Table of contents
The goal setting meeting is where employees and their managers can discuss and agree what the most important performance goals are, how to measure progress against them, the skills needed to achieve these goals, and the learning and development objectives to support achieving them. The meeting should cover:
- Why meeting these goals is important, and your role in making them happen.
- How you can achieve the goals and outputs, in particular what expertise, skills, competencies and behaviours you need to show to deliver the expectations.
- What potential obstacles you might need to address.
- When you need to achieve your goals and tasks, by setting deadlines and key dates.
Each goal should be broken down into key actions, with specific dates for completion. Terms such as ‘ongoing’ or ‘as required’ should not be used.
Employee: Goal setting
On the goal setting form, you need to fill in the following fields:
- Goals and associated tasks (mandatory)
- Competencies associated to each goal (mandatory)
- Learning Needs (if appropriate)
- Career Development (optional)
- Feedback you wish to give at this stage (optional)
The form has drop-down menus to help you complete it. Once you have finished, click ‘Submit to Manager’ at the bottom of the form.
For staff who are ‘Acting Up’ please see page six of our User Guide, as you will need to add the right higher-grade skills for each goal in the ‘goal description’ field on your ePMDS Form.
You should complete the PMDS Mid-Year Review form in collaboration with relevant line managers.
Employee: Mid-year review
For the mid-year review, log into the ePMDS system and access your Mid-Year eform. This will become editable by clicking on the “Make Changes to this Form” button.
Complete the following areas:
- Add any new goals
- Mid -Year goal progress comments (mandatory)
- Additional learning and development requirements (if appropriate)
- Self- assessment (mandatory)
- Feedback (optional at this stage)
- Additional career development comments (optional at this stage)
Once you have completed the fields, click ‘Submit to Manager’ at the bottom of the eform. This will route it directly to the manager. After meeting and discussing the form with you, the manager signs off on the eform.
Note: Employees and Managers can transfer the ePMDS Mid-Year Review eform numerous times between them. Mid-Year Review is only complete when the employee ‘signs off’ the eform.
Employee: Year-end review
On the End of Year Review form, you need to fill in the following fields:
- Goal Progress comments (mandatory)
- Add to the Learning and Development parts of the form (if appropriate)
- Assessment summary (mandatory)
- Any feedback you wish to give at this stage (optional)
- Any additional Career Development comments (optional)
You should follow the same process as for the mid-year review.
At the Year End stage of the PMDS cycle, everybody should be in the process of signing off their end of year review. The information here applies to employees who have not used the ePMDS system yet.
PMDS ratings are essential for ensuring you are paid any increments where they are due, so you should follow the process outlined on this page to ensure your records are up to date. If you submit the form late, this could affect payment of your increment. The performance evaluation descriptions are:
- Satisfactory
- Unsatisfactory.
Employee’s responsibility
You will complete your end of year performance evaluation with your immediate line manager as usual.
Manager: Goal setting
When managers get an email about goal setting, they should click the email link and review the form. Based on what was discussed during the goal setting meeting, managers will ultimately sign off the agreement by clicking the ‘Sign Off’ button at the bottom of the form. The employee will then get an email confirming their manager’s sign-off. If the employee needs to make changes to the form before you can sign off on it, you can send it back for editing by pressing ‘Revert Form to Jobholder’.
Goal Setting resources
Manager: Mid-year review
When managers get an email about goal setting, they should click the email link and review the form. Managers must review the following areas of the eform :
- Each goal, including the ‘Mid-Year Review’ status and comments fields.
- Comments on the employee’s ‘Career Development’.
- The employee’s ‘Mid-Year Review Status’ update and comments.
- The employee’s Mid-Year Review feedback.
- The employee’s self-assessment.
The manager updates ‘Manager’s Assessment’ field on the eform. Managers can sign off the agreement by clicking the ‘Sign Off’ option at the bottom of the form.
Manager: Year-end review
Managers should follow the same process as the Mid-Year Review.
If an you are dissatisfied with your manager’s evaluation at the End-Year Review stage, there is an option to ‘Request an Internal Review’. The NSSO will ask local HR to appoint the Internal Reviewer; this is usually the second supervisor, the line manager’s manager. The NSSO will then assign the form to the nominated Internal Reviewer on the ePMDS system.
The Internal Reviewer will complete the review, update the form, and submit it back to you. There is no onus on the appointed Internal Reviewer to contact either party, and judgement can be based solely on the content of the ePMDS form. This is the final step in the process and employee’s sign off is not required.
