Employee Performance Management and
Appraisals Demystified

Appraisal Smart System Users, please click on "answer" next to your relevant question below to take you directly to its answer.

DEFINITIONS
What do the following terms mean?

• Performance Appraisal answer
• Appraisor answer
• Appraisee answer
• Performance Year answer
• Performance Period answer
• Performance Measure answer
• Goal answer
• Objective answer
• KPI answer
• Competency answer
• Values answer
• Performance Standards answer
• Importance Weighting answer
• Outputs answer
• Knowledge answer
• Skills answer

SYSTEM SETUP & ADMINISTRATION (CorpAdmin)

• Is there a User Guide for the Corporate System Administrator? answer
• What is the fastest way to set up the Appraisal Smart System? answer
• What does the Bulk User Import Functionality do? answer
  
• Where can I get the Bulk User Import Template? answer
• Is it compulsory to add the organization hierarchical structure? answer
• What is a "top level unit" in the Unit Administration Page? answer
• Will the system automatically update User Files and Appraisal Forms if the names of Units, Locations, and Job Titles change? answer
• How can the system be set up for Teams? answer
• What is a Job Title Appraisal Template? answer
• Is it compulsory to create Appraisal Templates for all Job Titles? answer
• Is it possible to lock individual Performance Measures in Appraisal Templates? answer
• Do downloaded Appraisal Templates (Performance Agreements) update when I edit them in Template Manager? answer
• How does the Job/Role Description Functionality of the system work? answer
• Will completed Job/Role Descriptions be deleted if this functionality is disabled in System Settings? answer
  
• Is it compulsory to use the Job/Role Description Functionality of the system? answer
• How do I get the system to the next Performance Period after having concluded all the appraisals for the current one? answer
• What is the purpose of the Language Sensitivity Filter? answer
• Why do I get "empty" units or sub-units when setting up the structure of my organization in the system? answer
• Why do I get extra ("orphaned") bullets when entering my own Competency Behavioral Indicators or Performance Standards? answer
• How do I load my organization's own Competencies onto the system? answer
• Why do some of the preloaded Competencies have so many Behavioral Indicators? answer
• What does it mean if the Edit Template or Agreement links show bold red? answer
• How can I transfer the measures in an Appraisal Template to its corresponding Job Description? answer

SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR ROLES

• What is the role of the Corporate System Administrator (CorpAdmin)? answer
• What is the role of a Divisional System Administrator (DivAdmin)? answer
• How are the CorpAdmin and DivAdmin Roles allocated in the system? answer
• Why do I (in my DivAdmin Role) not see any Appraisals in Appraisal Manager? answer

USER MANAGEMENT (CorpAdmin & DivAdmin)

• How can I delete the User File of an employee who has left? answer
• When creating a new User File, what do I have to enter as the new user's Login ID and Password? answer
  
• Is a Login ID and Password required for someone who does not have access to a PC (and "blocked" ticked)? answer
  
• Is it compulsory to enter details in User Files such as Telephone Numbers and Addresses? answer
• Should the Telephone Numbers and Addresses of users be private or
  work-related? answer
• What email address should be entered in User Files? answer
• I cannot find the name of a certain Appraisor in the Appraisor dropdown list in a User File answer
• How can I get to someone's User File to make changes to it? answer
• What need we do with employees who do not have access to a computer? answer
• Can a user, who had been made "inactive", get access to the system? answer
• As CorpAdmin, I have selected the role of Appraisor for myself in my User File, but that link does not show answer

RATING KEY

• Why is a 5-Point Rating Key used? answer
• What level of performance does the "3" in the Rating Key represent? answer
• What is a T-Rating? answer
• How should a project (or goal/objective) be rated if it was NOT completed on time by the employee? answer
• Is it possible to give rating fractions such as 3.5? answer
  
• How does the Performance Percentage calculation of the system work? answer

WEIGHTINGS

• Can the weighting of Performance Measures be disabled? answer
• How can Goals be treated differently from Competencies? answer

