Annual appraisals

[Chippychop]

Has anyone ever got top marks in their annual appraisal (eg exceeds expectations/highly effective ) without slogging there guts out doing extra hours. Just wondering because I have always had highly effective whilst ft (7 years in a row) now I am pt my rating is effective. Whilst it is probably fair to say I dont put the (extra) hours in now I am good at what I do but I can't see me ever getting highly effective whilst I or 3 days. I'm not that bothered just curious really

Yes. I used to do performance ranking for all staff in one area and plenty of pt staff got highly effective or outstanding ratings.

Effective/good ratings are for coming in and doing the job but nothing over and above - no additional responsibilities or exceptional behaviours for example. Anything more than that then highly effective is considered. The number of hours is not important but what is achieved is.

We had clear performance measures: operational objectives and behavioural competencies. Employees were told at the beginning of the year how the process worked and regular reviews helped people stay on track and achieve higher ratings (or a basic rating for the less able). We also gave quarterly appraisals.

If better grades can only be achieved by working extra hours then that is not good practice and is potentially discriminatory to anyone with caring responsibilities. However, if a willingness to be flexible to achieve operational objectives that are an integral part of the job and a good attitude are lacking that is legitimate reason to give a lower grade.

It is worth being in mind that appraisals are mostly subjective and can be based on anything the employer likes so long as it's not discriminatory. This also means they are easily influenced if you know how.

If you're not getting the appraisal grade you expect you need to do two things: have more reviews with your manager and ask what you can do to get a better grade.

Yes, part time people can get top marks.

Saying that, I have been astounded to be in meetings where everyone has raved about the people doing shed loads of overtime, wanting to give them top marks. I have had to have very sharp words with them about difference between effort put in and performance - very different constructs, both worthy of praise, both perhaps worthy of financial bonus, but only one worthy of top grading (and it aint the effort one). It's important to discuss the distinction with your manager when going through your ratings to see if this has been taken into account. Or perhaps asking what's changed regarding your performance between the days you got top and now. It could simply be that each year their expectations raise so a flatlining good performance might then falter relative to someone who ups their game every year.

Or of course they may comment on your PT status. In which case you are in a v strong position.