NURS 6221: MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES – Discussion 6

NURS 6221 Discussion 6: Performance Standards and Appraisals

Discussion: Performance Standards and Appraisals

Performance appraisals should be timely, thoughtful, consistent, thorough, and bias-free. How can performance appraisal systems be structured to facilitate this type of environment? Effective performance standards and appraisals can promote an open and continuous relationship among the nurse manager, HR professionals, and employees.

• As a nurse manager, how might you use performance appraisals and other performance management strategies, such as positive discipline, in your leadership approach?

In this Discussion, you reflect on questions commonly when assessing performance appraisal processes.

Performance Standards:

• Who creates performance standards, and how are they communicated to employees?
• Are performance standards consistent with quality standards commonly used in the nursing profession?
• Do performance standards align with legal and ethical nursing practice?

Performance Appraisals:

• How is employee performance (i.e., behaviors, attitudes, abilities, and skills) documented?
• What measures, if any, protect employees from subjectivity?
• Are employees asked to engage in any form of self-evaluation?
• Do colleagues participate in peer evaluations such as 360-degree appraisals?
• Does the performance appraisal process encourage employee development?
• Aside from the written performance measures, what aspects contribute to success or failure in achieving performance improvement?

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To prepare for Performance Standards and Appraisals

Review this week’s media, “Performance Management,” and consider the best practices highlighted by this week’s presenters.

• Reflect on the performance standards and appraisal systems used in your current organization or one with which you are familiar. With the above questions in mind, identify this organization’s strengths and areas for improvement.
• Drawing from ideas presented in this week’s Learning Resources, think of specific ways to improve your organization’s use of performance standards and/or the performance appraisal process.
• Review the article “Positive Discipline Reaps Retention.” How might you incorporate positive discipline into your performance management approach as a nurse manager? What effect–good, bad, or indifferent–do you think it would have on your nursing staff?

Post a description of the performance appraisal system used in your workplace, including how performance standards are created and communicated to employees. Describe the effectiveness of the performance appraisal system by sharing at least two strengths and two areas for improvement. Conclude your posting by explaining how you might incorporate positive discipline into your performance management approach and what impact you think it will have.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

• Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days using one or more of the following approaches:
• Ask a probing question substantiated with additional background information, evidence, or research.
• Share an insight from reading a colleague’s posting, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.
• Expand on a colleague’s posting by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.

Required Readings FOR Performance Standards and Appraisals

Lussier, R. N., & Hendon, J. R. (2016). Human resource management: Functions, applications, & skill development (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

• Chapter 8, “Performance Management and Appraisal” (pp. 274–314)

This chapter introduces the performance appraisal process. The authors explain how to carry out performance appraisals effectively, the methods of assessment one can use, and who should be responsible for assessing employees.

• Chapter 9, “Rights and Employee Development&rdquo (pp. 316–355)

Chapter 9 provides an overview of employee rights and privileges. It also explains the processes of developing or terminating an employee, counseling problem employees, and effectively using discipline and termination.

Dupee, J. M., Ernst, N. P., & Caslin, K. E. (2011). Does multisource feedback influence performance appraisal satisfaction? Nursing Management, 42(3), 12–16.

• Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

The article focuses on the effects of multisource feedback (MSF) in a nursing environment.

Murray, B. (2003). Positive discipline reaps retention. Nursing Management, 34(6), 19–22.

• Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Positive discipline can transform communication and relationships between nurse managers and nursing staff. This article examines how nurse managers at a medical center in Boise, Idaho shifted their feedback process to an Alternative Correction Action model based on positive discipline philosophies.

Required Media FOR Performance Standards and Appraisals

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Performance management. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 32 minutes.

This week, the presenters discuss the challenges of and best practices for performance management and appraisal.

NURS 6221: MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES – Discussion 6 (Grading Rubic Attached and Media Attached)

“Performance Management” Program Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

MODERATOR: Let’s talk about some of the structures to managing people, a bit about performance management, some of the dos and don’ts in counseling, and in doing performance appraisals.

REBECCA F. CADY: Yes.

PAULET GREEN: You know, the thing that I find to be so interesting about performance appraisals is so many staff look at it as a negative experience.

REBECCA F. CADY: Right.

PAULET GREEN: And I think the tone set in the performance appraisal is the very first thing. A performance appraisal is not supposed to be a one-time–

MODERATOR: Absolutely.

