UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In service to its staff members and to help them have a clear and meaningful experience through each stage of the annual performance management process, Penn State Human Resources is undertaking a survey of staff members and managers for their thoughts and opinions on the process. Penn State Human Resources will be inviting employees and managers to provide their input as the University looks to update its performance management process.
Employees and managers will be receiving invitations by email on Sept. 17 to participate in surveys, which will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
“Input from our staff and managers will directly inform updates to Penn State’s approach to performance management,” said Jennifer Wilkes, vice president for Human Resources and chief human resources officer. “Our approach, and the resources and tools we use to help us, play an important role in the work experiences, career paths and growth of our valued staff members and managers, and having their input will help us to improve the performance management experience for everyone.”
Penn State University Staff Advisory Committee (USAC) Chair Matt Heller encouraged staff to make their voices heard. “USAC is grateful for this important effort to strengthen the performance management process and experience. We encourage staff to participate in the survey, knowing that your feedback will help shape a more supportive and effective performance management process,” he said.
Wilkes said the survey will include questions about the performance management experience, functionality within Workday and opportunities to provide open-ended responses.
She said the University has already implemented some changes based on previous feedback, including shifting the review cycle for employees to more closely align with the fiscal year.
Wilkes added that data from the surveys will be used to inform focus groups planned for later this fall, and employees can volunteer to join a focus group at the end of the survey.
Employees who participated in the last full performance cycle will be invited to provide feedback for the survey. Academic administrators participating for the first time as part of the current open cycle and new hires will not be included.
“To our employees — please participate. Your input is extremely important. This is a major priority for you and us after conversations and input from many of you,” Wilkes said. “Your input will help us to shape and improve the performance management experience for all of our staff colleagues across Penn State.”