PERFORMANCE-BASED REMUNERATION

• How can I do performance-based bonus calculations using the system? answer

APPRAISORS

• Is there a User Guide for Appraisors? answer
• What is the best way to conduct an Appraisal Interview? answer
  
• Can an employee have more than one Appraisor? answer
• How can I set a specific appraisal date for an Appraisee? answer
• How can I change an incorrectly downloaded Rating Key? answer
• Why are the 1 to 5 rating options in the Rating Key not accessible? answer
• Why can't I edit the contents of a specific downloaded Appraisal Template? answer
• How can Appraisees view their Performance Measures and Standards? answer
• Can Appraisees help their Appraisors draw up (or edit) their Performance Agreement Forms online? answer
• How does the "Agreement Release to Appraisee" functionality work? answer
• Who are allowed to enter Performance Record Notes on an employee? answer
• Does the system allow me to view the Appraisal PREP Form of an Appraisee prior to the appraisal interview? answer
• How can I view the appraisal forms of my "indirect reports" (those below my direct reports)? answer
• How do I sign off as Higher Level Manager (HLM) in a system that has been set up with 3-level signoff? answer
• What is the 3-level signoff sequence? answer
• How should 3-level signoffs be handled with appraisal disputes? answer
• Should the Summary/POP Form be signed off before or after the face-to-face appraisal interview? answer
• Can the Higher Level Manager (HLM) view the Official Appraisal and Summary/POP Forms of Appraisees before Appraisor signoff? answer
• What do the headings "This Period" and "Yr Cum Avg" on the Appraisal Manager page stand for? answer
• Why do I get a system warning: "This appraisal does not have any Performance Measures associated with it"? answer
• What should be done if the Appraisee refuses to sign off the appraisal? answer
• Can you create and complete Appraisals in a past/previous (and signed off) Performance Period? answer
• Can the Appraisal Form pages be printed with logical breaks? answer
• How can I get rid of the headers and footers when printing out a form? answer
  

APPRAISEES

• Is there a User Guide for Appraisees? answer
• Why should Appraisees be able to log onto the system? answer
• How can I change my User ID or Password? answer
• I have lost my User ID and/or Password. Can the system send me a reminder of what they are? answer
• Why can't I see my Appraisal on my Appraisal Manager page? answer
• When can I start entering information on my Appraisal Prep Form? answer
• Why can't I tick ratings or enter information on my Appraisal Prep Form (all the fields are dead)? answer
• Who will be able to view my Appraisal Prep Form if I release it for viewing? answer
• Why can't I type into my General Comments field in my Appraisal Summary/POP Form (under Sign Off)? answer

AD-HOC APPRAISALS

• What is an Ad-Hoc Appraisal? answer

MULTIRATER MODULE

• What is the Multirater Module? answer
• What is the difference between the Multirater Module and the 360-Degree Feedback Module? answer
• What is the difference between Regular and Ad-Hoc Multirater Appraisals? answer
• What does it mean if the MULTIRATER link shows red? answer

GENERAL

• What is the "Org Code" on the system signin page? answer
• Does the system have a time-out? answer
• How can we prevent different line managers from assessing the same level of Appraisee performance differently? answer
• Can the system pages be emailed to somebody else? answer
• Can the system pages be saved on a computer? answer
• I struggle to save an exported Appraisal Manager File to Excel answer
• Why do my Browser Next and Back buttons not always work? answer
  

SMART360 TECHNICAL FAQs                    For 360 Theoretical FAQs click here

What are suitable 360 Feedback Rating Keys to use? answer

DEFINITIONS

Performance Appraisal
A face-to-face interview/discussion between an Appraisor and Appraisee to review the achievement of set Goals, Objectives, KPIs and Competencies. Synonyms for "Appraisal" in this context are: Review, Evaluation, Assessment.

