for success on the job.

Discretionary Performance Evaluations

Tennessee State University retains the right to conduct performance evaluations at other than regularly scheduled times.

This provides deans, directors and department heads a means of documenting specific performance deficiencies and a process in which to correct them. Further, should the particular performance deficiency not be corrected or correctable within acceptable limits, the discretionary evaluation can serve as important documentation when it becomes necessary to terminate the services of such an employee. The primary intent is to bring to the employee's attention a performance decline and the ways and means to correct it. It is hoped the problem will be resolved in this way and disciplinary measures, including termination, will not have to be considered.

Review with Employee

Each formal performance evaluation will be thoroughly discussed with the applicable employee to point out areas that need improvement or are unacceptable. Employees are encouraged to comment about their work performance, in writing or verbally, and to discuss working conditions and offer suggestions for improving business operations.

The employee should sign the performance report to acknowledge awareness of its contents and discussion with the rating supervisor. The employee's signature does not necessarily mean the employee fully agrees with the contents of the report and the employee may so state on the form before signing.

In situations when an employee has reason to disagree with the performance evaluation, the employee may respond to the content or conduct of the performance evaluation in writing within 30 days following the employee's discussion of the performance evaluation with the evaluating supervisor.

If an employee chooses this option, the employee's response should be forwarded to the evaluating supervisor and a copy should be submitted to the Personnel Director for inclusion into the employee's file with the original evaluation document. Employees are encouraged to request, in writing to their supervisor, their annual performance evaluation be conducted in a timely manner.

Effects of Substandard Rating

A substandard rating, as applied to performance evaluations, means any rating below the rating level of satisfactory/average/standard. Employees receiving a substandard rating or ratings may have their employment conditions modified in the following manner:

( ) Ineligibility for promotional consideration until the deficiency is corrected.

( ) Demotion to lower level of responsibility with a corresponding 6% decrease in salary.

( ) Disciplinary probation with specific performance goals for improvement.

( ) Termination.

Specific action taken as the result of a substandard rating(s) will depend on, but not be limited to, such considerations as the weight or significance of the evaluation category compared to the importance of other aspects of job performance and the length of time pertinent job factors have been observed by the rating supervisor.

Employees receiving substandard ratings will be re­evaluated within three months to document progress in deficient categories unless the rating has resulted in a transfer, demotion or termination. If the employee's performance in the deficient category(ies) has improved to at least a satisfactory/average/standard rating, while maintaining acceptable performance in other performance categories, the dean, director or department head may recommend the reversal of any demotion or restoration of promotional considerations.

REFERENCE

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