Aspiring to Excellence – PDR moderation taking place soon

September 5, 2018

Thank you to everyone for completing your new Aspiring to Excellence PDRs. We now have over 5,000 PDR scores recorded on ESR and our senior teams are in the process of moderating to ensure that scoring of performance and potential is fair and consistent.  If, during moderation it is identified that your score is not in line with our scoring definitions and it is changed (up or down) your line manager will talk to you about this by 7 September 18.

Please remember that your score is measured against the score definitions and that a performance score of “2” is a good score.  It’s easy for us to sometimes fall into the trap of thinking a score of 2 is on the lower end of the spectrum and therefore our performance is not acceptable but please be assured that this is not the case.  A score of “2” is good with most standards and objectives met.

An example of where a score change may be if an employee has a score above a 2 but their mandatory training has been out of date for over 6 months, mandatory training is an essential requirement of our roles and therefore does not fit in with the definition of a score of 3 or 4.  Another potential score change would be if the panel have identified anomalies with the scoring across areas, again your manager will talk to you about this and the reason for any change in the score.

It is envisaged that a conversation with your manager is the best route to agreeing your PDR score change alongside the score definitions. If, for example, you feel you are up-to-date with your Mandatory Training but your manager has highlighted that you are not then you should provide evidence to your Manager and ensure your records are updated, your manager will then agree with you the outcome of your score change conversation and this does not require an appeal. If you remain unable to agree your score against the score definitions, appeals will be heard on 28 September 18 and are required to be submitted by 14 September 18 . A panel will hear the appeal.  Appeals should be by exception only and must only be submitted following a discussion to resolve locally. Further information can be found in the PDR Appeals process

The moderation teams will also be reviewing the quality of SMART objectives for 2018/19.  SMART objectives are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely and a good way to make sure that any uncertainty is removed and your objectives are clear for the year ahead.  During the next PDR cycle (from April 2019) you will then review your achievement against these objectives which will generate your performance score for next year.

This is the first year of PDR moderation and I am sure we will learn lessons in the process as we go. The learning will be captured and improve next year’s moderation process.