Set goals and expectations
- Establish short- or long-term objectives, and clarify expectations.
- Ensure the employee’s performance goals are aligned with the team/Division/Berkeley Lab’s broader objectives and strategies.
- Gain the employee’s commitment to meeting those goals.
(See also Setting Annual Goals and Conducting the Goal-Setting Discussion .)
Provide regular feedback year round
- Meet regularly with employees throughout the year, and provide regular feedback throughout the year as appropriate (e.g., positive, developmental feedback when improvement is needed; formal corrective action if/when needed).
- Observe employee performance and behavior, and evaluate the quality of deliverables.
- Provide objective feedback. For example:
- On performance – quality of expected deliverables and impact on others to complete deliverables
- On behavior – observed behavior and impact of that behavior on others
- When an employee works at a partner location, solicit regular feedback from the employee’s lead or partner supervisor on the employee’s performance.
- Keep informal notes in your file as a reminder of the employee’s noteworthy accomplishments and your discussions on performance and/or behavior issues from throughout the year.
- Consult with your Senior HR Division Partner at the first sign of performance concerns.
(See also Providing Feedback .)
Coach for performance and development
- Help the employee determine the best way to achieve goals, build skill sets or expertise and produce desired results.
- Provide on-the-job opportunities (in addition to training) for your employee to build skills and expertise.
- Help your employee create a career development plan to support long-term personal and institutional goals.
(See also Building Employee Knowledge, Skills and Confidence and Coaching Employees to Improve Performance .)
Conduct the annual performance review discussion
(See Preparing for the Annual Performance Review for tips on writing the review prior to conducting the discussion.)
- Open the discussion: Provide a brief comment on the purpose of this meeting and your hope this can be a dialogue about the past year and an exchange of ideas about the coming year.
- Ask your employee to provide a recap of the year (the employee can refer to his/her self assessment) including the highlights of achievements, skills learned, or challenges encountered and areas for development.
- Provide your view of the employee’s performance (and a summary of comments in the written review):
- Discuss reasons you may see the employee’s performance differently (including any differences you see between your written comments in the review and the employee’s self assessment)
- Respond to questions or challenges raised in a calm and factual manner
- Tell the employee why you gave the performance rating you did (refer to the performance review rating definitions on the form with specific examples to justify your rationale)
- If the employee works on a partner project, share performance feedback from the partner supervisor. The partner supervisor may sit in on the annual performance discussion, as appropriate.
- Discuss ways the employee can build and improve performance in the coming year
- Discuss and agree on next steps in anticipation of the next performance year and what kinds of training, support or developmental assignments might be useful.
- Both the supervisor and the employee sign the performance review, and the supervisor submits a hard copy to the local HR division partner.
- If an employee refuses to sign the performance review form, let the employee know he/she can write comments about the review in the box under the signature line and sign.
- If an employee still refuses to sign the performance review form, note on the form that the employee refused to sign, and date your notation. Submit the hard copy to your HR division partner.
- Close the meeting on a positive note as appropriate:
- “Thanks for your commitment to the division and your partners. You had a great year.”
- “I realize you’re disappointed in your rating, but I’m confident you’ll continue to contribute.”
- “I want you to know that you’re a valued member of our team and of the division.”