PAULET GREEN: It is supposed to be an ongoing process where staff is consistently receiving feedback regularly. Documentation needs to occur. Anecdotal note-taking is so very important that as situations occur, you have an opportunity to document. As a manager, I know that one of the things that I do is, as I document,

I try to categorize based on performance issues, so if an issue is occurring, I would label it under attendance or under whether or not they’re competently fulfilling so that when the time comes for an action to be taken if it’s necessary to get there, the number of anecdotal notes that you’ve taken along the way now make a comprehensive picture related to a performance issue that then can be addressed as we move forth.

MODERATOR: Absolutely. And one key tip about documentation is I always recommend that the manager review their notes with the employee and everyone sign them, at least that they were reviewed. Far too often, I see some of those notes coming forward in a case, and the employee is shocked. They’ve never seen them. This evaluation was never done. They never knew that the manager was recording some of these things or that it was an important aspect of their performance.

REBECCA F. CADY: Right. And in terms of the legal ramifications of this process you don’t want someone to be surprised about what you’re telling them

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in a performance evaluation. And so I think your point about this is an ongoing process, and it’s not a once-a-year thing; that’s so important. Because if you have someone who does feel surprised, they’re more likely to take action if they feel like they’ve been wronged.

MODERATOR: Unfair!

REBECCA F. CADY: Right. And many times, a suing person will get into court or a deposition situation and claim that they never saw various documents. And so I think that the suggestion to have the employee cosign the supervisor’s notes, especially when counseling is taking place, is very important because the person cannot then go back and say, well, I wasn’t aware of this, I was blindsided, this wasn’t fair, I wasn’t given a chance to correct these issues. So I do think that’s an important piece of the puzzle.

MODERATOR: One very good tool is a record of the conversation, just one page. Label it that way. Doesn’t have to be disciplinary or negative. And to take notes on it, both people sign it and date it when they complete it. What’s your commitment to this issue? How are we going to solve this behavior or solve this problem?

PAULET GREEN: Another emphasis that I like to make with performance appraisals is, as we talked about before, that it doesn’t have to be a negative process because it is growth-oriented. It’s supposed to be focused on how we can identify your strengths, but also the areas of needed improvement and how we can help you to strategize to be a better performer. And one of the ways we’ve done that is through self-evaluations.

When they enter the performance appraisal interview, we have the employee have a copy of the document we would be using and submitting, and they do a self-evaluation. It’s really very interesting because when we first started this process, we found that previous managers often just went through and did like fours and fives. Our scales are one through five, one needing the most improvement and five being a very good performance. We often found that the records we got weren’t necessarily reflective of the employee’s performance.

REBECCA F. CADY: Right.

PAULET GREEN: Doing the self-evaluation with the employee and our evaluation did two things. The first is that it created a discussion because the employee had one perspective, sometimes, we had a different perspective, and you have to talk about where that came from and how you justified the scores you gave. As a manager, one of the things that I always made sure I did was to give specific examples.

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It was really important if I gave a four that, I could justify why. And as we had those discussions, we oft found that employees, especially when you gave them specific examples, were much more likely to say, OK, well, maybe I’m not a four, maybe I am a three. But the other positive part is that we wouldn’t just leave it there. We could move on to start identifying some of the strategies that we could use to help move you to be a four or a five-performer.

MODERATOR: I think the key to fair performance appraisals is to be consistent in applying similar forms and standards to similar jobs, honest in your feedback, and job-related. Avoid those judgmental or very general terms– she’s a nice person.

REBECCA F. CADY: Right.

MODERATOR: Or you’re seen as rude. You have to give examples, as you said, as to the behaviors that are job-related and problematic. Managers who spend very little time in performance management may do a quick, superficial performance appraisal, typically do it a little higher than what’s true, and at the staff who don’t know what to improve.

PAULET GREEN: That’s the situation that we found. We had a staff member whose there were some significant– she was probably, I would say, an average employee, but there were also some areas with significant performance issues. But because she had always been given fives and fours, she did not see them. And it wasn’t until we did those self-evaluations, with our evaluations, had an opportunity to start having the discussion, she said, how come before I was getting my fours and fives and all of a sudden–

REBECCA F. CADY: Right. I haven’t changed what I’m doing, and now you’re telling me I’m not as great as I thought I was.

PAULET GREEN: That’s right. But, again, I think the tone was set that this isn’t about punishing you. It’s not about being critical. It’s about trying to move you to be the best person you can be in your job. How can we do this? These are the specific examples I can provide that I have observed with you functioning at levels that may not reflect a four or five, but what can we do? As you said, have her suggest what we can do to get you to that place. And it was a very positive experience because the employee improved over time.

MODERATOR: Many leaders don’t know what or how to say it. Or they see behaviors; they’re not sure how it ties to the job. They know they don’t like what they see. One of the things they can do is bring that pattern or that picture to their Human Resource partner and help them lay that out. It is much better to do that early than when it’s a full-blown problem.

