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Performance Planning and Review Procedure

Procedure overview

1 Purpose

PLEASE NOTE: All human resource management policy instruments are currently under review to ensure alignment with the new Enterprise Agreement. Contact the People Portfolio for more information.

To ensure all Employees and their Supervisors are aware of the expectations and opportunities available for planning, managing, reviewing, recognising and improving individual Employee performance.

2 Scope

This Procedure applies to all continuing and fixed-term Employees.

3 Procedure Overview

This Procedure outlines the process for planning, managing, reviewing, recognising and improving individual Employee performance at the University.

4 Procedures

4.1 Supervision

Each Employee will have a Supervisor who is the person to whom they directly report in the organisation.

A Supervisor is expected to provide leadership and support to Employees for whom they are responsible and to monitor their performance. There is an expectation that Supervisors will provide Employees with regular feedback on performance informally and as part of the performance planning and review process and will manage performance matters promptly and fairly. Supervisors must ensure that Employees are provided with an opportunity to respond to performance matters through the performance planning and review process.

An Employee may request the Chief People Officer to designate an alternative Supervisor where a change would remove potential Conflicts of Interest or contribute to more harmonious relations within the work unit.

All Employees who assume supervisory responsibilities will have access to appropriate training in performance planning and review.

4.2 Performance review process

Each Employee will participate in at least two reviews each year. This will consist of an annual review and an interim review, to be conducted six months after the completion of the formal review. All Employees are to have a performance review linked to the University's goals and objectives completed by the end of February each year. Delegates and Employees have an obligation to advise of any perceived, potential or actual Conflict of Interest that may undermine the application of natural justice and procedural fairness.

Reviews will:

  • assist Employees to be fully aware of their responsibilities and duties and the effect these have on the University's operations
  • provide feedback to individual Employees on the performance of these responsibilities
  • provide a basis for further professional development of Employees
  • identify Employees whose continued high quality performance should be recognised and rewarded
  • identify Employees where performance is of concern and may require remedial action
  • provide an opportunity for accelerated or additional incremental progression.

The performance review process is to be conducted in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness and transparency. An Employee, where they choose, may be assisted by a Nominated Representative at any stage of the performance review process.

The nominated Supervisor will meet with the Employee who is the subject of the review and discuss past performance and future goal setting and development plans.

In rating the overall performance of an Employee, the nominated Supervisor will assess the Employee against the following performance ratings:

  • exceeds expectations
  • meets expectations
  • development encouraged
  • improvement required; or
  • unsatisfactory performance.

A guide to performance ratings is outlined in the relevant knowledge article.

The Supervisor may consult other Employees whose judgements they believe may be helpful in completing the review. This will include the Supervisor consulting directly with Employees in the same or different work unit who manage the work activities of an Employee on a day-to-day basis in instances where the Supervisor is not directly responsible for the daily work activities of the Employee. For example, where an Employee is assigned to a Research Centre, the Supervisor will seek feedback from the Centre Director on the Employee's research performance and future goals consistent with the Centre's research objectives.

Employees will also have the opportunity to nominate peers to provide comments on their performance. These comments will not form part of the formal assessment.

The Employee is encouraged to provide relevant information on their performance and take an active role in appraisal and planning.

A Supervisor and Employee will complete the review online through ePerformance via UConnect. User guides are available on the People Portfolio website.

The Employee must be given the opportunity to read, comment on and acknowledge the review.

Where an Employee is not satisfied with the overall assessment recorded in the review they should initially discuss these concerns with the Supervisor. Where the Supervisor and the Employee are unable to resolve the concerns, the Employee can request that the matter be referred to the Delegate for a review of the overall assessment. The Delegate may seek further information from the Supervisor and the Employee. The Delegate will consider all documentation and make a final decision. All documentation will be provided to the People Portfolio for further action and confidential storage.

Where an Employee is not assessed through the performance management system, the Supervisor and the Employee will be notified that the Employee will not increment unless the performance review is finalised in the performance system.

