Administrative and Support Staff

Printer-friendly Instructions

The Performance Appraisal Program is to be utilized on an annual basis for all full-time administrative, professional, and clerical/secretarial/support employees of the Division. The main objectives of this program are:

• Improve employee performance
• Facilitate development of employees
• Improve organizational effectiveness

Supervisors should incorporate the University and the department mission when establishing expectations and evaluating performance.

Rating Scale

• This rating scale is based on the norm of “meets expectations.” This means that the employee meets the expectations of the job as defined by the position description and any other parameters established by the supervisor. It is anticipated that the majority of the work force will fall within this range.

• The “substantially and occasionally exceeds expectations” ranges are designed to accommodate those employees who exceed the expectations of their supervisor in one or more facets of the job. This select group of high achievers usually stands out and has far superior performance than the average employee. They are generally highly energetic, have a lot of new ideas or suggestions, or are generally looked upon by their peers as leaders.

• The “occasionally and does not meet expectations” categories are comprised of a small group of the employee population who either: (1) are not capable of handling the duties and responsibilities of their job or (2) do not presently have the motivation to do what is expected. The latter group generally is capable of doing the job, but for one reason or another, is not doing the job. These are the sub-performers who need to be counseled to bring them to acceptable levels or removed from their current position for obvious reasons.

• A fair and accurate appraisal program will go a long way in establishing a competent work force by identifying the achievers as well as the non-achievers. Certain employment decisions, such as promotion or termination of employment, rest with these evaluations. Therefore, it is essential that true performance is measured and indicated. While part of that may rest with the avoidance of confrontation, it is felt that this could be attributed more to the rating system itself. It is anticipated that this appraisal form will allow more accurate evaluations of the people working within your departments and for the University.

Key Elements

• Understanding University and University Mission: Incorporating the University Mission Statement when evaluating performance and establishing expectations in light of the Mission Statement underscores the importance of living this mission as employees of Duquesne University. This is not about religion; rather it is an annual opportunity to have a discussion about the Mission of the University and how your specific department and each employee lives out the Mission. It may be helpful to review the Mission booklet and/or flyer prior to beginning this process within your department.
• Key Job Responsibilities: Key position objectives should be identified. The employee’s effectiveness in each area of responsibility should then be evaluated.
• Goal/Objective Section: Effective goal setting can help employees improve job performance, facilitate professional development and improve organizational effectiveness. This section should identify appropriate S.M.A.R.T. goals for the coming year. Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound.
• Comment Section: This section can serve as the primary section to motivate the employee by providing recognition of achievements for previous year’s goals/objectives, as well as thanking them for the contributions they made to the success of the department. If deficiencies exist, issues and their corresponding remedies must also be addressed. The employee should also have an opportunity to provide comments.
• Signatures: For the Performance Appraisal Program to work it is necessary for the rating supervisor to notify the employee once the appraisal form has been completed. It is hoped and encouraged that a face-to-face meeting be held to discuss this evaluation, however, there may be occasions when this is either unnecessary or difficult to do. The signature of both the supervisor and employee will ensure the information was received. The Dean/Director should also sign off on all employee forms prior to the filing of the forms with the Office of Human Resource Management.
• Distribution: Both the employee and the supervisor should retain copies of the appraisal for future reference, and the original should ultimately be sent to the Office of Human Resource Management for inclusion in the employee’s personnel file. Divisional heads may request review of forms prior to them being forwarded to the Office of Human Resource Management.
• Job Description: Job descriptions should be reviewed and updated to reflect any substantial changes which have occurred over the previous year.

• Additional guidelines may be provided yearly by Division Heads.

Forms

• Employee Self-Appraisal Form
• Administrative/Professional Appraisal Form
• Clerical/Support Staff Appraisal Form
• Copies of the administrative and staff performance appraisal forms are also available by contacting the Office of Human Resource Management at (412) 396-6575 or via e-mail at hr.office@duq.edu.