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Appraisor
The person conducting/facilitating the appraisal. Normally an employee's direct line manager. It can also be a Project Manager whom the employee reported to for a specific project.

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Appraisee
The person being appraised. This includes managerial and non-managerial employees/staff.

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Performance Year
The 12 month-period for which employees' work outputs are agreed, monitored and appraised. A Performance Year is normally aligned with the Financial/Fiscal year of an organization (but does not necessarily have to be).

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Performance Period
Appraisal Smart divides a Performance Year into evenly-spaced Performance Periods, each ending with Performance Appraisals for all employees. For example, Quarterly Appraisals translate into four, three-monthly Performance Periods. The Corporate System Administrator can set Appraisal Smart at any of 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, or 12-monthly Performance Appraisals in System Settings.

In the case of Anniversary-Based Appraisals, a Performance Period can only be a full year (set as a calendar year, i.e. Jan - Dec).

Performance Periods are set for the organization, and not individual employees. This way Appraisal Smart can logically cluster all appraisals together that take place during the same Performance Period.

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Performance Measure
A quantitative or qualitative process or output "factor" on which performance is assessed. The most common types of Performance Measure are Goals, Objectives, KPIs, and Competencies. There should be approximately 5 to 15 Performance Measures (any combination) per position/role.

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Goal
Medium to long-term in focus (2 years plus), goals are formulated (starting with an action verb) as specific results/outcomes to attain by a certain date, e.g.: "Achieve 40% market share by 31 Dec 2010".

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Objective
Short-term in focus (up to 2 years), Objectives are formulated as with Goals, e.g.: "Implement a new Accounting System by 'x' date". Additional Performance Standards are normally added to guide and measure jobholder performance. Objectives should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Results-focused, Time-bound.

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KPI
Key Performance Indicators are OUTPUT MEASURES such as: Sales, Customer Service, Avg $ Value per Transaction, Staff Retention, ROI, Market Share, etc. They are expressed as nouns, and are normally routine/recurring in nature, i.e. ALWAYS relevant to a specific position (as opposed to having a specific completion date such as is the case with Objectives).

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Competency
Job-critical skills, knowledge, abilities, attributes/characteristics, attitudes, and values that combine to produce outstanding performance in a specific position.

Organizations have learnt the hard way that to focus only on the WHAT (OUTPUT) of a job (i.e. achievement of Objectives/KPIs) and not also on the HOW (the WORK PROCESSES and BEHAVIOR of employees), can seriously impact job output (i.e. the HOW is the means to the END RESULT or OUTCOME; or put another way: JOBHOLDER QUALITATIVE WORK BEHAVIOR AND PROCESSES PRECEDE REQUIRED QUANTITATIVE END RESULTS).

Examples of Competencies are: Interpersonal Skills, Leadership, Teamwork, Accuracy, Creativity, Customer Focus, Integrity, Selling Skills, etc.

Where Goals, Objectives and KPIs have Performance Standards, Competencies have Behavioral Indicators (these are behavior examples describing the Competency), e.g.:

ORAL COMMUNICATION
w Provides clear instructions
w Is an effective listener
w Speaks with authority and conviction
w Probes for key information when necessary

COOPERATION / COLLABORATION
w Willingly accepts assignments from line manager.
w Volunteers for work and willingly pitches in to handle high workloads and crises situations.
w Contributes expected share in team context.
w Works effectively in cross-functional project teams (where required).
w Follows through on commitments to others.


Appraisal Smart comes pre-loaded with 60 Generic Competencies, any of which can be edited or deleted. Some of these Competencies have quite a long list of Behavioral Indicators, which should be carefully analyzed with a view to editing or even deleting those ones not relevant to your organization. Consider adding your own, more relevant, Behavioral Indicators as well. However, try to avoid overly long lists of Behavioral Indicators as they will all need to be discussed during appraisal interviews.

You can also add your own Competencies to the Competency Library. Read more about this HERE

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Values
The way we like to operate and do business; our guiding principles.
What we stand for: our beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.
What we as an organization considers to be appropriate and inappropriate behavior.