Where an Employee does not receive an annual incremental increase, the Employee will be given an opportunity to demonstrate to the Chief People Officer why the incremental increase should be received.

Once the Supervisor has completed the review it will be stored confidentially in the ePerformance system, managed by the People Portfolio.

4.3 Rewarding Employee performance

An Employee who has been assessed through the performance management system will be eligible to receive an annual incremental increase after 12 months, at each step within the Employee's classification level, until the top salary step is reached unless the Employee's overall performance is assessed by the Employee's Supervisor to be unsatisfactory, or where improvement is required. The Employee's increment date is the date of appointment at that salary level, except for Employees who have been promoted or have taken a period of leave without pay, in which case it is either the effective promotion date or the altered date as a consequence of leave without pay.

An Employee absent for more than three months, in aggregate, may, if agreed by their Supervisor in consultation with the Delegate, have the review delayed by the period of absence. Any resultant incremental increase will also be delayed by the period of absence.

An accelerated incremental increase in salary may be recommended where the Employee's performance consistently and significantly exceeds the agreed performance indicators documented in the annual performance planning and review, provided that:

  • an Employee's incremental adjustment is made on one occasion only per year of completed service at the current classification level, i.e. on the increment date; and
  • the number of increments (within the range of the Employee's classification level) an Employee can receive in any one year of completed service at the current classification level is two; that is, the annual incremental increase plus one additional incremental step.

Note: accelerated incremental progression may be granted on any step except where the Employee is only one step from the top of the salary level.

An Employee who has been paid at the top incremental step of their substantive classification level for a period of 12 months or more may be eligible to receive an additional incremental increase of 90% of the difference between the top step of the substantive classification level and the bottom step of the next classification level where their performance consistently and significantly exceeds the agreed performance indicators documented in the annual performance planning and review. The additional incremental increase is made once on the Employee's increment date. The application of the additional incremental increase will be reviewed annually and continue only whilst performance continues to exceed agreed performance indicators.

Additional incremental increases for Employees at Salary Level 10 and academic Level E will be managed on a case by case basis and advice should be sought from the Chief People Officer in this regard.

4.4 Managing underperformance

As outlined in Section 4.2 above a Supervisor may assess an Employee's performance, through the performance review process, as either 'improvement required' or 'unsatisfactory'.

4.4.1 Improvement required

Where a Supervisor has determined that aspects of an Employee's performance require improvement, the Supervisor must discuss these concerns with the Employee and, in consultation with the Employee, develop and document strategies to address the performance concerns through a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP).

Where a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) has been completed, and the identified goals have not been achieved, an unsatisfactory performance process will commence at Section 4.2 Formal Advice in the Improving and Managing Unsatisfactory Performance Procedure.

4.4.2 Unsatisfactory performance

Where a Supervisor has determined that the Employee's overall performance is unsatisfactory, the process outlined in the Improving and Managing Unsatisfactory Performance Procedure will apply.

5 Delegated Responsibilities

Approver

Level of Delegation

Chief People Officer

Designation of alternative Supervisor, in consultation with Category 3 Delegate.

Determine whether an incremental increase should be received by an Employee whose overall performance is assessed to be unsatisfactory or needs improvement.

Supervisor

Ensure performance planning and review occurs and is finalised annually.

Recommend accelerated and additional incremental increases.

Recommend advancement to higher University classification level (for linked positions).

Approve annual increments (if applicable).

Category 3 Delegate or above

Approve accelerated and additional incremental increases.

Vice-Chancellor

Ensure performance planning and review for direct reports occurs and is finalised annually.

Council

Ensure performance planning and review for the Vice-Chancellor occurs and is finalised annually.

6 References

Nil.

7 Schedules

This procedure must be read in conjunction with its subordinate schedules as provided in the table below.

