Annual Performance Appraisals

Purpose:

To provide information on the policy and procedures related to annual staff performance evaluations in the College of Liberal Arts.


Relevant Definitions:

Employee: For this article, specifically refers to benefits-eligible, Classified and Administrative and Professional (A&P) staff employees in COLA. (A bit more info about these employee types can be found here.)

Supervisor: The person to whom the Employee reports. This person should also be the Manager of the employee in Workday. Note: If the employee's supervisor is Not the Manager to whom they report in Workday, please contact COLA HR.

HR Contact: Person who is responsible for HR-related duties for the COLA unit (department/center/institute/program/etc.) to which the Employee belongs. Usually the Department Manager, and/or "Senior Staff" member who liaises with the Dean's Office. Holds the HR Partner role in Workday.

Sup Org: Supervisory organization within Workday; ideally should reflect accurate reporting structure within a unit. 

COLA HR: The College of Liberal Arts Human Resources team, led by Tamela Walker, Director.  Contact Us


Process:

COLA Deadline: May 31

General Note:

  • Before starting the performance evaluation process, the Supervisor shall review the employee’s job responsibilities in Workday. (WIG)
  • If the responsibilities need to be updated in Workday, the Supervisor shall communicate the requested updates to the HR Contact(s) for their unit, and the HR Contact should make the Workday update(s) in a timely manner. (WIG)
  • This year, you will have the choice of using 1) the appraisal form or 2) conducting performance appraisals through Workday.
  • Each unit has a UT Box folder that includes a spreadsheet with a list of employees (as of March 4, 2024) required to have performance appraisals. If you notice any employees missing, contact COLA HR.


 Evaluation Outside of Workday

Employee: [in April-June]

  1. Download the COLA staff appraisal form.
    1. Note: If the Unit does not wish to use the COLA Appraisal, they may use the University Appraisal Form found here. At a minimum, all employees reporting to the same Supervisor shall use the same form.
  2. Completes top & “Employee” sections of the appraisal form, skipping the "Overall Purpose of Position." (see screenshot) 
  3. Compile a complete list of key responsibilities for their position (Viewing Position Responsibilities WIG).
  4. Sends the appraisal form and the list of responsibilities to Supervisor.

Supervisor:

5. Reads the appraisal and makes notes of thoughts or questions.

6. Completes the "Overall Purpose of the Position" section.  (see screenshot)

7. Reads the job function list and updates any missing responsibilities or job functions.

Meeting:

8. Supervisor & Employee meet (~15-30min).

9. Supervisor will give overall assessment of employee performance and indicate any areas needing improvement. If there were any discrepancies or changes to job responsibilities list, that should be clarified.

10. Supervisor and Employee will review prior year goals (if applicable) and establish goals for the coming year.

Supervisor Comments:

11. After the meeting, Supervisor completes the "Overall Rating and Comments" section. (please see screenshot)

a. Must provide 1 overall ratings category (from the 5 listed). (see screenshot above) This rating will be updated in Workday by COLA HR.

b. Include overall assessment remarks and goals discussed in meeting for everyone's reference/records.


Signatures:

12. Supervisor shares completed appraisal with Employee.

13. If Employee finds factual errors, it is okay to correct or note the errors, but 'Employee Remarks' can also be used to note differences in opinion or interpretation, when applicable (see below).

14. Supervisor & Employee sign the form and record the date of the discussion.

a. Note: Per UT Policy (HOP 5-2310), Employees are not required to sign their performance appraisal. If Employee does not wish to sign, Supervisor can add "Employee did not wish to sign." on the Employee's Signature line on the form.

15. If Supervisor is not HR Contact, Supervisor can send the appraisal to the HR Contact at this point. HR Contact provides chair/director[unit head] opportunity to review, comment (optional), & sign (required).

16. Employee can add additional comments, if they wish; this should be coordinated with the Supervisor and/or HR Contact, depending on the timing.

a. Note: The Employee may also attach additional comments or provide a rebuttal to the evaluation if they wish. Written employee responses shall be included as part of the record in the personnel file (and included in submission to COLA).

Submission to COLA:

17. Once signatures have been obtained, HR Contact scans/combines completed appraisal form, including job task list and any additional written response from Employee, into 1 PDF file. (If Employee Comments are received after appraisal has been submitted, a revised PDF, including the Comments, should be uploaded, and a note sent to COLA HR.)

a. Supervisor and Employee should both receive copies;

b. Save a copy in the department's personnel files.

18. HR Contact uploads 1 PDF per Employee to their unit's UT Box folder using the requested naming convention for each file:

YY-YY_PerfEval_DEPT_LastName.pdf

"YY-YY" = the fiscal year of the eval; ex. "23-24"

"DEPT" = 4-character UT Department code for your unit; ex. "ECON" (Department of Economics), or CLASP Department Code, if part of "COLA"; ex. "LAIT" (Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services; LAITS)

"LastName" = Employee's last name. Can include first name or initial if needed for clarity. ex. "23-24_PerfEval_LAIT_RobinsonJ.pdf" or "23-24_PerfEval_LAIT_Davis_Justin.pdf" 

19. After uploading staff appraisals to the folder, HR Contact should update the spreadsheet within the Box folder:

    1. column A, "Completed?": Enter yes or no
    2. column B, "Notes": Required if A="no" (include reason for no appraisal); otherwise, please any other notes, as needed.

