School has been in session for almost two months now—leaves are changing colors; faculty, staff, and students have settled into the routines of the academic year; and you’re feeling that you can take a breather for a moment or two before budget season gets into full gear. You lean back and think … "now is the perfect time to rethink our faculty evaluation process.”
Have I lost you already? Was your first reaction, “Actually, that’s about the last thing I was thinking about. For one thing, everyone knows our evaluation process is a joke—no one pays it any mind. And, besides the point, that’s not even my area. The Head and the Division Heads handle faculty reviews. I just collect the paper at the end of the year when they’re done. My job is only to make sure the evaluations are filed in the personnel file.”
Those would be understandable reactions—and these thoughts are common to most Business Managers/HR Managers. But should they be? And, is there any way to change your thinking?
A New Model
Perhaps you’ve given up on performance evaluations because your school goes the traditional route of having an administrator evaluate one classroom lesson per year—where, after the follow-up discussion (if there is one), the review gets filed and forgotten … until the process repeats itself next year. What if there were a different way—a way to make evaluation an important, even energizing—part of your administrators’ roles? And what if this “different way” was seen by faculty as a sought-after tool to help them improve their skills rather than being viewed suspiciously, with both fear and contempt?
We think there is a different way. Later this winter, we’ll be rolling out a new evaluation model for faculty—one that is designed to focus faculty and administrators alike on the things that really matter in faculty performance. In preparation, we can share that it is based on two key elements: 1: Coaching and mentoring provided (or brokered) by the school’s academic leaders; and 2: A focus on the “characteristics of excellence” for your school (i.e., the “most important things”).
How Can This Help
Why should your school consider a new model? I mean, wouldn’t the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” apply here? Well, the first thing is that the system is broken. That is, how many faculty or administrators truly believe that the one-class observation/evaluation helps the school or its students in any? The second thing is, if you knew that a new system would truly help faculty grow and develop in ways that impacted the students in their classrooms—and, if you knew this system would also help the school improve morale, strengthen the faculty culture, and reduce lawsuits and other legal claims—would that convince you that it was worth looking into?
What Can You Do Today?
There’s a lot of work to be done before considering a new model. The first thing is to work with the Head and Division Heads to name a faculty committee to help the school identify “characteristics of professional excellence” that will be used throughout virtually all of the school’s personnel practices. Once these characteristics are identified, they can be used to establish hiring standards (leading into the upcoming winter hiring season), as well as forming the basis for evaluation and corrective action processes.
The most important way to ensure faculty buy-in is to involve them in developing the characteristics. If they are involved they will view them as credible. It is a very important first-step down the path of effective performance management. While it may feel that “there’s no rest for the weary,” we encourage you to start traveling this path—one that is sure to pay dividends for many years to come in the form of increased faculty performance, engagement, and retention … all going directly to increased student performance, satisfaction, and enthusiasm—the most important measures for any school.
News Flash: New NLRB Poster Requirement Postponed
You may recall reading in this space last month that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) had published a new regulation requiring private employers (including schools) to post a new notice to employees regarding employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The new poster requirement had been scheduled to go into effect on November 14. Now, the rule will be effective on January 31, 2012. You can find further details here.
Additional ISM articles of interest
ISM Monthly Update for Human Resources Vol. 9 No. 8 Ask Michael
ISM Monthly Update for Human Resources Vol. 9 No. 4 New Year: A Time to Think About Performance Evaluations
Additional ISM articles for Consortium Members
I&P Vol. 34 No. 7 Avoid the Pitfalls When You Must Downsize
