This communication provides updates on the UC Santa Cruz 2018-19 performance appraisal call for all staff and the merit program for policy-covered employees.
Call for Performance Appraisals
The performance cycle runs from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019.
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Appraisals for policy covered staff must be completed by Friday, July 26, 2019.
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Appraisals for represented staff are due Friday, August 30, 2019.
The purpose of performance management is to effectively engage teams in the mission of the university. The key to effective performance management involves a few basic elements:
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Crafting goals that are specific, important (mission-based) and measurable.
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Frequent and candid feedback to all team members about their performance.
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Coaching and support for staff to enable them to achieve their goals.
When goals are well formed and feedback is occurring frequently, the annual performance appraisals become a time to summarize communications that have been occurring throughout the year. It is expected that all employees have an appraisal every year and is required as part of the annual pay for performance cycle.
Online Appraisal Form
The online form is an interim tool for the campus to use until the implementation of the ePerformance module of UCPath. We expect to have the new system for next year’s appraisal process.
Please note: All staff (represented and policy covered) should be appraised using the online form.
Managers and supervisors are encouraged to keep appraisals succinct. It is not necessary to report each and every detail of performance. The appraisal is a summary of performance of key expectations including goals and core job responsibilities. It should focus on the impact of performance with a few examples and explanation of the overall rating.
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Access the online form: https://appraisals.ucsc.edu
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Log in with your CruzID and blue password.
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Please review the “help and tutorials” linked in the left hand navigation for step by step instructions designed to guide employees through the process.
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For questions please email appraisals@ucsc.edu.
Staff HR provides consulting and training to support managers and supervisors in completing appraisals. Your Employee Relations (ER) analyst can provide you with advice and assistance in discussing pay for performance with your staff and in writing performance appraisals.
As a reminder: when reviewing a performance issue that may warrant the rating of “improvement needed,” or “unacceptable ,” please engage with your ER analyst for assistance prior to delivering the performance appraisal.
Training on Performance Management
Free training is available to help managers and supervisors conduct performance appraisals. If you need additional information on this topic please check out the Course Catalog on our Learning and Development page. We have also developed a series of self-paced, online performance appraisal tutorials: Online Performance Appraisal Tutorial.
Merit Program for Policy Covered Employees
The merit program implements salary increases based on individuals’ performance and contribution.
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Eligibility Requirements
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Individuals appointed to career or partial-year positions covered by PPSM before January 2, 2019, at any UC location.
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Individuals who are on career or partial-year status at UC Santa Cruz on or before July 1, 2019.
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Individuals who have completed a probationary period on or before July 1, 2019.
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Individuals who are on the payroll as a career or partial-year employee as of the payout dates.
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Individuals with UC Santa Cruz contract appointments if it was stipulated in the terms of the contract.
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Structure
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The program has a 3 percent control figure. This is determined by calculating 3 percent of the sum of the salaries for eligible staff as of July 1, 2019. Divisions will determine salary increases within the 3 percent control figure and allocate to each employee. Employees with multiple funding distributions must receive the same merit percentage for each distribution.
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Given the 3 percent control figure, the recommended individual increase range for “Met Expectations” or better performance is 0 percent to 4.5 percent. However, managers are responsible for making these decisions and can take into account these factors:
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Individual performance against goals (receives the most weight)
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Position of the individual in their current pay range
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Other salary actions that may have occurred during the year
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Staff HR Compensation will provide merit rosters to units by the close of business on August 6, 2019, with information needed to determine merit increases. Merit process trainings will be available for department representatives.
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The merit rosters must be completed and returned to Compensation by the close of business on August 20, 2019.
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Rosters returned after the due date may result in late payout dates for employees.
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The effective date of pay increases will be June 30, 2019 for biweekly paid employees and July 1, 2019 for monthly paid employees. The new pay rates will appear on the September 18, 2019 biweekly check and on the October 1, 2019 monthly check.
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Pay for the retroactive portion of the increase (back to the effective date) will appear on the October 30, 2019 biweekly check and on the November 1, 2019 monthly check.
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For further information regarding the performance appraisal process, please contact your Staff HR Employee Relations (ER) analyst to arrange an in-person consultation with your division/unit.
Please direct questions related to the merit process to Maria Gonzalez at mgonz182@ucsc.edu or 831-459-5444.
