1996 Performance Appraisals and 1997 Performance Plans From: "Janis Nash" Message-Id: <961112150250.ZM24887@jnash> Date: Tue, 12 Nov 1996 15:02:46 -0400 X-Mailer: Z-Mail 4.0.1 (4.0.1 Apr 9 1996) To: "USGS Employees" Subject: 1996 Performance Appraisals and 1997 Performance Standards Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit In Reply Refer To: Mail Stop 601 MEMORANDUM To: USGS Employees From: Kathleen B. Rutledge Acting Personnel Officer Subject: 1996 Performance Appraisals and 1997 Performance Plans This is a reminder that it is now time to prepare 1996 performance appraisals and 1997 performance plans for the majority of USGS employees. This memorandum contains instructions for preparing the 1996 appraisal under the new two-level performance management system, conducting the performance review, and preparing 1997 performance plans. Supervisors, please share this email message with employees who do not have access to email. 1996 Appraisal Deadlines For all USGS employees except those specifically identified below, the 1996 appraisal period ended on September 30, 1996, and 1996 performance appraisals are to be prepared and submitted to the servicing personnel office by December 1, 1996. The 1996 performance appraisal period for employees of the Geologic Division's Minerals Information Team (MIT) was extended to October 31, 1996, and 1996 appraisals for MIT employees are due in the servicing personnel office by January 1, 1997. The performance appraisal period for bargaining unit employees of the National Mapping Division's Mapping Applications Center (MAC) ends on March 31, 1997, and instructions for preparing 1997 performance appraisals for MAC bargaining unit employees will be provided at that time. The following instructions apply to all employees except for MAC bargaining unit employees. Eligibility for Rating To be eligible for a summary rating, an employee must have worked under a performance plan for at least 90 days. An employee who has not worked under a performance plan for 90 days at the end of the rating period must have the rating period extended to allow the employee to work under a performance plan for 90 days. The rating official will rate the employee's performance at the end of the extension. Summary Rating The summary rating is prepared on the Employee Performance Plan and Results Report (Form DI-2002). To prepare the summary rating, the rating official considers the employee's performance during the entire 1996 appraisal period (i.e., since the end of the 1995 appraisal period), including performance during the 1996 appraisal period under the old five-level performance management system. The rating official then determines whether or not the employee has achieved each critical result and writes "Achieved" or "Not Achieved" in the "Results" block adjacent to the appropriate critical result in Part I on the front of Form DI-2002. If the employee had no opportunity to perform a critical result, the rating official writes "Not Rated" in the "Results" block, and that critical result is not included in determining the employee's summary rating. Under the two-level system, an employee must achieve all critical results in order to be assigned a "Results Achieved" summary rating. If the employee has achieved all critical results, the rating official writes "Results Achieved" in the summary rating block in Part III on the back of Form DI-2002. While it is not required, rating officials are encouraged to make written comments concerning the performance of employees rated "Results Achieved" as a way of recognizing and documenting the employee's efforts and significant accomplishments. Rating officials may also attach to Form DI-2002 any interim appraisal or performance narrative that was prepared to document the employee's performance during the 1996 appraisal period under the five-level system. If the employee has failed to achieve one or more critical results, the rating official must assign the employee a "Results Not Achieved" summary rating in Part III on the back of Form DI-2002. For employees assigned a summary rating of "Results Not Achieved," the rating official must prepare a written narrative that describes the specific areas in which the employee has failed to achieve critical results. Rating officials are strongly encouraged to consult with their servicing employee relations specialist before they assign a summary rating of "Results Not Achieved" to discuss the appropriate remedial action that will be taken. After preparing the summary rating, the rating official signs and dates the rating in Part IV on the back of Form DI-2002 and sends the rating to the reviewing official for review and approval. Please note that employees of the Biological Resources Division were not subject to the USGS appraisal system on September 30, 1996, and are not required to have their 1996 appraisals reviewed by a reviewing official. Annual Performance Review After the reviewing official has signed and dated the rating, the reviewing official returns the rating to the rating official to conduct the performance review discussion with the employee. The performance review provides an opportunity for the rating official to recognize the employee's accomplishments during the year, to begin discussion of plans for the coming year, and to discuss the employee's training and developmental needs. At the end of the performance review, the employee signs and dates the rating. (If, for any reason, the employee declines to sign the rating, the rating official notes on the form that the rating has been discussed with the employee.) The rating official keeps a copy of the completed rating, gives a copy to the employee, and sends the original to the servicing personnel office. Reconsideration of Rating An employee who is dissatisfied with a summary rating of "Results Not Achieved" may discuss the matter informally with the rating and reviewing officials, make written comments on a separate sheet and attach them to the rating form, and/or request reconsideration of the rating by an official at the next level above the reviewing official who was not directly involved in the rating. The employee's reconsideration request must be in writing, state the basis for the request, and be submitted to the servicing personnel office within 15 calendar days following the employee's receipt of the rating. Employees in exclusive bargaining units may have reconsideration rights through negotiated grievance procedures, and applicable bargaining agreements should be checked in such cases for possible coverage. 1997 Performance Plans Performance plans, which contain the employee's critical results and performance indicators for the coming appraisal period, are developed jointly by the rating official and the employee and are documented in Part I on the front of Form DI-2002. For all USGS employees except MIT employees, 1997 performance plans must be prepared by December 1, 1996. For MIT employees, 1997 performance plans must be prepared by January 1, 1997. Critical results are the most important results or outcomes that an employee is expected to achieve during the appraisal period. Every employee must have at least one but no more than five critical results. Critical results should be written as specifically as possible to let the employee know the results that are expected and to enable the rating official to determine whether the employee has achieved the results. Performance indicators are generic performance standards that describe the qualities that are important to successful performance in each critical result. Performance indicators, which are preprinted on the form, address three aspects of performance--quality, teamwork, and customer service. At the beginning of the rating period, the rating official and employee circle on the form the performance indicators that apply to each critical result. If necessary, performance indicators specific to the employee's position may be identified in the "Other" blocks under quality, teamwork, and customer service. Once performance plans are developed, the rating official and employee sign and date the appropriate blocks in Part IV on the back of Form DI-2002. (If, for any reason, the employee declines to sign the performance plan, the rating official notes on the form that the plan has been discussed with the employee.) The rating official keeps the original of the performance plan and gives a copy to the employee. Additional Information This memorandum and additional information concerning performance management may be obtained from the Human Resources Home Page at http://www.usgs.gov:8888/ops/hro/perf/perfmgmt/intro.html or from the servicing personnel office. -- Janis Nash