Performance Management and Merit
The performance management process at Carnegie Mellon University is designed to optimize individual job performance and tie that performance to the university’s vision, mission and goals. Through increased collaboration between supervisors and their employees in a pay-for-performance culture, the university will support and motivate employees in their efforts to develop professionally and effectively accomplish the work of the university.
2024 Timeline and Deadlines
- January 29: Performance management process begins
- January 29–February 16: Employees complete their self-evaluation and submit in Workday
for supervisor review - February 19–March 15: Supervisors review, complete a supervisor evaluation and submit a
performance rating - March 19–April 4: Calibration activities
- April 8–April 26: Supervisors conduct performance review discussions with team members
- May 6: Goal setting process begins
- May 6–July 12: Employees enter goals
- July 15–July 29: Supervisors review and approve goals
Resources
Overview of the Performance Management Process
Employee
Guidance Documents
- Staff Performance Management Guidelines [pdf] — These guidelines establish a performance management process that allows the university to evaluate staff performance by objective standards and reward staff members according to performance.
- Staff Performance Management: Guidance for Staff [pdf] — Guides staff members through the performance management process as established in the Staff Performance Management Guidelines.
Supervisor
Guidance Documents
- Staff Performance Management: Guidance for Supervisors [pdf] — Guides supervisors through the performance management process as established in the Staff Performance Management Guidelines.
Goal Setting
Employee
Guidance Documents
- SMART Goal Worksheet [pdf] — Provides information on how to set, align and monitor SMART goals.
Workday system guides
- System Guide: Setting Your Goals - Annual Process in Workday - Employee [pdf] — Details the steps for an employee to complete the goal setting task in Workday as part of the annual process.
- System Guide: Managing Goals - Outside of Annual Process - Employee [pdf] — Details how to manage your goals apart from annual goal setting including viewing, editing, creating, archiving and restoring goals.
- Quick Guide Set Goals [pdf] — Outlines the basics for setting your goals in Workday. Helpful for those who may need a refresher on the process.
- System Guide: Restore Goals [pdf] — Details how to restore goals. As a part of the annual goal setting process, you may wish to restore or repurpose a prior years' goals.
Templates
- Goal Template [docx] — Guides staff members and supervisors through the process of creating or modifying a goal in Workday. Text from the completed template can be copied and pasted into Workday.
Supervisor
workday system guides
- System Guide: Setting and Approving Employees' Goals - Annual Process in Workday - Supervisor [pdf] — Details how to set and manage employees' goals in Workday for the annual goal setting process.
- System Guide: Setting and Approving Employees' Goals - Outside of Annual Process - Supervisor [pdf] — Details how to set and manage employees' goals in Workday outside of the annual goal setting process.
- System Guide: Cascading Goals [pdf] — Step-by-step instructions for assigning goals to groups of employees in your supervisory organization.
- Quick Guide Approve Goals [pdf] — Outlines the basics for approving your employees' goals in Workday; helpful for supervisors who may need a refresher on the process.
Template
- Supervisor Sample Goal [pdf] — Provides a sample goal for supervisors to consider including as one of their three to five annual goals.
Self-Evaluation
Employee
Workday System Guide
- System Guide: Performance Management Annual Review — Employee [pdf] — Instructions for completing your self-evaluation, your employee acknowledgement, and how to view, save and print your annual performance review.
Template
- Annual Performance Management Template for Employee Self-Evaluation [docx] — Guides staff members through the components of the employee self-evaluation (goals, competencies and open-ended questions). Text from the completed template can be copied and pasted into Workday.
Supervisor Evaluation
Supervisor
Guidance Document
- Five Tier Performance Rating Scale [pdf] — Describes the five performance rating tiers.
workday system guide
- Performance Management Annual Review — Supervisor [pdf] — Instructions for conducting your evaluation, calibrating overall performance ratings, updating a performance review and overall rating, releasing the performance review to your employee once the performance review discussion has been completed, completing your supervisor acknowledgement and confirming your employees’ performance-based merit increases.
