Associates Give Favorable Review of Hourly Performance Management Program

By Marcia Rhodes

The results are in!

In the fall, the Human Resources Directorate asked roughly 11,900 associates to participate in a survey about the Hourly Performance Management program, which was implemented in November 2018.

The HR team worked diligently to provide a program aligned with industry best practices, by hosting focus groups, and conducting industry research and analysis.

To measure the program’s effectiveness, the post-assessment survey was conducted over a two-week period, targeting ratees, raters, approvers and PMOs, with a 9.3% response rate.

Survey highlights include:

• 78% of ratees stated they had a mid-year review discussion regarding their performance.
• 44% of ratees, 56% of ratee/raters, 65% of raters and 79% of approvers agree that the 5-point rating scale allows for an accurate assessment of performance.
• 64% of raters agree they easily assessed an associate’s performance using the competencies.

A ratee commented on the operational effectiveness of the program by saying, “First time being rated through the program. So far, it seems fair.”

A rater requested that the area for remarks be expanded to include more room for comments.

An approver stated, “I like this new program. Since this was new to everyone this year, there is/was a learning curve for the supervisor and management teams.”

While opportunities for improvement were identified, the survey results overall indicated a favorable response to the hourly performance management program.

Some recommendations being considered as a result of the survey includes:

• Mid-year review date change for non-supervisors from April 1-30 to March 1-31.
• Additional training for the next performance evaluation cycle addressing concerns from survey results.
• System enhancements, such as weekly notification to PMO regarding pending performance adjustments and financial tool access through Employee Self-Service

As a team, the Exchange has improved the Hourly Performance Management Program and will continue to recognize high-potential associates and retain top performers while maintaining a competitive edge in the retail industry.

Marcia Rhodes is the Exchange’s HR communications manager.