Performance Management Pilot Update

Over the past year and a half, the Office of Human Resources (OHR) has been implementing a consistent and standard process for performance management across CMU utilizing Workday. Workday's performance management tool allows for a streamlined, professional performance management experience for both supervisors and employees. The process includes yearly goal setting followed by self-evaluations and supervisor evaluations. These evaluations are then directly tied to the university’s merit program. 

The performance management tool in Workday enables supervisors to set clear expectations for employees to follow, engages everyone in achieving organizational goals and objectives, provides consistent job-related evaluation criteria and enables results and measurements that are observable and credible. Through having a standard performance management process, we create equity and fairness in how we evaluate all staff members of the CMU community, which aligns with President Jahanian's commitment [pdf] to "build and sustain an inclusive culture that promotes equity for all."  

CMU’s vision is to impact society in a transformative way. To successfully achieve this vision, OHR understands that the campus community must work to create a culture which encourages the process of receiving and giving ongoing feedback and work together to deliver the greatest possible impact. By creating this culture, CMU will be able to attract and retain world-class talent, create a collaborative environment, and ensure individuals can reach their full potential.  

OHR piloted the program in year 1. Pilot groups for year 2 (Operations, Tepper and Finance) have also successfully implemented the performance management process in Workday as of this month. Year 3 groups will include SEI, President’s and Provost's Offices, Mellon College of Science and Marketing & Communications. The ultimate goal is to include all staff across campus in this Workday performance management tool. 

Allison Parshall, HR business partner and co-lead for this project, explains the impact to campus already: “We’re creating a consistent and standard process for all staff, across the university. It’s been rewarding to watch the transformation from paper to electronic. Just to be able to review past performance reviews, print them or reference them easily utilizing the 'Performance' tab in Workday is a win!”  

While results from pilot participants are still being analyzed, preliminary data shows that the majority of respondents agreed that the written feedback from their supervisor helped them understand the supervisor’s expectations, and they were given a clear understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement. Once the analysis is complete, OHR will use the data collected to enhance the tool and the process.  

If your group is participating or you are interested in learning more, please visit the performance management resource page. Here you will find tools and templates for the entirety of the performance management process. While these materials are designed for groups that have confirmed participation in the pilot by the leader/head of their department or division, browsing the tools and resources will give you a preview of what the process looks like.