3.02.22 - Employee Development

Policy Title: Employee Development

Impact: Benefits Eligible, Non-faculty Employees

Responsibility: Human Resources

Effective Date: 06/21/95

Revised Date: 02/24/21

Reviewed Date: 04/30/2023

Relates to Procedure: 3.02.22

Legal Citation(s):

I. Policy Narrative

NIC’s Employee Development Policy provides an objective process for all non-faculty benefits eligible employees to establish collaborative performance coaching and review opportunities. The information gleaned from this process identifies areas for growth and recognizes achieved excellence.

The Employee Development Policy is facilitated using two primary components. These components are defined as follows:

Performance Coaching: The process by which a supervisor and employee communicate regarding the employee’s development, responsibilities, and job performance on a regular basis. Both positive and constructive feedback should be part of the coaching process.

Performance Review: A formal process by which a supervisor and employee analyze the employee’s performance over a defined period of time, revisit past goals, set future goals, and create professional development plans. The biennial review process will incorporate performance coaching into a formal biennial performance review.

Procedure Title: Employee Development

Impact: Benefits Eligible Non-faculty Employees

Responsibility: Human Resources

Effective Date: 11/29/95

Revised Date: 11/19/20

Reviewed Date: 4/30/2023

Relates to Policy: 3.02.22

Legal Citation(s):

I. Procedure Narrative

1. The goal of the performance review is to facilitate the development of NIC employees through a collaborative and respectful process, whereby open communication and trust between all individuals involved is fostered.
2. Goals
   1. Foster a culture that promotes performance excellence based on continuous development, fairness, transparency, and consistency.
   2. Encourage professional and personal improvement.
3. Outcomes

1. Provide quality feedback, coaching, and meaningful performance reviews.
2. Focus on personal development, with recognition of individual contributions.
3. Connect NIC’s goals, mission and strategic plan to employee’s work.
4. Inspire, engage and motivate employees to perform at their best.

II. Performance Coaching

1. The foundation for employee development at NIC is ongoing coaching and conversations between supervisors and their employees. Performance coaching encourages employees to strive to be their best. Supervisors are expected to meet with direct reports to foster communication and engagement consistent with the goal of on-going professional development. Conversations should:
   1. 1. Acknowledge employee success and achievements over the prior period
      2. Collaboratively identify challenges and opportunities for growth
      3. Collaboratively develop solutions for deficiencies, if any
      4. Jointly review goal progress
      5. Develop action items
2. A major component of the formal performance review includes the documentation of performance coaching. The supervisor will document the key areas of discussion from the coaching sessions and provide the employee a summary of key areas. The supervisor and the employee are mutually responsible for acknowledging areas of achievement, identifying areas for improvement, and providing mutual feedback to enhance the value and process of performance coaching to both parties. Performance coaching conversations will occur at least semi-annually between employees and supervisors.

III. Biennial Performance Review

1. All full-time classified and professional employees (non-faculty) will be formally evaluated on their job performance against their job description and institution-wide performance standards in the first review cycle for which they are eligible based on criteria established by Human Resources and biennially thereafter.
2. The performance review is a process by which a supervisor and the direct report communicate regarding the employee’s performance related to job responsibilities, goals, and accomplishments. Positive and constructive feedback should be a part of the employee development process. The supervisor will consider the employee’s self-evaluation and information discussed during the informal performance coaching sessions since the last formal review. The performance coaching sessions should make up the foundation of the biennial performance review, and the review will serve as a capstone for the development of the employee over the prior year(s).
3. The employee will complete a self-review prior to the completion of the final review.
4. Human Resources maintains the official performance review which becomes part of the employee’s permanent employment file. The chief human resources officer is responsible for the performance review process using a third-party management system selected by Human Resources.

IV. Right to Appeal

Employees who disagree with the performance review from their supervisor may submit their reasons for disagreement in writing to be included as an addendum to the performance review document. The employee also may appeal to the next level of management if they feel that the performance review is objectively inaccurate or biased to a point that is damaging to the employee’s professional reputation, or their opportunity for professional advancement. Appeals must be submitted within four weeks of the date the employee and supervisor meet to discuss the review. If through the appeal process, the original review is found to contain bias or inaccuracies, the original review will be removed from the employee’s employment file and a new performance review will be completed by the supervisor in close cooperation with the second level supervisor to ensure previous evaluation errors are not repeated. This second performance review becomes the official review of record.