Some examples:

INTEGRITY
w Exhibits a strong moral and ethical personal character.
w Behaves in a fair and ethical manner toward others.
w Has an excellent work ethic, is trustworthy and reliable.
w Accepts responsibility for own actions.

COMMITMENT & DEDICATION
w Actively strives to achieve objectives, and ensures desired outcomes are achieved.
w Is willing to "go the extra mile" to achieve results.
w Has a strong sense of personal obligation.

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Performance Standards
Written statements, describing HOW WELL Performance Measures should be performed; i.e. the benchmarks against which to evaluate work performance. Standards should be clearly definable, unambiguous, and simple.

There are, broadly spoken, two types of performance standard: QUANTITATIVE and QUALITATIVE.

1. QUANTITATIVE STANDARDS (quantifiable and objectively measurable):

• Numbers, quantity of products/services to deliver ("300 items", "10 service calls per day")
• Duration, deadlines, target dates ("one month", "by 15 November")
• Frequency ("monthly")
• Costs, expenses, budgets ("$5,000")
• Income, savings, profit, turnover, sales targets ("$10m before tax")
• Percentages ("increase by 35%", "25% ROI", "40% market share")
• Ratios ("output:input", "staff complement:customers", "debt:equity", "sales:cost of sales")
• Technical tolerances ("2 microns")
• Error/reject rate, wastage, downtime ("not to exceed 3%")

2. QUALITATIVE STANDARDS (descriptive):

• Certain critical steps to include with goal/objective execution ("Present recommendations to Management Team for final approval")
• The following of an official process, policy or legislation ("Legislation ABC", "Checklist A")
• Required behaviors to exhibit during objective achievement ("Smile and great customers entering the store", "Answer incoming calls within three rings", "Treat all customers with courtesy and respect").
  

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Importance Weighting
A Performance Agreement consists of a number of Performance Measures (typically around 5 to 15) relevant to a specific position/jobholder. However, these measures could not all be equally important - so they need to be "weighted" to indicate their relative importance in relation to each other, i.e. the higher the importance of a measure, the higher its weighting should be.

In Appraisal Smart, the weightings off all Performance Measures need to add up to a total figure of 100.

These weightings are factored into the equation that calculates an employee's overall performance percentage, leading to a substantially fairer and more realistic end result.

NOTE: When the system is set to NOT show performance percentages, it is not necessary to allocate weightings to measures.

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Outputs
The job results produced by individuals or teams (e.g. completed projects, manufactured products, satisfied customers, etc.)

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Knowledge
Information and understanding of information that an individual needs to possess to be able to perform optimally (e.g. policies, procedures, rules/regulations/legislation, processes, product knowledge, etc.)

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Skills
The cognitive and physical actions required to deliver outputs (e.g. typing, brick laying, negotiating, using telephone, designing clothes, etc.)

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SYSTEM SETUP & ADMINISTRATION

Is there a User Guide for the Corporate System Administrator?

Yes, please contact us for a copy. It is available as a PDF Document.

Please note that there is a separate (3-page) User Guide illustrating how the system is used with third-level (Higher Level Manager) signoff.

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What is the fastest way to set up the Appraisal Smart System?

1. HRIS Interfacing

The Appraisal Smart System can be interfaced with any HRIS / HRMS / Payroll system for automatic updating of user information as employees join/leave and their work details change.

There is an additional setup charge for this.

