Purpose
The purpose of the annual performance review is to take a realistic snapshot of the employee’s job performance and provide a vehicle for discussion between the supervisor and employee on the employee’s strengths, areas for improvement and their goals and objectives.
General Information
The review period runs from April 1 through March 31. Employees who have not completed their introductory period as of March 31 should be given the appropriate appraisal upon completion of their six months introductory period. However, a supervisor should conduct a goal planning session with ALL employees under their supervision to determine goals and objectives. It is not necessary to conduct evaluations on temporary as well as Post-Doctoral employees. Additionally, it is not necessary to conduct reviews on employees who recently completed and received the introductory period review in the months of January, February or March.
For consistency, it is important that every department use The University of Alabama Annual Employee Performance Review forms which can be found on the HR website. Please contact your HR Business Partner if you need to use a special form for accreditation or for other reasons.
Review Process
Each Vice President, Dean, Director and Department Head should ensure that an annual performance review and the establishment of goals and objectives are accomplished for each staff employee within his or her area of responsibility. The employee’s immediate supervisor’s responsibilities are as follows:
- Immediate supervisor – Completes the review form.
- Next level supervisor – Evaluate the performance review and approves.
- Immediate supervisor – Evaluate and discuss the performance review with the employee in a face-to-face meeting. This time can also be used to set goals and objectives for the upcoming year.
- Employee – Evaluates their performance review and signs the form verifying the review has been discussed. The employee’s signature does not necessarily indicate agreement with the review. The employee should also review and sign the Goals/Objectives Planning and Performance Review form.
A copy of the annual review, and any related documents attached to the review, will be placed in the employee’s UA personnel file. Supervisors and employees can access the completed annual review in the online performance review system. Electronic and hard copies of performance reviews should always be stored in a secure manner. The deadline to complete and submit forms to Human Resources is May 8.
NOTE: An employee who receives an overall performance rating of “Does Not Meet Expectations” should not be considered for a merit pay increase and should be put on a Performance Improvement Plan. The supervisor should contact their assigned HR Business Partner to obtain a copy of the Performance Improvement Plan form and to discuss how to proceed.
Additionally, employees hired after March 31st is not eligible for merit increase consideration.
For questions concerning the performance review process, contact your assigned HR Business Partners.
Additional Resources:
10 Steps for Conducting Successful Performance Evaluations
Supervisor TIPS for Completing the Performance Evaluation
Coach to Improve Performance: Providing Constructive Feedback
Setting SMART Goals