Advancing Excellence The Garden s Process for Performance Development and Feedback

Transcription

1 Advancing Excellence The Garden s Process for Performance Development and Feedback

2 Welcome and Introductions Mary Catellier, Director of Human Resources Margaret Dyekman, President of Corporate Compensation Services, LLC

3 About the Garden Four pillars of the Garden s mission: education, research, exhibition, and conservation Annual operating budget of $14M, approximately 125 yearround employees and 75 seasonal employees Almost 400,000 visitors per year from across the U.S. and the world Selected by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as the global headquarters for cactus conservation Please see for more information

4 Outline for Today s Discussion Background and Objectives Project Champions Design Process and Outcomes Implementation Planning and Execution Successes and Challenges Next Steps Questions and Answers

5 Background and Objectives Communicating and supporting the Garden s strategic objectives Driving improvement of and accountability for individual and group performance Creating constructive and candid communication about performance Rewarding outstanding performance and creating the starting point for effective merit and incentive pay programs for all employees Developing employees and the Garden s next generation of leaders

6 Project Team and Roles Ken Schutz sponsor and champion Design Team senior management staff comprised of 10 department directors Mary Catellier internal HR expert and also member of the Design Team Margaret Dyekman consultant to the Garden for past six years

7 Define Objectives Secure Champion Evaluate and Adjust Advancing Excellence Charter Design Team Implement Design Conduct Design

8 Design Process Prep Work Planning how to best utilize limited time and get everyone on board, up-to-speed Audit of 40 randomly-selected performance review forms at different levels of the Garden Selection of reading material on trends and best practices in performance management Figuring out how to be most productive in 45 minutes per Design Team meeting

9 Design Team Director of Development Director of Education Director of Event Services Director of Finance and Administration Director of Horticulture Director of Human Resources Director of Marketing and Communications Director of Planning and Exhibits Director of Operations Director of Research, Conservation and Collections

10 Design Process Meeting #1 Introduction from Ken Schutz and why changing performance management is important and what the Design Team s role is Timeline review Ten minutes of flip-charting feedback from Design Team on current process What is working What is not

11 Design Process Meeting #1 (continued) What is working Use of some good/relevant qualities for rating - discretion, problem solving, initiative, and judgment

12 Design Process Meeting #1 (continued) What is not working, needs to be improved or added Allow for more specificity by department Geared to entry level, not to management or researchers, departments, levels There is not enough alignment with the Garden s culture and values Needs to have more connection with the job description Needs to be a more direct means to define/connect with actual goals Should be more consistency across the Garden with type and number of goals The system should have a tie/linkage to pay The system should evoke a sense of trust, fairness, consistency Needs to be consistently used by all supervisors/managers, so training will be needed Should figure out how to deal with turnover s impact on review The system should become part of the on-boarding process

13 Design Process Meeting #1 (continued) Shared with Design Team the results of the audit of the current process and form, for example

14 Design Process Meeting #1 (continued) The audit had findings that corroborated the Design Team s feedback

15 Design Process Meeting #1 (continued) Assigned homework for next meeting Suggest top five to eight competencies that are most relevant to Garden s mission, culture, and values (via in advance of Meeting #2) Read the assigned three articles on trends in performance management Start thinking about theme for branding this new process

16 Design Process Meeting #1 (continued) Reading homework from Meeting #1 Rethinking Performance Management, WorldatWork s Workspan, January 2016 Clarifying Competencies: Powerful Tools for Driving Business Success, Cari Baca and Gary Starzmann, WorldatWork s Workspan, Angelique Soenarie, March, 2016 Cutting Edge Performance Management, a CEO Working Paper Series, Gerald Ledford, January 2016

17 Design Process Meeting #2 Share key learnings from the three articles Revisit summary of feedback on what is working, what needs to improve and add, based on articles, additional thoughts Review competency suggestions and clarify, eliminate, prioritize, identify linkage to Values if possible

18 Design Process Meeting #2 (continued) We should have more frequent cycles/check-ins The process should allow for more forward-thinking, future development Use of technology should make the process easier and a two-way street The process should be used to motivate The younger generation expects more frequent feedback and we should be able to customize how the employee receives feedback and its frequency One size may not fit all, competencies may vary, and measures/metrics may vary Performance management should align with our culture and values

19 Design Process Meeting #2 In preparation for Meeting #2, the consultant laid out a grid of the competencies, and in meeting #2 the Design Team prioritized competencies specific to the Garden

20 Design Process Meeting #3 (continued) Between Meetings #2 and #3, competencies were named, defined, mapped to the Garden s Values in first draft form by the consultant; in Meeting #3, the Design Team reacted to the first draft of competency definitions

21 Design Process Meeting #3 (continued) The Design Team did a first and second review, fine-tuning the definitions, and then competencies were finalized Six competencies are core and apply to all jobs, three are role-specific

22 Design Process Meeting #3 (continued) Agree on competency selections and definitions Can these competency definitions be applied at all job levels within the Garden? Can managers provide coaching on how these would apply to particular jobs? Started to discuss rating categories and eventually settled on three levels of competency achievement

23 Design Process Meeting #3 (continued) Began exploring how goals will fit into Advancing Excellence Cascading from strategic goals? Related to competency development? Related to job description performance? Combination as needed? Other? Design Team was assigned homework - read a white paper on goal-setting and identify three to five takeaways for the next meeting

