UF Engaged launches new approach to staff evaluations
New quarterly system is designed to encourage regular conversations throughout the year
This summer, UFHR will introduce “UF Engaged,” a new approach to staff appraisals designed to encourage regular feedback, rather than a once-a-year evaluation. This new system is expected to be available beginning in late summer.
With UF Engaged, there will no longer be annual appraisals, ratings or complicated categories. Instead, leaders and managers will get a quarterly reminder to provide feedback to employees, arranged around each employee’s anniversary date.
The new system is designed to support UFHR’s strategic commitment: To take an aligned and contemporary approach to performance management that focuses on fostering high performance. After a review of best practices, UFHR determined that the university’s former annual performance review process, rating levels and categories were not meeting the needs of managers or staff.
UF Engaged will provide the scaffolding for managers to have quarterly check-ins to discuss results and goals and to more regularly let staff know how they are doing, what they need to keep doing and what they can do differently to succeed.
“Through this approach, we are really returning to first principles,” explained Jodi Gentry, vice president for Human Resources. “We know everyone benefits when employees and their managers have regular conversations about the work at hand and the needed results.”
Quarterly check-ins will now be tied to the anniversary of each employee’s start date in his or her current position, rather than in March; however, existing college and department annual evaluation processes may still be used. Beginning this summer, a simple and easy-to-use “ePerformance” module will be available in the myUFL system that will include space for notes and provide reminders to leaders and managers when it is time to schedule a check-in.
In the coming months, UFHR will provide more information for managers to prepare to adopt this new approach to performance management. As a separate initiative, a workgroup will also develop guidance and best practices for departments to determine how to provide performance-based pay increases.
Watch for further details about UF Engaged in the weeks to come in UF at Work and via other university communications. Have questions or comments in the meantime? Contact Employee Relations at (352) 392-2HRS (2477) or email EmployeeRelations@hr.ufl.edu.