- 1. Two weeks to go - Prepare the appraisal
Two weeks before the review, send the relevant form to the Appraisee. If a member of your team is transferring to another position within UCL, you should hold an outgoing appraisal meeting with them and record the completion date in MyHR.
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If the Appraisee works across teams, it might be helpful to request feedback from other colleagues so that your conversation covers this collaborative aspect of their work.
Make sure that plenty of time has been set aside and that your space is private and will be free of interruptions.
Select the appropriate system or review document:
Ask the Appraisee to complete Part A of the review document. They should return it at least one week before the meeting.
They may also submit any of the following:
- A current job description;
- A list of responsibilities;
- A summary of any significant changes to their CV that have occurred since the last review.
- 2. One week to go - Prepare the appraisal
Read through Part A of the appraisal review form. You may find it helpful to meet briefly with the Appraisee so you are both clear about the proposed structure of the meeting and the range of subjects you will discuss in the appraisal.
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Ensure that there is opportunity for two-way discussion and feedback. Plan how you'll discuss achievements against goals set the previous year, agree forthcoming goals, development needs, career aspirations, future career plans and any other matters.
- 3. The appraisal meeting
Make sure the Appraisee is in a space where they can speak openly throughout the meeting. If they are occupying a shared space, where confidentiality is an issue, you should consider rescheduling the meeting.
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Discuss:
- Achievements against objectives.
- Future career aspirations and plans, development needs, mandatory training, and any other matters.
- Completion of the Development Plan.
At the start of the meeting, if the Appraisee is working remotely, check that they are in a place where they can speak openly and will not be interrupted.
Review Part A of the form together and use this section of the form to record the main points of your meeting. Ideally, you should spend about 20% of the meeting time reflecting on the past 12 months performance and achievements, with the rest of the time focused on planning ahead for the next 12 months.
When discussing development activities or support it is important to remember that development needs will differ from person to person. Training is a useful way of learning new skills and gaining qualifications but do consider a range of potential development activities such as work shadowing, secondments, working on discreet projects, joining a Community of Practice, coaching or mentoring support. Details of career support options can be viewed on the Career Support Opportunities pages.
Using the guidance on 4D Goal Setting, discuss and agree goals for the next review period. There are 4 categories under this section. Examples and support can be found on the Development Conversations page.
As part of the meeting, the Appraisee may wish to start to complete a Development Plan. This form supports staff who wish to set out their future career plans, highlighting areas they wish to develop, against a specific timeframe.
When the meeting finishes you should both have an understanding of what needs to be done by each of you.
- 4. After the appraisal
Write up the agreed goals for the coming year along with a summary of the appraisal conversation, noting any agreed actions or agreed support arrangements.
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Complete and sign Part C of the appraisal form and send it to the Appraisee. This must be done within 10 days of the review meeting.
Ask your Appraisee to consider the content of the form.
- If they agree with the content, they should print and sign the form and return it to you. There is no need to print the form, each person should add their name to the form in place of an actual signature.
- If they suggest amendments that you are happy to incorporate, update the form and send it back to them.
- If the Appraisee disagrees with the content and you cannot resolve their concerns, you should advise them to complete a Request to Review Appraisal Process form and submit this to your own line manager within 10 working days.
- Your line manager will arrange to have a conversation with you and the Appraisee to try and resolve the concerns. Your HRBP can also support this process.
Once the appraisal has been signed off, the completion date must be recorded on the Appraisees record in MyHR. Line managers can access individual staff records through the UCL Manager Self Service option, alternatively this task can be actioned by Administrators with Self Service Administrator access in MyHR. The date of an appraisal for Professorial staff completed using PAR, should be recorded in MyHR as stated above.
Ensure that the appraisal review form is stored securely within your department and is only accessible to you, the Appraisee, the Head of Department or the Head of Section, where they are not the appraiser.
You are encouraged to meet your Appraisee informally through the year to discuss their progress against their agreed goals and the outcome of training and development activity, as appropriate.
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