General Circular No. 001314

To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors

Subject: Proposed Rule 10.17 And Often Asked PPR Questions

Issue Date: March 16, 1998

This General Circular is being circulated as notice of a proposed new rule in Chapter 10 of the

Civil Service regulations and a new set of frequently asked questions about Performance

Planning and Review. The proposed rule would read as follows:

I. RULE PROPOSAL

10.17 Exceptions

For compelling reasons, the Director may approve exceptions to these Rules.

II. REASON FOR PROPOSED RULE

This Rule change has been proposed as a means of providing agencies with a process to

obtain variations in the Rules found in Chapter 10. For example, educational

institutions that are closed for portions of the calendar year may find it impossible to

remain in compliance with Rules 10.5, 10.6, 10.7, and/or 10.13. The addition of the

proposed Rule would enable the Director to individually assess the need for variations

and approve those that are deemed to be compelling.

The State Civil Service Commission will hold a public hearing on April 8, 1998 to consider

the following rule proposal. The hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m. and will be held in the

Department of Civil Service Second Floor Hearing Room, DOTD Annex Building, 1201

Capitol Access Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Persons interested in making comments relative to these proposals may do so at the public

hearing or by writing to the Director of State Civil Service at Post Office Box 94111, Baton

Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9111. If any accommodations are needed, please notify us prior to

this meeting.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Q1: IS IT REQUIRED THAT THE RATING SUPERVISOR MAKE COMMENTS FOR

EVERY FACTOR?

A: It is the recommended procedure for using the form but is not required by the rules.

Q2: WHAT PARTS OF THE FORM ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SENT TO CIVIL

SERVICE?

A: Only a copy of the top page of the completed form is ever sent in to Civil Service. This

is only required when an employee receives an overall rating that is less than

satisfactory; i.e., a rating of Needs Improvement or Poor.

Q3: HOW DO I RATE AN EMPLOYEE WHO COMES UNDER MY SUPERVISION

JUST BEFORE HIS/HER ANNIVERSARY DATE?

A: There are several possible ways to do this. (1) First, try to obtain the close-out rating

session done by the employees previous supervisor. Use that session as part of your

documentation when you do the rating/review. (2) If no close-out rating was given,

you may contact the previous supervisor and get information about the employees

performance to add to your documentation file and/or (3) have that supervisor

participate in the rating for that employee. [This works best when the employee has

moved within the same agency.]

If none of the above suggestions are possible, you can still do the rating/review for the

amount of time the employee worked for you. It is advisable to note this shortened time

period on the form. And remember that no matter which option you choose, you should

always do a planning session with any employee who is new to you within the first 30

days of having that person in your supervisory area.

Q4: CAN THE REVIEWER CHANGE A RATING AND/OR MAKE COMMENTS ON

THE FORM?

A: Yes. The reviewer is the rating supervisor's supervisor, therefore, s/he has the authority

to make the rating supervisor change a rating with which s/he does not agree. The

reviewer may also add comments, define expectations, or make other adjustments as

s/he sees fit.

Q5: CAN THE REVIEWER SIGN THE FORM BEFORE THE EMPLOYEE SEES IT?

A: Yes. In fact, we strongly recommend that the supervisor take the rating form to the

reviewer for discussion prior to showing it to the employee. If the reviewer changes

anything, the supervisor isn't placed in the awkward spot of having to tell an employee

that his rating has been changed.

Q6: REAL LIFE SITUATION: In Agency Able, a newly promoted supervisor must rate an

employee with whom s/he has worked for years. The employee has recently been

suspended without pay for 10 days for a severe violation of agency policy. In spite of

the suspension, the supervisor gives the employee consistent ratings of 4" (very good)

on every factor. The supervisor gives the employee his/her rating and they both sign off

on the form. The supervisor then turns the form in to the reviewer. The reviewer

refuses to sign the form because s/he does not agree with the rating. The form sits on

the reviewers desk until the 45-day time limit runs out. The HR office calls Civil

Service for advice.

A: Civil Service advised HR that the reviewer could have exercised his authority over the

supervisor and insisted that the supervisor change the rating. Had the supervisor refused

to do so, s/he would then be guilty of insubordination. However, because the 45-day

time limit was exceeded, the reviewer could no longer choose this option. By not

signing the form in the proper time period, the reviewer had created a satisfactory by

default rating.

Q7: IF AN EMPLOYEE HAS NOT HAD A PLANNING SESSION WITHIN 30 DAYS

AFTER HIS/HER ANNIVERSARY DATE, WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?

A: Have the planning session as soon as possible! On the PPR form, make a notation to

the effect that the planning session was not held timely due to ______________. The

fact that a planning session is held late will NOT prevent a rating from being official. It

could, however, create a problem if the supervisor has to appear before the Civil Service

Commission for any reason. Rule 10.5 requires planning sessions to be held within 30

days of the anniversary date. Failure to do so is a technical violation of the Rules.

Q8: IF AN EMPLOYEE WILL RECEIVE A RE-RATING OR AN INFORMAL RATING

OF SOME KIND BETWEEN ANNIVERSARY DATES, DOES A WHOLE NEW

FORM HAVE TO BE CREATED?

A: No. A supervisor may update a planning session, make notes of an informal review or

planning session, or conduct a rating/review and still use the same form. Make sure that

any notes added after the signatures are dated and initialed by both the employee and the

supervisor.

If a PPR form is being used for a time period of less than a year, keep that form in the

employees documentation file. When the new form is filled out, you may want to

reference and attach the previous form.

Q9: WHAT DATES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ENTERED IN THE SPACE THAT SAYS

PERFORMANCE RATING PERIOD ON THE PPR FORM?

A: Use this line to enter the dates of the period you are reviewing. For instance, if you

decided to do three planning sessions per year, the first set of dates would cover from

the planning session at the anniversary date to the first informal review. That form

becomes documentation. A new form is created with the planning period dates running

from the first informal review to the second informal review. At the time of the second

review, that form becomes documentation and a third form is created. It is NOT

necessary to rewrite all of the expectations! It is possible to use one or more of the

previous forms as an attachment to be referenced. This prevents you from writing the

same expectations over and over.

Q10: CAN A RATING BE CHANGED RETROACTIVELY?

A: No, not without compelling reason. Once the 45-day time frame has elapsed, no rating

can be changed without some form of due process. Please contact Civil Service for

assistance in any situation of this kind.

Q11: CAN EMPLOYEE RATINGS BE DISCUSSED WITH OTHER SUPERVISORS,

MANAGERS, DIRECTORS, ETC?

A: Yes, if there is a compelling governmental interest in doing so. For instance, a

supervisor who plans to hire a state employee has a compelling interest in knowing the

employees work habits, attendance and other job-related information. Supervisors may

wish to discuss staff in executive work sessions and talk about ratings and performance

as they impact the operations of the agency as a whole. These activities do not breach

confidentiality. However, if copies of PPR forms are made, they should not be handed

out or exchanged except under strict guidelines for confidentiality. PPR forms are not

public record and should not be seen by anyone who does not have a compelling reason

for doing so.

The volume of telephone calls concerning Performance Planning and Review has been

tremendous. We thank you for your efforts in trying to use the new system and in making it

work the way it was intended. We remain committed to the idea that this system will

encourage employees to be their best and help supervisors to manage effectively. Our

feedback so far says this is happening. Please dont hesitate to contact Civil Service if you

have questions about implementing PPR. The contact person for the PPR program is Ms.

Vikki Riggle in the Personnel Management Division at (504) 342-8274. You may also

contact her via e-mail at: vriggle@dscs.state.la.us

Sincerely,

Allen H. Reynolds

Director