2. Bulk Importing of Users

As a FREE alternative, use the CSV (Comma Separated Values) and XLS (Excel Spreadsheet) bulk user importing utility of the system. To access this capability as CorpAdmin, go to Users >> Import Users. With this option, the updating/maintenance of existing (previously imported) User Files need to be done manually. Read more about this utility HERE

Download the Bulk User Excel Import Template by clicking HERE

3. Allocate Divisional System Administrators
With larger and/or geographically widespread organizations, it is recommended that you "appoint" Divisional System Administrators (DivAdmins in short) in the system to handle the system administration, and monitor the status of appraisals, of their allocated units/branches/regions. Do the following:

• Tick the "Divisional Admin" box in such identified employees' User Files.
• Go to System Admin >> Units and click on "edit" next to each top level unit. This will reveal a DivAdmin dropdown list from where you can select the appropriate DivAdmin for the specific top-level unit. Do this for all top-level units.
• Ask these DivAdmins to now log onto Appraisal Smart and to click on their DivAdmin role link, top right. From there they can assist you in creating new User Files for those people in their allocated units. They will also, most importantly, be able to monitor the status of appraisals of employees in their allocated units.

4. Temporary Administrator Status
Any employee can be given temporary administrator privileges to help you create User Files. Just tick the CorpAdmin or DivAdmin box in their User Files, and they will have all CorpAdmin/DivAdmin access rights, except that they will not be able to access the System Settings or Performance Periods pages (these are strictly reserved for the person selected as the primary CorpAdmin in System Settings). Once they have created the required User Files, just UN-tick the Corp/DivAdmin boxes in their own User Files again.

5. Line Managers
Line managers (in their Appraisor Role) can also update/edit some aspects of their direct reports' ("subordinates") User Files (such as work addresses and telephone numbers) by going to Users >> Browse Users. There they are able to open each employee's User File by clicking on "User File" on the far right of each person's name (which only shows for their direct reports).

6. Copy and paste from MS Word and other electronic documents/sources
Similar data, that will be needed repeatedly for different users (such as email extensions, work addresses and telephone numbers), need not be entered from scratch for every person/user. Create these first in e.g. an MS Word document, then copy and paste it repeatedly from there to the User Files. Use the ALT + TAB keys on your keyboard to switch easily between the two screens. Copy and paste using the right-hand button of your computer mouse.

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What does the Bulk User Import Functionality do?

With this functionality you can bulk import any number of employee records into Appraisal Smart, limited only by your allocated number of User Licenses (as purchased by your organization). This eliminates the need to create employee User Files one at a time.

It is intended to ease bulk data loading by CorpAdmins; but does not obviate the need for Corp- and DivAdmins to manually maintain/update individual User Files (i.e. it cannot be used to update existing records).

Start off by exporting the required employee data from your HRIS/Payroll system into a pre-formatted Excel Spreadsheet Template, downloadable HERE.

The following Start Date formats are supported: dd mm yy (e.g. 26 09 03 OR 26/09/03), dd mm yyyy (e.g. 26 08 2003), Month dd yyyy (e.g. November 15 1998 OR Nov 15 98).

The populated template can then be imported into Appraisal Smart to create a User File for each of your employees in the system.

To access this feature, go to Users >> Import Users (in your CorpAdmin role). The Instructions and Import Rules appear on the page.

This utility can also upload CSV (Comma Separated Values) Files.

NOTE: The AS System can also be interfaced with your specific HRIS/Payroll system, to regularly auto-update User Files. There is an additional charge for this.

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Where can I get the Bulk User Import Template?

Download it by clicking HERE

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Is it compulsory to add the organization hierarchical structure?

No, but through the organization structure (and by "attaching" employees to their relevant units), the system links everybody together.

Other benefits of having the organization structure in place:

• Enables you to search for (filter) users and their appraisals according to units or sub-units.
• DivAdmins can be attached to top-level units (the use of DivAdmins, a hugely beneficial feature of the AS System, would become obsolete without an organization hierarchical structure been set up).
• Enables line managers to view the appraisal forms/docs of their "indirect" reports as well, i.e. those two levels and further down (in addition to their direct reports).
• Enables reporting of appraisal results (Reports Filter) by unit or sub-unit.
• Enables the bulk-creation of appraisals.

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Will the system automatically update User Files and Appraisal Forms if the names
of Units, Locations, and Job Titles change?