24 Design Process Meeting #3 (continued) Reading homework from Meeting #3 Goal Setting A Fresh Perspective; an Oracle White Paper, June, 2012

25 Technology Vendor Search Simultaneously, a sub-team of HR and the consultant began searching for a vendor that would meet the Garden s criteria for an automated solution to Advancing Excellence Did search by internet, telephone interviews, on-line demos, reference checks, and finally settled on ReviewSnap

26 Design Process Meeting #4 Over the first two weeks of July, the Design Team ed feedback on what they learned about Goal Setting and other thoughts they had

27 Design Process Meeting #4 (continued) Reviewed the take-aways from the homework assignment on Goal Setting and got an additional homework assignment from Ken to practice goal setting Confirmed the other design elements: quarterly check-ins, timing of the review process, role of employee input, and the rating scale for goal setting

28 Design Process Meeting #5 Finalized decision on vendor selection Provided feedback on goal-setting practice Agreed that goals of Senior Staff would be placed on the vendor s home page of Advancing Excellence and make the goals available to all staff to help them write cascading goals Reviewed and provided input on implementation and communication schedule Timing of key dates working around Garden s operations Form of training Started process for mapping responsibility-specific competencies to job titles so vendor could load data

29 Other Key Design Elements Both employees and supervisors use the system on-line Quarterly check-ins with separate short form asking only three questions to generate face-to-face communication and dialogue and have no surprises Journal entry capability for documentation ease Kudos technology in the system for supervisors to provide instant feedback Easy tracking of completion status reports and 2 nd and 3 rd level review by management levels

30 Other Key Design Elements (continued) Goal-setting starts from the top, with goals of the Senior Staff linked to the strategic plan - cascading to department and individual level Three to five goals are considered the norm Goals are weighted; competencies are not The SMART model is preferred for goal definition Goals can include individual competency development

31 Implementation Testing and retesting of the online forms and functionality until it was right Loading of employee census data into the software Head s up communication to staff in middle of summer new process was coming for FY 2017 Staff had previously provided feedback in employee surveys and comments that they were not happy with the Garden s performance management system Developing training for the formal introduction to managers and supervisors in September

32 Training Sample Text from Training Session Developed by the Garden for the Garden ours is not a canned approach Performance Development and Feedback are the two main objectives of the process Advancing Excellence has several key components Competencies that are critical to the Garden Goal-setting and tracking and measuring progress towards goals Quarterly Check-Ins Employee and manager ownership in the process Training was conducted jointly by HR Director and supported by the vendor implementation specialist

33 Training (continued) Sample Text from Training Session Today, general introduction to how we got to this point and what Advancing Excellence is about In the next two weeks, employee training By next week, you should log onto Advancing Excellence and become more familiar with the system AND start developing ideas for goals for yourself and your staff By November 18 th, all goals should be finalized Directors should review and approve all goals for their direct and indirect reports, and managers and employees should have discussed them At the beginning of January, staff will complete the first Quarterly Check-Ins and managers and staff can review and discuss

34 Goal-Setting Training In addition to overall implementation training For manager and supervisors Stressed the importance of goal-setting to achieve results Reviewed how goals are supported and measured Explained SMART goal-setting

35 Key Learnings Having an organization champion is critical A Design Team approach produced an excellent result with input from everyone, and they are now champions of Advancing Excellence Staying on schedule required work between scheduled meetings reading to advance concepts and understanding, providing ed feedback to be discussed at the following meeting, etc. Using an outside consultant brought in accountability, expertise, and project management skills to the process

36 Key Learnings (continued) Support from the Personnel Committee of the Board during a September meeting was welcome and important to reiterate alignment with a performancebased culture Took longer than expected and needed more sessions to ensure all employees received training Goal setting was finalized by end of first quarter instead of beginning of first quarter First quarterly check-in was conducted at end of second quarter But.... overall response from employees and their managers has been very positive

37 Next Steps Monitor use of Advancing Excellence online to see what improvement can be made on goal-setting process and quarterly check-ins Coach managers and supervisors who need support Identify how Advancing Excellence will impact compensation Pay for performance/merit pay is part of the Garden s compensation philosophy but has not been implemented fully at the individual level

38 Next Steps (continued) Consider expanding a modified version for seasonal staff Consider using the vendor s software for multi-rater feedback for executive and senior management staff

39 Summary A step-by-step process for designing a performance development and feedback program The benefits of using a Design Team and a process for their involvement and support Examples of resources for the Design Team to bring them along to common understandings of best practices and ideas Steps to select and customize competencies and their definitions to ensure they are meaningful and appropriate for an organization How cascading goals can be introduced throughout the organization The importance of implementation planning and execution What kind of implementation challenges to expect

40 Questions?

41 Appendix Presenters Bios Mary Catellier joined the Garden in 1989 as the Accounting Manager. For the past 18 years, she has been the Director of Human Resources, reporting to the Executive Director, and is responsible for all aspects of human resource management for the Garden. Mary holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the University of Arizona and is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). Margaret Dyekman, CCP, SPHR, has been a consultant for most of her work life, primarily focused on compensation plan design and evaluation and performance improvement thru pay, incentive, and performance plans. She has worked for Towers Perrin and Sibson and Segal Consulting, was the President and COO of WageWatch, and for the last seven years has led Corporate Compensation Services.