General Circular No. 001320

To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors

Subject: PPR Reporting And Training Updates

Issue Date: June 23, 1998

The purpose of this General Circular is to provide new forms and information about the quarterly and annual PPR (Performance Planning and Review) reports required by Civil Service. Some additional information about training is provided and a needs assessment questionnaire is included. PLEASE FILL OUT AND RETURN THE QUESTIONNAIRE ON PAGE 4 BY JULY 30, 1998. Thank you.

I. ANNUAL AGENCY REPORT

Civil Service Rule 10.12 requires an annual PERFORMANCE PLANNING AND REVIEW report to be submitted from each Appointing Authority. Because we changed to the new PPR system in January, 1998, this first report will only contain the information from January 1, 1998 through June 30, 1998. A blank form is attached to this circular and is available on the Civil Service web site at http//:www.dscs.state.la.us.

This form will will not be shown on the OPEN system, but will be mailed out through the regular general circular distribution.

Reports should be submitted in the following manner:

1. SECTION I - EMPLOYEE COUNT: Count the number of anniversary dates by month for your classified employees. Enter them in the spaces provided for each month.

2. Add all of the anniversary dates together and enter that number as the GRAND TOTAL on the line provided.

3. SECTION II - RATINGS SUMMARY: Count the total number of ratings given in each ratings category over the entire reporting period.

4. Enter those totals in the spaces provided. (Totals may be taken directly from the three Departmental Agency Reports already submitted to Civil Service.)

5. Obtain the signatures of the Appointing Authority (required) and the Human Resource Officer responsible for PPR functions (optional).

6. All ratings given to classified employees with an anniversary date between January 1, 1998 and June 30, 1998 must be counted and reported.

7. A classified employee must be rated SATISFACTORY BY DEFAULT when s/he was:

-not rated in a timely fashion, or

-unable to be rated, or

-not rated for any reason whatsoever.

II. QUARTERLY DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS Revised

We want to thank each of you for your efforts in submitting the Departmental (Agency) Reports as requested. We are using this information to compile statistics that will help us give you the feedback you want. To ensure that the reports we receive are as accurate as possible, we are extending the due date by two weeks. The reports will now be due on the 30th of the month following the reporting period. The new due dates are noted below and on the revised copies of the report form. The revised form also contains a clarification of the reporting period statement and a place to report that ZERO ratings were given in that period. Please submit a form, even if zero employees were rated during that reporting period. The form is available on the Civil Service web site and is attached to this general circular.

QUARTERLY DEPARTMENTAL REPORT for EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE PLANNING AND REVIEW SYSTEM revised reporting period information:

3rd report - anniversary dates in April, May, AND June, due on July 31

4th report - anniversary dates in July, August, AND September,due on October 30

5th report - anniversary dates in October, November, AND December, due on January 29, 1999

6th report - anniversary dates in January, February, AND March,1999,due on April 30

7th report - anniversary dates in April, May, AND June, 1999,due on July 30

OTHER CHANGES:

As indicated in the preceding section, the word OR has been replaced by the word AND in the definition of the reporting period dates.

A section has been added to record ZERO when no classified employees have anniversary dates in the current reporting period. This ensures that we can tell when all reports have been received.

III. E-MAIL RESPONSES

When contacting Civil Service about PPR issues, please direct your questions, comments, problems, etc., to our PPR consultant, Ms. Vikki Riggle. Although you may reach Ms. Riggle by telephone, mail, fax, etc., you may also use e-mail to make inquiries. This is often the quickest way to receive a response and we urge you to take advantage of this technology.

E-mail address: vriggle@dscs.state.la.us

IV. PPR TRAINING

The latest PPR training class schedule can be found on the Civil Service web site as well as on the CPTP site under Administration at www.state.la.us. Classes are offered frequently and new classes may be added if demand indicates they are needed. At this time we are only offering the basic information classes. However, we do plan to begin adding to our PPR offerings and would appreciate receiving feedback from you about your needs. Please take a moment to answer the questions below and return the page to Civil Service by mail or by fax no later than July 30, 1998. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Allen H. Reynolds

Director

PPR TRAINING QUESTIONNAIRE DEADLINE: JULY 30, 1998

Fax to 504/342-6074 Attn: Vikki Riggle OR

Mail to Dept. of Civil Service, P.O. Box 94111, Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9111 Attn: Vikki Riggle

Agency name: _________________________________________________________

Address: ______________________________ City: ____________________

State: ______________ Zip:________

1. Who is your primary PPR coordinator?

NAME: _______________________________

TITLE:_______________________________

TELEPHONE:___________________________ E-MAIL: _____________________

2. Approximately how many people do you need to train (or send to training) in PPR each month?

/________/

3. Who does your PPR training?

/ / CPTP (CIVIL SERVICE)

/ / IN-HOUSE STAFF - Please list names of your trainers below; attach sheets if needed.

(1) NAME: ___________________________ TITLE:__________________

TELEPHONE:_______________________ E-MAIL:_________________

(2) NAME: ___________________________ TITLE:__________________

TELEPHONE: _____________________ E-MAIL:_________________

4. Are you using the civil service video tape and manual for:

(check one)

/ / IN-HOUSE TRAINING CLASSES and/or

/ / SELF-PACED TRAINING?

/ / NEITHER; USING CPTP CLASSES

5. We have recently revised the training tape to eliminate the transition information and rules section.

Do you want a copy of the new tape? / / YES / / NO

6. What kind of additional training would be helpful to your agency:

(check as many as apply)

/ / WRITING BETTER EXPECTATIONS

/ / COUNSELING TECHNIQUES

/ / COACHING TECHNIQUES

/ / ROLE-PLAYING AND SITUATIONAL EXERCISES

/ / OTHER _______________________________________________

7. Is there anything you would change about the PPR training video?

/ / yes / / no

If yes, please tell us what you would like done differently:

Your name: (please print) __________________________________________

Telephone: (______) __________________ E-mail: _____________________

Thank you!

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