Yes, this is easily done by changing the existing names in the Units, Locations and Job Titles pages.

Correct the relevant item, and click "Save Changes".

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What is a "top level unit" on the Unit Administration Page?

A top level unit (indicated in BLUE below) could e.g. be any of the following: Company (Corporate), Divisions, Regions and/or Branches. Consider carefully how you want to set the system up.

If the organization is small (typically up to 100 employees), and you would only need one person (e.g. the CorpAdmin) to maintain User Files and monitor the appraisals of everybody in the company, then enter one top level unit only (e.g. "Corporate"), followed by the Corporate Divisions/Departments and Branches on the next level. The result may look as follows:

With larger organizations you may wish to "appoint" DivAdmins in the system to enable you to "attach" them to the various top level units, so they can assist the CorpAdmin in maintaining User Files and monitoring the status of appraisals in their allocated divisions. In this case the result may look as follows (large Corporate Office):

Below is another variation where DivAdmins can be "appointed" in the system at the top level (small Corporate Office):

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How can the system be set up for Teams?

First, create a Job Title "Team".

• In their User Files, give teams unique names, e.g. Alpha Team, Top Team, etc. Put the word "Team" always in the "Last Name" field to ensure that teams are grouped together alphabetically in the system (i.e. the team thus becomes a "User" as for individuals).
• The contact details of a team is that of its Team Leader.
• The Appraisor to select is the line manager the team reports to.
• The rest of the performance documentation is set up for the team as you would for a single person.
• The appraisal gets handled "one-on-team", i.e. the whole team is present (or just the team leader).
• Performance Rating, etc. is handled as for individuals.
  

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What is a Job Title Appraisal Template?

The ability to create Appraisal/Agreement Templates in Appraisal Smart for the various positions in your organization solves the age-old problem of employees with the same Job Title and job contents getting quite different Performance Measures and Standards to perform to, due to them having different line managers and/or being at different locations.

The answer is to have a generic Appraisal Template drawn up by job content experts (JCE's) for each distinctly different position (job title) in the organization, and to then make these templates available in a database from where they can be downloaded by line managers for their direct reports, irrespective of where they are located (even internationally). This prevents the reinvention of the wheel everywhere. It also ensures a standardization of work expectations for the same position where relevant, and a consequently much fairer performance management system.

Once downloaded for specific employees, these Appraisal Templates can still be adapted to suit specific local conditions and employee-specific position requirements and targets - so they need not be inflexible or fully prescriptive. However, System Administrators have the ability to "lock" templates so that they cannot be edited once downloaded by Line Managers (Appraisors) for specific employees (so as to ensure that exactly the same measures and standards are used throughout the organization for the same position).

JCE's are typically exemplary performers in these positions, their line managers, and HR staff (developing such templates in task forces of 2 to 5 members). The process of developing Appraisal Templates is similar to doing a Job Analysis when developing Job/Role Descriptions and Person Specifications, and should ideally be developed during the same Job Analysis session. Alternatively, use existing Job Descriptions and Person Specifications as primary sources for deriving relevant Performance Measures to include in Appraisal Templates.

It is recommended that Appraisal Templates be reviewed at least annually.

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Is it compulsory to create Appraisal Templates for all Job Titles?

No. Performance Agreements can be created for employees from scratch, without the use of Appraisal Templates (e.g. Appraisal Templates for Senior Management may not be appropriate).

To do this, Appraisors should select the option "Create New Appraisal" on the ""Create New Appraisal" page.

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Is it possible to lock individual Performance Measures in Appraisal Templates?

Yes. See tick-box 'Lock this Measure' for each Measure in the Appraisal Template Builder. Ticking this box will lock the Measure, and it will turn red to indicate that it is locked. A locked Measure cannot be edited by Managers/Appraisors after downloading it for their employees.

If you want to lock the Weightings of such locked Measures as well, you need to click the link 'Lock Weighting' on the Edit Weightings page. This will then also prevent Appraisors from changing the Weightings of locked Measures.

