HR and OIT have partnered to design and implement a system within my.SMU  for employees and their managers to set goals, track progress toward goal accomplishment, host an informal mid-year and finally an annual review within the my.SMU system.
In addition to the work by HR and OIT, a cross-University group of your peers served on a Focus Group to review the system and provide feedback, which was incorporated into the design.
Performance Documents have been created in my.SMU
Benefits-eligible employee may now access their Performance Document within my.SMU by navigating to Self Service>Performance Management>Performance Documents>Current Documents. The online system supports best practices in creating and tracking performance goals, allowing for feedback and on-going communication in one location accessible to both employee and manager.
 Changes to the Performance Management Annual Review Cycle
The annual performance review period will shift from spring to fall, with this year’s review period beginning September 15, 2016 and ending September 14, 2017.
Managers and their direct reports should begin to use the system to enter performance goals and track progress toward goal completion. Starting August 15, 2017, employee and manager may begin the annual review step of the performance management cycle which involves completing individual evaluations, hosting an in-person review meeting, and finally sharing the manager’s evaluation with the employee to close out the performance year.   Annual Reviews must be completed no later than December 15, 2017 and will be used for merit considerations with a June 2018 implementation.
As you continue to read the information in this post, it will be helpful to download and follow the steps outlined in the Employee Training Guide to understand how to access and use the ePerformance system.
What should I do if I had a Review in the Spring of 2017?
Optional review meetings in Spring 2017 were conducted by some departments to inform merit considerations with a June 2017 implementation.
Employees who met with their manager this spring should copy and paste the review information into the online system and continue to enter goals and updates on progress until August 15, 2017 when the Annual Review step kicks off. Those who have been using the interactive Word document (the “Year Ahead” form) to document goals and track progress toward completion will find that the online form very closely mirrors the paper form.
I did not have a review in Spring 2017 however I have been tracking my goals and progress in a document (whether you used the interactive word form provided by HR in the Spring 2016 or not).  What should I do?
You should copy and paste this information into the ePerformance system and continue to track progress and share information with your manager via the system through August 15, 2017, when the Annual Review step will commence. You may not have tracked all the information on the form you used, and if not, you should recreate as much as possible within the online form.
I did not have a spring 2017 review and I have not been creating and tracking goals  – What should I do?
If you have not been creating goals and tracking progress, you should access the online form, begin to recreate the work you have been doing in the goal format, and continue to track progress until the Annual Review step in mid-August.s you have been working on since Spring 2016. Â It will also be helpful to add goal setting as an agenda item to discuss with your manager to get started on creating future goals.
Resources to Support You!
While  a paper form was provided in January 2015 that closely mirrors the online form, the transition to an online form and the change in the performance cycle time-frame will require time to incorporate into processes.
HR, OIT, and the IT Training Team, have created several resources (print, video, job aids, and in-person computer lab time) to support you as you become fluent with the process, the system, and the transition to hosting annual reviews in the Fall.  Read more in a blog post dedicated to these resources. Â
If you have questions, please have a conversation with your manager and/or reach out for support. Â The following list of contact information to direct you to the appropriate resources:
- Hardware issues (your computer):Â OIT Help Desk at 8-4357 or help@smu.edu
- Issues with the following should be directed to smuhr@smu.edu
*accessing your Performance Document in my.SMU
*the process of setting goals, metrics, or strategies
*any other concerns related to the performance management process or the online
form
Questions? We will continue to provide information on the system and the process of on-going performance management via the HR Headlines.  If you have questions please contact us via one of the following:
- Email us at smuhr@smu.edu
- Call us at 8-3311 and you will be redirected to the appropriate person
