End of Year Review

Once the end of year process is launched in Workday, employees receive a notification to complete their Self-Evaluation. For each goal the employee should enter their overall rating (exceptional, successful or needs improvement), provide a summary of the year's accomplishments, update the goal status, and enter the completion date. Employees can reference notes from the Manage Goals phase to inform their evaluation statements. If ongoing conversations are handled well, developing the evaluation statement should be straightforward. 

Get Additional Manager Feedback

In Workday, a manager will receive a notification to "Get Additional Manager Feedback." If additional manager feedback is requested, the primary manager may still move forward with the manager evaluation step. Typically, additional manager feedback is requested if the employee has a dual reporting arrangement or worked under another manager for a significant portion of the performance year. Additional manager feedback will be visible to the employee once the primary manager submits the review.

Manager Evaluation 

During this step, the manager should first review the employee self-evaluation and ratings and then enter their own comments and ratings in Workday following the ratings guidelines for each goal, competencies and overall rating. If additional manager feedback was requested and not submitted, the primary manager can still enter their information in Workday. It is most beneficial if the additional manager feedback is entered for reference by the primary manager. Prior to sharing their ratings with the employee, the manager will participate in their unit's performance calibration activity. It is important that evaluation information is not submitted to the employee in Workday until the calibration conversation is complete.
 
When developing the evaluation statement and determining the overall ratings, it is important to remember best practices for providing good performance feedback. 

• Comments should be relevant to the component being rated. 
• There should be no surprises. This is not the time to address performance issues for the first time.
• Feedback should be balanced. Acknowledge accomplishments as well as challenges. 
• Be thoughtful of tone and word choice.
• Comments should be professional.
• Comments should  provide specific examples of demonstrated knowledge and/or accomplishments to meeting goals.

Performance Calibration

Performance calibration is a process used to gain greater consistency in how performance evaluation ratings are determined across an organization or unit. This consistency conversation will help increase the fairness and equity of the final end-of-year evaluation ratings.
 
Calibration conversations should be scheduled during the last month of the performance review cycle. In partnership with the HR Strategic Partner, unit leadership will determine their process for implementing these discussions and set expectations with their managers for the process, including deadlines that ensure final ratings can be delivered in time for the end of year deadline to be met. 
 
Key steps for the unit leaders and managers to prepare for and participate in the calibration discussion are:

• Establish Norms - What will be the guiding principles and expectations for this conversation?
• Gather Data - Ask participants to submit required data points in advance of the review.
• Set a Timeline - Provide due dates for final ratings determination that allows the end of year conversation and Workday activity to complete by the end of year deadline.
• Manage the Conversation - Ensure conversations are professional, relevant and within the established norms. Keep the meeting and conversation moving.
• Maintain Balance - Ratings should be based on what work was accomplished and how that work was accomplished. Individuals that complete their tasks but disrupt the team with other negative behaviors need to receive that feedback.
• Watch for Bias - Identify and address perceived bias. Be open to that feedback. Sometimes we need a peer to challenge our perceptions.
• Be Inclusive - Ensure all participants have a voice and are heard. Address comments and ratings that appear to be based on bias.

Final Ratings and Acknowledgements 

Once the unit completes calibration conversations and final ratings are approved, the manager should share final ratings and evaluations with the employee during an end of year conversation. Managers may choose to discuss the ratings and evaluation statement in person before sharing them in Workday, or they may choose to share them in Workday so that the employee can review them prior to participating in the end of year discussion. Either way, it is possible to update/edit the ratings or statements in Workday prior to the final acknowledgement being entered. Ratings should be:

• Timely - Provide feedback close to the event. The year-end meeting should have no surprises.
• Specific - Provide detailed and descriptive feedback with real examples from the individual’s performance.
• Behaviorally Based - Address observed behavior, not character, motivation or personality.
• Balanced - Acknowledge positive behavior as well as opportunities for improvement.
• Actionable - Focus on development activities based on the feedback, including what to start, stop and/or continue.

Once ratings have been shared, both the manager and employee will be asked to acknowledge that the end of year conversation took place. These acknowledgements must be entered in Workday to complete the performance review cycle for the current year.

Preparing for Next Cycle

During the end of year conversation, the manager and employee should discuss goals for the next performance year. Using the end of year conversation to transition to the new year allows for a smooth start to the new performance cycle and consistency between years.

• Will any of the current year goals remain open and carry forward to the next year?
• What are the organization or team priorities in the coming year? What should be the employee's focus to support those objectives?
• What personal development goals does the employee have? Is there something specific they should be focused on to support career objectives?
• Are there behaviors or effective knowledge required for the position that the employee should be developing to improve performance?

End of Year Timeline and Actions Required

Job Aids / Resources

• Performance Reviews – End of Year 
• Performance Management - How to Prepare for Your End-of-Year Review
• Performance Management - Tips for Making the End-of-Year Review as Effective as Possible - Managers
• Why "Meets Expectations" Never Does: A Conversation Guide for Managers by Marc Effron, President, Talent Strategy Group

Questions related to the end-of-year process should be submitted via an inquiry – select “Talent Management/Workplace Learning” as the topic.