HR: Annual Staff Review

Scope and Principles of the Scheme

Scope

The Annual Staff Review scheme:

  • applies to all full time, part time and fixed term members of staff.
  • identifies personal and professional staff development needs.
  • provides every member of staff with the opportunity to meet at least once a year, with an appropriate reviewer, to discuss how their role can contribute to the continued success of the University.
  • provides an opportunity for members of staff to review progress over the previous year and agree objectives for the coming year.
  • for a small number of staff whose contribution is assessed as exceptional,  will provide a source of evidence to support a recommendation for an exceptional contribution payment. The scheme may also provide evidence to help inform other reward processes.
  • for academic staff, will provide an opportunity to discuss professional development relating to learning and teaching. The UK Professional Standards Framework is a useful tool to use when discussing learning and teaching activity and as a base for identifying development needs.
  • for research active staff,  will provide an opportunity to review research achievements and to plan research activity for the years ahead.

Principles

The following principles have been agreed:

  • The scheme's main purpose is to bring benefits to individuals, departments and the University.
  • The scheme should focus on the developmental and positive aspects of contribution monitoring.
  • There should be one scheme that applies to all members of staff, but the scheme must incorporate sufficient flexibility for it to be meaningful for different staff groups.
  • The scheme must be fair and consistent and provide evidence for assessing and recognising the sustained exceptional contribution of staff.
  • All managers have a fundamental responsibility to review and develop their staff; the scheme should ensure that all staff provided this opportunity.
  • All members of staff up to and including grade 9, should have an equal opportunity to progress within grades and into contribution points.
  • All staff should meet annually with an appropriate reviewer to assess progress against objectives for the previous year, agree objectives for the coming year and discuss how their objectives will contribute towards the achievement of departmental and University strategies.
  • Objectives should focus on both qualitative and quantitative measures and must be specific to the relevant department/discipline.
  • The scheme should ensure that individual objectives are in line with University and departmental strategies and should therefore take place at an appropriate time in order to feed into the planning process.
  • The annual review should focus on training/development required to help staff carry out their roles, meet agreed objectives and develop their careers.
  • For those staff identified as not meeting agreed objectives, the review meeting should ensure that they receive the appropriate support and development to help them reach the required standard. In some cases the scheme may provide a route to instigate other relevant procedures.
  • The individual should have the opportunity to comment on their review.
  • The annual review should be a mechanism that highlights exceptional performers and may provide evidence to support recommendations for Exceptional Contribution Payments.
  • Managers and reviewers must undertake training and have the necessary skills to conduct annual reviews.
  • Heads of Departments/House/Section should recommend which staff should be considered for an Exceptional Contribution Payment, but the Head of Department should not be the sole decision maker, except where the Head of Division is the Reviewer.
  • There must be a process to moderate and monitor Exceptional Contribution Payments at departmental, faculty and University level to ensure consistency and fairness.
  • It is accepted that the majority of our staff are working at a good or excellent level; recommendations for an Exceptional Contribution Payment must be made in this context.
  • Clear, constructive feedback must be provided at all stages.
  • The scheme should not replace other methods already in place to reward one-off individual or team exceptional performance.
  • The scheme should be simple to administer and easy for staff to understand