General Circular No. 001417

To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors

Subject: Performance Planning And Review System Changes

Issue Date: November 17, 2000

As you are aware, the State Civil Service Commission approved changes to the Chapter 10--Performance Planning and Review System, at its July 12, 2000 meeting. These changes were provided in Transmittal No. 364, issued on July 26, 2000. Because these changes are effective for those classified employees whose anniversary dates are March 1, 2001 and later, we are issuing the following guidelines for transition to the new rules.

Employees with anniversary dates prior to March 1, 2001 will be rated and if applicable, re-rated using the rules currently in effect. Employees with anniversary dates of March 1, 2001 and later will be rated and if applicable, re-rated subject to the rules approved at the July 12, 2000 Commission meeting. For example, the rating and review session of employees with anniversary dates of March 1, 2001 can be conducted as early as January 2, 2001. It is important to become familiar with the changes in the rules so the appropriate rules for planning, rating and re-rating sessions and internal and external requests for review or appeal processes are followed. Some major issues regarding the rule changes and agency and Civil Service procedures are addressed below.

It is made clear that failure to designate a Rating Supervisor or to rate or to conduct a planning session shall be a rule violation.

Ratings of "Very Good" and "Satisfactory" have been replaced by "Exceeds Requirements" and "Meets Requirements."

Ratings of "Un-rated" will be created by default when the employee does not receive an official rating or re-rating. PPR forms indicating the employee received a rating or re-rating of "Un-rated" must be completed and copies given to the employee. These "Un-rated" ratings must be entered into the ISIS HR system, through direct entry by the agency, entry by Civil Service for paper agencies, or interface, just as any other rating must be entered. Employee Assistance personnel for direct entry agencies received instructions on entry of PPR data as a part of ISIS HR Personnel Administration training.

In addition to not being eligible for a merit increase, a promotion or permanent status, employees with ratings of "Needs Improvement" or "Poor" shall not be detailed to a higher level position except as approved in advance by the Director of Civil Service.

The requirement for a second reviewer’s signature to make the rating valid is eliminated.

The role of Reviewing official has now changed. Previously, the Reviewer served as the second reviewer before a rating was considered valid. For anniversary dates of March 1, 2001 and after, the Reviewer will serve as the official within the agency to whom employees may appeal a rating with which they do not agree. (Current rules call for these requests for review to be submitted to the Appointing Authority.) This allows the review of a disagreement to be handled at a level which is closer to the employee’s work performance. We strongly advise Appointing Authorities to re-evaluate the appropriateness of those persons currently designated as Reviewers in their agencies based on these role changes and re-designate Reviewers as necessary. An Appointing Authority may designate as many Reviewers as deemed appropriate to the needs of the agency. Chapter 10.13 makes it clear that the Reviewer shall not be the Rating Supervisor who conducted the rating, and further makes it clear the designated Reviewer is the only person within the employing agency who can change an official rating.

The Reviewer must discuss the contested rating(s) with the employee and the Rating Supervisor, but not necessarily at the same time.

The "request for review" process is expanded so that an employee may now request an internal agency review of any rating, including "Un-rated." Under the current rules, only those employees receiving a "Poor" or "Needs Improvement" can request such a review, and that review is currently requested of the Appointing Authority. Employees who were previously left with a Satisfactory by default rating for an entire year may now request a review if the supervisor fails to rate the employee within the required time frame.

The rating review process is further changed by providing a process for the employee to request a review by the Director of Civil Service (or his/her designee), if the employee’s rating has been reviewed at the agency level and the employee still does not agree with the given rating. However, the employee may no longer appeal a rating to the Civil Service Commission unless there is an allegation of discrimination based on political or religious beliefs, sex or race.

A uniform 60-day window of opportunity is provided for both the rating session and the re-rating session. The anniversary date is now included in the window of opportunity for the rating session.

Some agencies have expressed an interest in continuing to require a second rating/review signature on PPR planning sessions and/or ratings. Any agency desiring to do so must submit a letter to the Director of Civil Service, outlining the request, including information regarding what organizational units within the agency will be required to adhere to the second signature policy, justification for the request and a copy of the revised PPR form to include space for this signature. Remember that the person designated as the second signature on a rating shall not be the same person designated by your Appointing Authority as the Reviewer who will serve as the reviewer in response to an employee request for review.

All agencies are required to use the revised PPR form for those employees with effective dates of March 1, 2001 and after. Agencies wishing to make modifications to the form for their own needs must submit requests for approval, to the Director of Civil Service, along with a copy of the revised form for our records.

All agencies are responsible for notifying their classified employees of any changes the Director approves to their PPR program regarding the requirement for a second signature on the form.

We are in the process of updating the training materials used in our PPR for Supervisors course, which is offered through the CPTP program and taught by Civil Service staff. Beginning December 1, 2000 these classes will focus on the rules for anniversary dates of March 1, 2001. While we plan to revise our Refresher course next year, and to assess the demand for a Train the Trainer course as well, we are not offering those at this time.

The PPR form is being revised, and will appear on our Website in downloadable form when the final revisions are complete. In addition, we will be updating our Website with important information and job aids. Please check the PPR link on our Website (www.dscs.state.la.us) periodically. Agency trainers who conduct training classes for their agencies can contact Teresa Persick of our staff to obtain copies of the revised training materials, which should be available by the first of December. Please contact her by phone at (225) 342-8274 or e-mail at tpersick@dscs.state.la.us.

With the implementation of ISIS HR and its enhanced reporting functionality, we have received inquiries regarding record-keeping and reporting requirements now that direct-entry agencies will be entering their own PPR data into this integrated system. Civil Service Rule 10.12 (b) still requires that agencies—ISIS HR direct entry, interface, or paper-- report annually on ratings given during the previous fiscal year and this, of course, includes ratings of "Un-rated." Agencies should ensure, as always, that accurate records are being maintained for compilation of the annual report and any other reports the Director may request and of course, to comply with Civil Service Rule 10.12 (a).

All agencies are still required to submit to the Department of Civil Service copies of the front pages of all "Needs Improvement" and "Poor" ratings. However, we will no longer needs to receive copies of re-ratings, unless the rating is a "Needs Improvement" or "Poor." (Again, these changes are for anniversary dates of March 1, 2001 and later. The rules and requirements currently in place apply to those anniversary dates through February 28, 2001.)

With the changes to the agency internal review process as prescribed in Rule 10.13, we will be monitoring the impact of these changes on agencies’ PPR programs. Therefore, agencies should maintain records of the number and outcome of employee requests for review so those statistics are available for reporting to the Department of Civil Service as well as for use internally by agencies. In the event an employees appeals a decision to the Director or his/her designee, those individual request for review records will also need to be available to us.

We look forward to working with you as we continue to refine our statewide Performance Planning and Review program. Used properly, we are confident these tools will help supervisors and managers manage more effectively, and will affirm for state employees the knowledge that their work plays a critical role in the mission of their departments.

Please contact Teresa Persick of our Employee Assistance Division at (225) 342-8274 if you have questions about this General Circular.

Sincerely,

Allen H. Reynolds

Director