TIP: Because the Edit Weightings page will require that all Weightings add up to 100, you should add one or more 'placeholder' items, e.g. as follows:

Item 6 above can then be changed by Managers any way they like (after they have downloaded the Template) and they will have a Weighting total of 50 to work with; while the CorpAdmin has the assurance that the locked Measures and Weightings cannot be tampered with.

NOTE: If you want ALL Template Measures to be locked, and not give Managers the ability to edit anything in a downloaded Template, or add any additional Measures, it is not necessary to lock the individual Measures. Just tick the T-Lock tick-box for that Template (see column of T-Lock tick-boxes on the far right-hand side on the Template Manager page). The text of all Measures will remain black with the entire Template locked this way.

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Do downloaded Appraisal Templates (Performance Agreements) update when I edit them in Template Manager?

No, they do not and should not update, as a downloaded Appraisal Template (called a "Performance Agreement" after download) may have been edited and customized by Appraisors for specific Appraisees (based on local and individual requirements).

If an Appraisor has downloaded an Appraisal Template for a specific person, and the CorpAdmin subsequently edits the Template, and wants the Agreement to reflect the changes, then the "old" Agreement has to be deleted first, and the new Appraisal Template downloaded. All of this is done in seconds through two easy clicks.

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How does the Job/Role Description Functionality of the system work?

The Job/Role Description Functionality is activated by means of a tick-box in System Settings. With it being activated, the following will appear on the Template Manager Page:

• A link to the Job Description Template Manager (below heading "Job Title Appraisal Templates"). Click this link to reveal a detailed Tutorial with full instructions as to how the format of your Job Descriptions should be set up in the system. Also ask us to send you the 2-page User Guide on using this functionality, which includes how Performance Measures can be easily transferred from Job Descriptions to Appraisal Templates.
• A new column with two links next to each Job Title (JD-Edit & JD-View)

On the Appraisal Manager page in all system roles, a new link, "Job Description" will show at the top of the list of links with each Appraisee's appraisal. Line managers can, therefore, view (and print) the Job Descriptions of each of their direct and "indirect" reports, Appraisees can view their own, and System Administrators can view everybody's. As System Administrators edit the Job Descriptions centrally, everybody has instant access to these updated versions.

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Will completed Job/Role Descriptions be deleted if this functionality is disabled in System Settings?

No, they will stay in the database. This way you can develop your Job Descriptions over time, and deactivate the functionality in between until you have developed (most of) them and want to make them permanently available to your system users.

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Is it compulsory to use the Job/Role Description Functionality of the system?

No, the activation and use of this functionality is optional. Although you are able to copy Performance Measures (including Competencies) from the Job Description of a specific position to its corresponding Job Title Appraisal Template, you can also add the Performance Measures directly in the Appraisal Templates.

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How do I get the system to the next Performance Period after having concluded all the appraisals for the current one?

You do this by signing off the current Performance Period. Go to System Admin >> Performance Periods, and read the detailed instructions provided. Signing off the current Performance Period will "move" the system automatically to the next Period.

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What is the purpose of the Language Sensitivity Filter?

A CorpAdmin can enter any number of undesirable words or phrases in the Language Sensitivity Filter (e.g. "idiot", "too old", "poor attitude"). This will prohibit Appraisors from using these when typing in Appraisal Smart, as a warning will pop up, saying that such a word or phrase is not allowed. This will prevent the use of insensitive language with Appraisees, which may potentially also land the organization in legal hot water.

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Why do I get "empty" units or sub-units when setting up the structure of my
organization in the system? answer

This happens when you press "ENTER" or create new lines in the "Add Units" field without entering any unit or sub-unit names on these lines. To get rid of such "empty" units, click "delete" on their far right.

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Why do I get extra ("orphaned") bullets when entering my own Competency Behavioral Indicators or Performance Standards?