Template
- Annual Performance Management Template for Supervisor Evaluation [docx] — Guides supervisors through the components of the annual performance review for an employee (job functions, goals, competencies and overall rating). Text from the completed template can be copied and pasted into Workday.
Calibration
Supervisor
Guidance Document
- Calibrating Performance Evaluations: Guidance for CMU Leadership [pdf] — Provides deans and vice presidents with the resources to administer the calibration process within their college or division, with the support of their HR business partner.
Provisional or Probation Period Reviews
New staff hires and current staff members who transfer into new positions within the same department or to a different department are subject to a provisional/probation period. U.S. and CMU-Q staff are subject to a six-month provisional period, and new staff members at CMU-Africa are subject to a three-month probation period.
Workday System Guides
- Provisional Period Review Quick Guide (U.S. and CMU-Q) [pdf] — Instructions on how supervisors in the U.S. and at CMU-Q complete provisional reviews in Workday for their employees.
- Probation Period Review Quick Guide (CMU-A) [pdf] — Instructions on how supervisors at CMU-Africa complete probation period reviews in Workday for their employees.
Check-in Discussion Guides
- Provisional Period Discussion Guide (U.S. and CMU-Q) [docx] — Guidance for supervisors in the U.S. and at CMU-Q on how to have a provisional period check-in discussion with their employee.
- Probation Period Discussion Guide (CMU-A) [docx] — Guidance for supervisors at CMU-Africa on how to have a probation period check-in discussion with their employee.
On-Demand Training Video
- Provisional Period Review Training [YouTube] — How to complete the review process in Workday for new employees, promotions and transfers. Includes helpful guidance on providing feedback and setting your employees up for success in a new role.
Glossary and Frequently Asked Questions
Miscellaneous
Employees
workday system guides
- Adding Performance to Your Top Apps in Workday [pdf] — How to add Performance to the Top Apps on your Workday homepage for easy navigation.
- Navigating to Performance [pdf] — How to navigate to Performance via the Workday profile.
Supervisor
Mid-Year Review
- Mid-Year Review Template [docx] —Guides supervisors through a mid-year review to check in on an employee's progress halfway through the performance year.
Stay Interviews
- Stay Interviews: Guidance for Supervisors [pdf] — Guides supervisors through the process of conducting a stay interview to identify the factors that entice an employee to stay at CMU.
workday system guide
- Uploading a Document Quick Guide [pdf] — Instructions for supervisors on how to upload a document in Workday as a supplement to information entered during the goal-setting and/or performance evaluation/rating processes.
Template
- Job Description Template [docx] — Guides users through the process of creating a job description, including suggested language and samples.
SEI-Specific
For SEI-specific information, please review the SEI Performance page.
All Templates
- Annual Performance Management Template for Employee Self-Evaluation [docx] — Guides staff members through the employee self-evaluation (goals, competencies and open-ended questions). Text from the completed template can be copied and pasted into Workday.
- Annual Performance Management Template for Supervisor Evaluation [docx] — Guides supervisors through the annual performance review for an employee (job functions, goals, competencies and overall rating). Text from the completed template can be copied and pasted into Workday.
- Goal Template [docx] — Guides staff members and supervisors through the process of creating or modifying a goal in Workday. Text from the completed template can be copied and pasted into Workday.
- Job Description Template [docx] — Guides users through the process of creating a job description, including suggested language and samples.
- Mid-Year Review Template [docx] — Guides supervisors through the mid-year review to check in on an employee's progress halfway through the performance year.
Merit Facilitators and Supervisor Facilitators
- System Guide for Merit Facilitators [pdf] — Instructions on how to complete the merit process in Workday for groups using merit facilitators.
- System Guide for Supervisor Facilitators [pdf] — Instructions on how to complete the merit process in Workday for groups using supervisor facilitators.
- Merit FAQs [pdf]
For more information, please visit the Compensation page.