Monitoring and assessing performance

Monitoring and assessing the staff member's performance is a task for both the staff member and the supervisor. Both should be constantly and informally reviewing performance against the work and development goals in the annual plan, and discussing issues as they arise throughout the cycle. 

During the year, staff members and supervisors should take a moment to reflect on significant work events as they arise during the cycle, and ask themselves:

• to what part of the staff member's annual plan does this event / achievement / issue relate?
• how would I assess this example of performance? how does it stand against the measures set in the annual plan?
• have there been other examples of similar kinds? (ie is there a pattern?)
• what could be the reasons for the event / achievement / issue? is it an outcome of skills/knowledge/capabilities possessed or required, or of external events, or something else? 
• have I sought / received, or given immediate feedback on this event / achievement / issue? have we attempted to link this and other individual examples of performance back into the plan and particularly to the development needs and strategies?
• have we discussed how to replicate this event / achievement / issue, or how to improve so that this event / achievement / issue does not recur?

Both parties should note particular aspects of performance and any decisions reached in relation to them during the cycle, so that they can remember to include them in the overall assessment of performance at the end of the cycle.