Values, Leadership Development, and Performance Appraisals Come Together Under Blueprint
September 27, 2011
By Bob Lincoln
Bob Lincoln
The start of the new fiscal year kicks off our annual performance-appraisal process, an important part of leadership development for all of us at Brookhaven Lab. If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to compile your achievements made over the past 12 months and begin planning your goals for the upcoming year.
Discussing Performance Isn’t a One-time Conversation
Our annual performance appraisal process — including the accompanying one-on-one discussions between supervisors and employees — has the greatest potential to help the Lab reach its objectives. This is an opportunity for a constructive and candid discussion about achieving goals, leveraging strengths, and identifying opportunities for development. These conversations should build on the one-on-one discussions supervisors have had with each of their staff throughout the year focusing on work performance. There should be no surprises in the appraisal, as discussions on how work is going, improvements needed, and recognition for work well done should be part of the everyday supervisor-employee relationship.
New Initiatives for Developing Our Leadership Potential
During the past year, we made significant progress in implementing the Blueprint’s leadership initiatives, which include changes in evaluating employee performance in two areas:
- All Employees — We’ve built the Values into employee Roles, Responsibilities, Accountabilities, and Authorities (R2A2s) to help make them a way of life at the Lab. This will give every employee and supervisor an opportunity to consider not only their accomplishments, but the extent to which they achieved goals in a way that is consistent with the Values.
- Lab Leadership Team — Level 1 and Level 2 managers will have a more formal evaluation based on the Values and how they demonstrate each one. In addition to this annual performance appraisal, we recently developed the BNL Leadership Model, which defines the competencies for each of these leaders to achieve success. We’re in the midst of assessing the leadership team’s strengths and development needs against those competencies.
These steps are important to enhance individual performance and achieve simultaneous excellence in science, technology, and operations across the Lab.
Next Steps for Performance Appraisals
Performance appraisals can now be accessed through PeopleSoft HR. Employees should expect to receive an email from their supervisor with a due date for their input. Departmental line-management review and approval of appraisals will be conducted throughout October, and all individual appraisal discussions are to be completed by mid-November. If you would like a brief review on how to use the system, complete the five-minute web course.
If you have any questions about the performance appraisal process, please contact your supervisor or human resources manager.
— Bob Lincoln
Interim Chief Human Resource Officer
rlincoln@bnl.gov
2011-2627 | INT/EXT | Newsroom
