Performance Management

• Goal/Priorities

  Toward the beginning of the fiscal year, managers and staff sit down to discuss goals and priorities for the upcoming performance period and then document their conversations in the performance management section of PeopleSoft. Ideally, before these conversations occur, departments and teams have set and communicated goals for the year ahead. This makes it easier for managers and employees to discuss how individual priorities and goals align with those of the organization.

  Goals Setting Guide

• Mid-Year/Ongoing Conversation

  Ongoing manager/employee conversations are conducted as frequently as necessary to sustain a high level of clarity in support of employees’ success and the best organizational outcomes. Managers and employees may initiate and document as many conversations as they wish, using PeopleSoft to share their notes with each other.

  Development Conversations Guide

• Feedback from colleagues

  At any point during the performance period, employees can nominate and managers can select key stakeholders to offer their perspective on the quality and impact of the employee’s work. Feedback can be gathered using the 360° tool in PeopleSoft or simply by gathering comments via email that can be summarized and then cut and pasted into the PeopleSoft system.

• Annual Review

  At the end of the performance period, managers and employees meet to discuss progress made as well as any changes that may have shifted the priorities and goals discussed at the beginning of the performance period. This last conversation is also documented in PeopleSoft following the conversation.

  Year-End Conversations Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who should complete the annual performance review?

  All staff members (union and non-union) hired before April 1st should receive an annual performance review. Any staff member hired on or after April 1st will not complete the annual review process. Instead, managers will provide formal performance feedback at the conclusion of the 90-day Orientation and Review period. Temporary staff, student hires, LHTs (less than half time employees), and fellows do not participate in the annual review process.

• What is a rating?

  There are 4 ratings to choose from as follows:

  Needs Improvement

  The quality of performance is below expectations for the role. Knowledge, skills, abilities and/or productivity have not been demonstrated at the appropriate levels.

  Learning/Building

  Needs to gain proficiency and/or productivity in the position to achieve consistent impact. May achieve some, but not all, goals.  Stronger or additional knowledge, skills and abilities need to be demonstrated for consistent success in the role.  This rating is recommended for use when an employee is still coming up-to-speed with their job responsibilities based on limited tenure in the role.

  Full/Consistent Impact

  Consistently demonstrates meaningful impact through accomplishments and contributions. This level of impact is reflective of a fully qualified, competent and experienced individual in this role. Viewed as someone who gets the job done and effectively prioritizes work and produces strong results. Contributes positively to the overall objectives of the department and /or the larger organization. Achieves valuable accomplishments in several important areas of the job and/or on assigned projects.

  Exceptional Impact

  Contributions have significant and consistently exceptional impact and value to the department and/or the organization. Makes unique, often one-time achievements that measurably advance progress towards organizational goals and/or result in major improvements.  Easily recognized as a role model by high-performing peers. Viewed as an excellent resource to provide expertise, guidance, advice, mentorship, or support to others.  Demonstrates a range of high-level capabilities and actively takes on higher levels of responsibility.

  *Please note:  While the ‘No Rating’ option will appear in the system, this option will not be used by HLS.

• What is the importance of the rating?

  Ratings help employees and managers to identify what is going well as well as opportunities for growth and professional development.  From the employee who is new to the role and is building their knowledge base to the employee who is a consistently strong contributor, ratings, combined with meaningful feedback, can serve to foster conversation about a targeted skill-focused training or development program designed to help the employee reach the next level.

• When is the deadline to complete annual performance reviews?

  Employees and managers now have access to the 2025 Performance Reviews, which should be completed by October 1, 2025.

• How do I access my performance review?

  • Staff Access: From the PeopleSoft dashboard, click on My Self Service > My Performance, and then select “Annual Review” for the current fiscal year review. Click on the different tabs – Instructions, Goals, Mid-Year, Annual, Competencies, and Feedback – to familiarize yourself with the available options. You will be entering your comments in the ‘Annual’ section.
  • Manager Access: From the PeopleSoft dashboard, click on Manage My Team > Team Performance, and then on the staff member’s name for the current fiscal year review.
• Are there any training guides of helpful tools provided for employees or managers?

  Staff and managers may utilize the self-paced 30 minute web-based Performance Management Course: Succeeding Together: Harvard’s Philosophy of Performance and Development. They may also reference the instructions on completing the performance review process linked below under ‘Additional Resources’.

  Additional online resources and reference guides can be found on the Harvard HR Performance Management site.

Tips and Tools

• Preparing for the conversation

  • Self-evaluation
    • Honestly evaluate your own performance
      • Be objective so as to not appear biased or self serving
      • Prepare a list of your accomplishments throughout the year, and be ready to talk about them
  • Show growth
    • Be prepared to show that you have improved in areas that were critiqued in previous year
    • Or, prepare to talk about your initiative in your own self development that shows growth in the things you are already doing well
  • Plans for the future
    • Be prepared to talk about ways in which your manager can support you achieve your goals.  This may mean skills you’d like to develop
  • Share with your manager
    • Encouraging a two way dialogue can be best done by giving your manager a chance to prepare for the conversation by reviewing what you’ve put together
  • Be open minded
    • Ask open ended questions to seek clarity
    • Catch your own emotions
    • If we become defensive, we stop listening
• Listening Skills

  • Create the Right Environment: Set aside physical distractions to focus completely on the other person
    • Speaker: “Can we talk about a challenging situation that I am having?”
      Listener: “This is a good time. I will silence my phone and close the door to give you 100% of my attention.”
  • Seek to Understand: Focus on the speaker’s message, rather than your response
    • Bracketing: Imagine putting aside your nagging thoughts or the debate
    • Body Language: Lean forward, establish and maintain eye contact, comfortable posture
  • Paraphrase: Validate the speaker’s message by rephrasing, using your own words to confirm their meanings. Use reflective language
    • “As I hear it, you…” “I’m picking up that you…” “It sounds like you…”
  • Perception Check: Check your belief(s) about what the speaker feels or thinks – unspoken assumptions, conclusions, feelings
    • “It appears that you place a high value on…” “So, your feeling now is that…” “You seem to have a sense of…”