Policy 610 EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT I. PURPOSE To provide exceptional customer service by maintaining a high standard of professionalism through competent, well-trained employees.
II. SCOPE This policy applies to all City employees.
III. POLICY City employees and their superintendents are responsible for the employee's professional development.
IV. PROCEDURE A. Responsibility 1. Individual Employee Each employee is accountable for her/his job performance. Employees should request training for the areas that need improvement. 2. Superintendent The superintendent is responsible for the development of his/her employees. At a minimum, employees should be able to perform their essential job duties and consistently exhibit appropriate behavior. Superintendents should ensure their employees are well-trained to perform their job duties and deliver exceptional customer service.
B. Unacceptable Job Performance When an employee's job performance is unacceptable and/or below standard, the superintendent has the responsibility to work with the employee to improve his or her job performance, if the employee has demonstrated basic ability and suitability for the job. 1. Letter of Counseling Superintendents should write a letter of counseling and review it with the employee advising him/her of the specific problem, the superintendent’s expectation of the employee, and possible consequences if those expectations are not met. 2. Win-win Agreement If unacceptable job performance continues, superintendents should identify and provide the help the employee needs to perform his/her job. This could be closer, more frequent supervision for a certain period of time and/or training. Before the employee attends the training or the closer supervision begins, the superintendent should develop a win-win agreement with clear expectations of what the employee's job performance standards are, a time-specific date for those standards to be met, possible consequences if those standards are not met.
3. Disciplinary Action Continued unacceptable job performance. If employee's performance does not improve and/or continues to be unacceptable, superintendents should recommend proper disciplinary action to be taken. Superintendents will be held accountable for retention of an employee performing below standards.
See Corrective Action #450, IV. C., Disciplinary Action
Policy 611 TRAINING I. PURPOSE To promote a high standard of professionalism through the empowerment of competent, well-trained employees.
II. SCOPE This policy applies to all City employees.
III. POLICY The City will provide appropriate training for City employees subject to available funding.
IV. PROCEDURE A. All training must be pre-approved by the superintendent. B. Training shall be classified as one of the following: required, professional development (current and/or future), or optional. C. Training shall not apply against sick leave or vacation, unless it is not pre-approved.
V. PRIORITY Budgeting priority shall be given to (1) required, (2) professional development, and (3) optional.
Policy 612 EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL I. PURPOSE To provide a process by which the job performance of each employee is appraised for purposes of development, merit review and counseling to maintain a high standard of professionalism with competent, well-trained employees.
II. SCOPE This policy applies to performance appraisal of regular and orientation period employees.
III. POLICY The employee performance appraisal process will be managed to accomplish the following objectives: A. To enhance individual employee performance and ensure effective City operations. B. To promote and support appropriate performance/behavior. C. To summarize both formal and informal performance discussions held with employees throughout the review period. D. To document performance areas in which employees do well and those areas which require improvement. To establish performance goals and plans to correct performance shortcomings and focuses on employee development. E. To link employee performance with merit increase considerations and promotions.
IV. PROCEDURE A. Supervisory Responsibilities 1. Clear Performance Standards Each superintendent is responsible for setting and communicating clear performance standards for his or her employees at the beginning of, and throughout, the review period. 2. Informal Appraisals Each superintendent is also responsible for observing and discussing with his or her employees positive and negative aspects of their performance in relation to standards throughout the review period. 3. Formal Appraisals On a regular basis, each superintendent is responsible for conducting formal performance appraisals on each subordinate employee summarizing past discussions and setting performance goals. 4. Accountability Superintendents will be held accountable for the performance of their employees and for the retention of an employee performing below standards.
B. Timing 1. Frequency Regular employees will receive an appraisal each calendar year. Appraisals will be conducted during November and early December, with all forms completed, approved, and submitted through the Department Head to the City Manager by a mid-December date which will be announced by the City Manager each year to coincide with the payroll schedule. Appraisals will be given more frequently as necessary. 2. Timely Processing The City Manager will maintain a system to assist superintendents to complete performance appraisals on time. The timely processing of performance appraisals is one of the most important leadership responsibilities for those in supervisory positions. 3. New Hires Newly hired employees will be appraised informally at least once a month with a formal appraisal six months from date of hire. (See New Position Orientation Period #030). Employees coming off of orientation may receive merit increases at the time of six month review. 4. Merit Raises Merit raises normally go into effect on the 1st day of the 1st payroll period in January unless otherwise noted in advance.
C. Performance Appraisal Form A copy of the employee performance review form can be obtained from the City Manager. D. Performance Appraisal Discussion 1. Superintendents will hold a discussion with the employee regarding each performance appraisal. 2. The discussion should be held at a prearranged time in a private location free from interruptions.
E. Employee Signature 1. The employee will be asked to comment on the appraisal and acknowledge it by signing the form. 2. He or she will then be given a copy of the signed appraisal. 3. If the employee declines to sign the form, he or she should be encouraged to discuss any concerns and perhaps write a rebuttal. 4. If the employee still declines to sign the appraisal, the superintendent should write "employee declined to sign" at the bottom of the form, add his or her initials and the date, and give the employee a copy of the appraisal. 5. The superintendent should then notify his or her manager of the situation.
Policy 620 PROMOTIONS I. PURPOSE To support the basic organization-building process of promoting qualified employees to positions of greater responsibility and recognition.
II. SCOPE This policy applies to all positions.
III. POLICY When a position vacancy occurs, opportunities to promote from within may be explored consistent with the goal of filling positions with the most capable individual available. Receipt of a promotion does not guarantee that an employee will be able to return to his or her former position if he or she is unsuccessful in the new job. Promotions from within may be done freely, without having to advertise or go outside the City or to even open it up to other City employees.
IV. GUIDELINES A. Job application, employee performance appraisals and career counseling records will provide the primary input to the internal selection process. B. At times, external recruiting sources will be used simultaneously with the internal search.
V. RELATED POLICIES Salary Program Administration #120, Employee Performance Appraisal #612., New Position Orientation Period #030.
Policy 621 ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSFERS and OTHER CITY OPENINGS I. PURPOSE To encourage teamwork among City departments to achieve our common goals.
II. SCOPE This policy applies to all City positions.
III. POLICY A transfer is the reassignment of an employee from one position to another. A transfer not involving promotion or demotion may be effected at any time for administrative convenience. Transfers may be made administratively or in conjunction with an announced selection process. Transfers between job levels or between departments shall become effective following approval of the Department Heads and the City Manager. There is no particular stated policy that the City of Fredericksburg is required to utilize City employees first. The City reserves the right to go outside the City first to fill a position.
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