20. COLA HR will review and reach out if any other information is needed.


 Evaluation Within Workday

HR Contact (HR Partner)

  1. Start typing “start performance review for organization” in the Workday search bar to launch performance reviews for all employees in the Sup Org who meet the eligibility requirements for the selected appraisal template. (Start Performance Review WIG)
    1. NOTE: If you do not hold the HR Partner role and are unable to launch the performance evaluation, please reach out to COLA_HR@austin.utexas.edu and we will launch it on your behalf. 
  2. Select “Run Now” (see screenshot).      
  3. Organizations: Enter the name of the Sup Org for which you are initiating performance evaluations. You may choose to launch each Sup Org's evaluations individually or go to the top Sup Org within your unit and check the “include subordinate Supervisory Organizations” box.
  4. Review Template: "Condensed Annual Review with Self-Evaluation"
  5. Period Start/End Dates: 5/1/2023-4/30/2024 
  6. Click "Okay".
  7. This will launch a performance evaluation for all employees under the selected Sup Org(s) for whom an annual appraisal is required.
    1. If any reviews were launched for an employee that  should not have a review, you can cancel specific review tasks. (See page 2 of the WIG for guidance.)

Employee

  1. Complete the Self-Evaluation step of the Annual Review BP in your Workday Inbox. (Complete Staff Evaluation: Condensed Annual Review with Self-Evaluation WIG)
    1. Select “Go to Guided Editor" or "Continue where I left off" to complete the appraisal step-by-step; instructions appear at the top of the screen.
    2. After submitting the Self-Evaluation step, the BP routes to the Supervisor.

Supervisor

  1. Complete the Manager Evaluation step of the Employee’s Annual Review BP in your Workday inbox. (Complete Manager Evaluation: Condensed Annual Review WIG)
    1. Select “Go to Guided Editor" or "Continue where I left off" to complete the appraisal step-by-step; instructions appear at the top of the screen.
      1. Note - Supervisors are strongly encouraged to consult their HR Contact and/or Tamela Walker if they plan to provide an overall rating below "Meets". 
    2. Summary Page: DO NOT SUBMIT. Select Save for Later.
      1. Leave the review in your Inbox until you have met with the Employee to discuss the appraisal.

Meeting

  1. Supervisor and Employee will meet to discuss the review (~15-30 minutes). The supervisor can print the Workday evaluation-in-process for the Employee's review prior to meeting. (Please see WIG, step 16.) 

Finalizing Review and Submission (Supervisor, then Employee)

  1. Following the meeting, Supervisor will finalize the review in Workday:
    1. If applicable, update any sections. If the employee wishes to make any changes to their self-evaluation, the Supervisor can "Send Back" the review BP to the Employee.
    2. When finished, click Submit. This should launch a "To Do" within Workday for the supervisor to confirm that the meeting with the employee has taken place.
  2. After submission, the evaluation will route to Employee to acknowledge the review.
    1. Employee can acknowledge review with or without additional comments. 
  3. After Employee acknowledgment, the review is complete and viewable within the Performance section of Employee's worker profile.

Submission to COLA: (HR Contact)

  1. Prior to the submission deadline (May 31):
    1. Run "Performance Appraisal and Probationary Review Summary for an Organization - RPT1066" in Workday to verify that all appraisals within their unit have been completed.
      1. Follow up with Supervisor(s) as necessary to ensure completion.
    2. Once all appraisals have been completed, please uploaded the final copy of RPT1066 to your unit's Box folder using the requested naming convention for each file:
      1. YY-YY_DEPT_RPT1066.pdf

        1. "YY-YY" = the fiscal year of the eval; ex. "23-24"

          "DEPT" = 4-character UT Department code for your unit; ex. "ECON" (Department of Economics), or CLASP Department Code, if part of "COLA"; ex. "LAIT" (Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services; LAITS)

    3. Save a copy to your departmental personnel files.
    4. COLA HR will review and reach out if any other information is needed.



Tips for Employees:

Tips for Supervisors:

  • Review the UT HR "Staff Performance Appraisal Guide", especially on Expectations of Managers and Tips for Writing Appraisals prior to completing "Manager" portion of evaluation in Workday. 
  • If the Supervisor is not the employee's Manager within Workday, please work with your HR Contact to get this corrected.
    • For individuals completing their appraisals within Workday, please get this corrected prior to launching evaluations.



Policy and Forms:

UT Performance Appraisal Policy (HOP 5-2310)  

COLA Staff Appraisal Form (revised 2018)


 

Other Related Links:

Performance Management  (UT HR webpage) 

Performance Appraisals (UT HR webpage)

Staff Performance Appraisal Guide (UT HR webpage)

Performance WIGs (Workday@UT webpage)