This happens when you press "ENTER" or create new lines without entering any items (text) on these lines. To get rid of such unnecessary bullets, go back to where you have entered the original items, and remove the spaces without text that you have created at the time.

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How do I load my organization's own Competencies onto the system?

In the CorpAdmin Role, go to Appraisals >> Template Manager. Click on "To add or edit Competencies, click here". this will open the Competency Library. This library comes pre-loaded with 70 Generic Competencies. These you can edit or even delete. You can also add your own. To do so, do the following:

Click on the link "Create New Competency" top right of screen. Do this for each new Competency that you upload. The fields that open will allow you to enter a Competency Name/Title, and any number of Behavioral Indicators.

You can copy and paste these from an MS Word document if you wish. Enter the Behavioral Indicators, each on a different line, e.g.:

ANALYTICAL SKILL
Is very methodical when conducting analyses.
Draws meaningful conclusions from data analyses.
Structures arguments lucidly and logically.

Notice that you should load the Behavioral Indicators without a bullet in front of each. The system will add bullets to them automatically later. This you will notice when clicking "Load new Competency from Database" when creating Job Title Appraisal Templates or Performance Agreements. They also appear with bullets in the Appraisal PREP and Official Appraisal Forms.

Also read the following re preventing "orphaned" bullets: GO

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Why do some of the preloaded Competencies have so many Behavioral Indicators?

You should not necessarily use all the Behavioral Indicators that we have added to the Competencies, but delete those you feel are less critical for your organization and its various positions. You may even want to add (or replace them with) your own, more organization-specific Behavioral Indicators, where applicable.

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What does it mean if the Edit Template or Agreement links show bold red?

This happens when there are one or more of the following problems with the Template or Agreement:

• There are no performance measures added
• One or more measures do not have a Rating Key
• The importance weightings do not add up to 100

Click on the bold red link to trigger a pop-up that will tell you exactly what is wrong with it.

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How can I transfer the measures in an Appraisal Template to its corresponding
Job Description?

Do the following:

• Click on the template Preview link (a new page will open).
• Press ALT+TAB on your keyboard to go back to the Appraisal Manager page.
• Click JD Edit for the corresponding Job Title.
• Press ALT+TAB again to return to the template Preview page, and copy and past the measures one at a time by consecutively pressing ALT+TAB to move between the two pages.
  

NOTE: Transferring measures from a Job Description to an Appraisal Template is the normal requirement (and recommended process sequence), which can be done by clicking only one button on the JD Edit page.

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SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR ROLES

What is the role of the Corporate System Administrator (CorpAdmin)?

Sets up the system for the organization. Adds and edits the User Files of employees (users). Monitors the status of appraisals of all employees in the entire organization (and "chase them up" if necessary). Can also view all appraisal forms of everybody for training, coaching and quality moderation purposes.

There should be one "primary" CorpAdmin for the organization, with one or two backups ("secondary"), should the former be away from the office for an extended period of time, such as for vacation or illness.

You may also want to give your President/CEO (others?) secondary CorpAdmin status so he/she can also view the appraisals of all employees in the organization.

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What is the role of a Divisional System Administrator (DivAdmin)?

Views and monitors the status of appraisals of everybody in allocated Divisions (or branches/regions/locations) and "chase them up" if necessary. Adds and edits User Files of employees in these divisions. Can also view all appraisal documentation of everybody in allocated divisions for training, coaching and quality moderation purposes.

DivAdmins assist the CorpAdmin in the above tasks, thereby ensuring that everything does not fall on the CorpAdmin.

NOTE: This is not a compulsory role, but useful for larger and geographically widely spread organizations, e.g. with offices in different countries, continents or time zones (where a local DivAdmin has more convenient access to employees during normal working hours).

Any number of DivAdmins can be "appointed" in the system.

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How are the CorpAdmin and DivAdmin Roles allocated in the system?

By ticking the relevant "System Access Privileges" tick-boxes