Performance Conversations are four-question conversations between an employee and their manager. We’re asking you to discuss these four questions at least quarterly. Three performance conversations are required by the College on an annual basis. You will log notes in Workday to remember what’s discussed and track your progress over time!
Importance
Performance management and ongoing conversations are essential for many reasons. Some of these reasons are:
- Goal-setting: It is easier for employees and managers to develop realistic goals for employee progress. A good performance management strategy also allows employees to set practical goals that align with their current roles and career objectives.
- Engagement: Increased individual and team engagement can foster open and constructive dialogue between managers, employees and teams.
- Productivity: Encouraging employees to perform their best work allows you to improve productivity. Improved productivity can reduce stress in the workplace and allow employees to retain their focus more easily and achieve more in less time.
- Transparency: Regular conversations ensure alignment, expectation setting and understanding of how success is defined.
These conversations should not replace ongoing meetings to discuss priorities, areas of improvement, etc., but can improve and enhance those conversations.
Support Resources
All staff have FREE access to LinkedIn Learning. Log in or create your account with your Emerson credentials for full access to the LinkedIn Learning catalog. Some topic ideas to search are:
- Vulnerability and psychological safety
- Emotional intelligence
- Effective communication
- Managing conflict
- Coaching and feedback
- Performance management
Process
Both staff and managers have a role in the performance conversation. Employees will receive a Workday task and email notification when it is time to complete their portion. RECOMMENDED: Put a calendar invitation or reminder on your Emerson Google Calendar to help you remember to complete these. That way, if you miss the email or the Workday task moves farther down your inbox, you have the calendar to remind you! See the schedule to help you create your calendar reminder dates.
Employee Portion
Staff employees will receive a task in their inbox to complete their self-evaluation at the beginning of every quarter.
Click Get Started.
You will see the questions you need to answer. Click on the Answer or Pencil icon to type your responses. All questions must be answered for you to submit. Please note: managers cannot enter notes into Workday until their employee has done their part.
Questions to Answer
- What progress has been made toward objectives, goals and expectations?
- What is the focus for the coming quarter?
- What works well in how we engage and what could be improved?
- What professional development was completed this quarter and what were some key takeaways?
- What other topics or ideas should we discuss that are not captured in the prior questions?
Click submit once you have answered all of the questions.
Manager Portion
Managers will receive the Complete Manager evaluation step once their employee submits their Performance Check-In. Please note: Managers cannot enter their comments until the employee has completed their step.
Managers will comment on each question their employee has answered. Managers will see their employees’ answers side by side with their responses for ease of use. Managers cannot click into the Employee Evaluation section and change any responses.
Once the manager is ready, they can review and submit their responses. All questions must be answered in order to submit.
Timeline
Please review the timeline for the Quarterly Performance Conversations.
RECOMMENDATION: Add calendar reminders to your Emerson Google Calendar to help you remember to complete these tasks. That way, if you miss the email or the Workday task moves farther down your inbox, you have the calendar to remind you!
View Completed
Employees and their managers can view completed Performance Conversations.
Edit a Performance Conversation
Occasionally, an employee or manager may need to edit a previously submitted performance conversation. Please review the instructions if an edit is needed.