8 Procedure Information

Accountable Officer

Chief People Officer

Responsible Officer

Chief People Officer

Policy Type

University Procedure

Policy Suite

Performance, Development and Recognition Policy

Subordinate Schedules

Approved Date

31/3/2022

Effective Date

31/3/2022

Review Date

3/4/2024

Relevant Legislation

Enterprise Agreement

Policy Exceptions

Policy Exceptions Register

Related Policies

Related Procedures

Appointments: Probationary Procedure

Improving and Managing Unsatisfactory Performance Procedure

Related forms, publications and websites

Performance planning and review knowledge articles

Definitions

Terms defined in the Definitions Dictionary

Conflict of Interest

If a University Member has an interest that conflicts or may conflict with the discharge of the University Member's duties the University Member should Declare the nature of the interest and the conflict to the University Member's Supervisor as soon as practicable after the relevant facts come to the University Member's knowledge and must not take action or further action relating to a...moreIf a University Member has an interest that conflicts or may conflict with the discharge of the University Member's duties the University Member should Declare the nature of the interest and the conflict to the University Member's Supervisor as soon as practicable after the relevant facts come to the University Member's knowledge and must not take action or further action relating to a matter that is or may be affected by the conflict until authorised. An Executive Leader may direct a University Member to resolve a conflict or possible conflict between an interest of the University Member and the University Member's duties. A reference to an interest or to a Conflict of Interest is a reference to those matters within their ordinary meaning under the general law, and, in relation to an interest, the definition in the Acts Interpretation Act 1954, Schedule 1, does not apply. A Conflict of Interest will arise when a University Member's Private Interests conflict with their duty to the University or to serve the public interest as a University Member. The risk of having a conflict of interest increases where a University Member's responsibilities include the authority to make decisions. A conflict of interest may be potential, perceived or actual - when a University Member is in a role where future decision making may be influenced by their Private Interests if a certain condition is fulfilled, they have a potential conflict of interest; a perceived conflict of interest arises where it appears that decisions a University Member make in the course of their University employment may be influenced by their Private Interests, whether or not this is in fact the case; an actual conflict of interest exists where a University Member's actions could be unduly, improperly or excessively influenced by their Private Interests. Serious misconduct can occur when a conflict of interest is concealed, understated, mismanaged or abused.

Delegate (noun)

Delegate (noun) means the officer, Employee or committee of the University to whom, or to which, a delegation of authority has been made under this Policy....moreDelegate (noun) means the officer, Employee or committee of the University to whom, or to which, a delegation of authority has been made under this Policy.

Employee

A person employed by the University and whose conditions of employment are covered by the Enterprise Agreement and includes persons employed on a continuing, fixed term or casual basis. Employees also include senior Employees whose conditions of employment are covered by a written agreement or contract with the University....moreA person employed by the University and whose conditions of employment are covered by the Enterprise Agreement and includes persons employed on a continuing, fixed term or casual basis. Employees also include senior Employees whose conditions of employment are covered by a written agreement or contract with the University.

Procedure

An operational instruction that sets out the process to operationalise a Policy....moreAn operational instruction that sets out the process to operationalise a Policy.

University

The term 'University' or 'UniSQ' means the University of Southern Queensland....moreThe term 'University' or 'UniSQ' means the University of Southern Queensland.

Enterprise Agreement

University of Southern Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023-2026....moreUniversity of Southern Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2023-2026.

Definitions that relate to this procedure only

Nominated Representative

Means in relation to an Employee, a person selected by the Employee to assist or represent the Employee. The person may be an officer or Employee of the relevant Union, or any other person chosen by the Employee. In relation to the University, it means a person selected by the University to assist or represent the University. The person may be an Employee of the University, or an officer or Employee of AHEIA, or any other person selected by the University. The Nominated Representative must not be a practising barrister or solicitor and must not present a Conflict of Interest.

Supervisor

Any person responsible for leading the activities of others. In the context of this Procedure, a Supervisor includes Employees at any classification level or title who have responsibilities for leading, managing or supervising work teams and/or individual Employees.

Keywords

Performance, review, performance planning and review, feedback, rewarding performance, development activities, responsibilities, setting expectations

Record No

13/380PL

Complying with the law and observing Policy and Procedure is a condition of working and/or studying at the University.

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