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REBECCA F. CADY: Right. And I would also hope that built into the facility’s evaluation program is that the managers must be evaluated on how they provide employee feedback.

PAULET GREEN: Right. Absolutely.

REBECCA F. CADY: Otherwise, they’d miss opportunities for their growth.

PAULET GREEN: Yes.

MODERATOR: Well, if we’re working with employees and we’re working on improving that behavior, some don’t make that step. And then we have to deal with discipline. Let’s talk about some of the possible pitfalls in doing disciplinary actions and even leading up to termination. But let’s deal with discipline for corrective purposes first.

PAULET GREEN: I think the tone we set is very important. And the term that I like to use is “corrective action” because the term speaks for itself that this is a process where it allows us an opportunity to correct something. And so I think that once the employee knows that, again, it takes away some of the resistance or the fear that often is related to that disciplinary process.

MODERATOR: In the discipline process, I think most employers look at providing some due process to the individual when an incident occurs or when there is poor performance. Can you give us some insight into the due process that we may want to do?

REBECCA F. CADY: Just as a matter of good business practice, and in terms of staff development and retention, you want to have a process whereby if an employee has a real legitimate disagreement with the way they’ve been evaluated or things that they’re being expected to correct– I mean, there may be a disconnect between the manager and the employee. The manager may not be great at giving feedback. There may be some personality issues going on. The employee has to have some recourse.

And it’s just a matter of good business practice and staff retention. The employee should be able to address that. And the hospital policies should allow for some oversight of the line manager’s decisions and counseling by either the manager of the department or the director of nursing, usually in a step-wise fashion. And that will be one of the things that will be looked at if an employee has grievances and they end up going to court over it is what was the hospital’s policies and procedures for dealing with this internally.

MODERATOR: And was it followed?

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REBECCA F. CADY: Right.

PAULET GREEN: Yes.

REBECCA F. CADY: And was it fair? And, if you have union nurses involved, that’s a different ball of wax. The disciplinary measures and how that process is laid out are all part of the agreement with the union. And that’s something that you want to ensure that Human Resources is involved in because those rules are very specific, and if you run afoul of them, it can be a big headache for everyone involved. So those were the two things that I would want people to be aware of.

MODERATOR: Due process can be broader if you have a public employer. It could be that the employees have a right to know how they’re doing.

REBECCA F. CADY: Right.

MODERATOR: And have a right to state their side of the story before any action is taken.

PAULET GREEN: Yes.

REBECCA F. CADY: Absolutely. And that’s why there’s feedback and the give and take. I don’t think evaluations should ever be a one-sided process.

PAULET GREEN: No. No.

REBECCA F. CADY: And ideally, they’re not. I think self-evaluations are very effective for getting people to buy them. And I think sometimes employees are surprised that they may rate themselves lower in an area than perhaps their managers.

MODERATOR: That’s right.

REBECCA F. CADY: Perceptions are very different. Everything’s relative. And so I think it’s very helpful in fostering a good communication environment, which spills over into so many other things with health care nowadays– patient quality care, the way health care providers interact. And I think it’s important to set the tone in terms of the employment environment so that we will treat you fairly and with respect, and these are the things we expect of you in return.

PAULET GREEN: Having that appeal offers that check and balance needed in the system.

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REBECCA F. CADY: That’s true.

PAULET GREEN: Absolutely. And even as the manager, it also helps you to understand that you need to have all your T’s crossed and your I’s dotted because if not, you could have an honest evaluation. Still, you cannot support it under appeal conditions because you don’t have the documentation to support it.

REBECCA F. CADY: Exactly.

MODERATOR: What key things should managers consider before taking some form of discipline? I’d put the first one out there to be timely.

REBECCA F. CADY: Right. Very important.

MODERATOR: Factual.

PAULET GREEN: Yup.

REBECCA F. CADY: And I would also say if the potential disciplinary action is related to something that might be impacted by the Americans with Disabilities Act or one of these other laws that we’ve discussed already, that that red flag would need to go up and Human Resources would need to be contacted in terms of, I have a situation developing here, and it involves– maybe it’s an absenteeism issue. Or maybe it’s a question of whether the person can perform the essential job functions. And those things can arise as disease processes develop in an individual. Things may change. The accommodations that they require may change. And so, I would be very careful if that was the scenario to consult Human Resources before anything was done.

MODERATOR: Our managers typically call and talk about a situation and then say, I’m thinking of doing a corrective action, suspension, or even termination. Do you think that’s the right step? And then we discuss whether they are prepared to go to the step they’re getting to.

REBECCA F. CADY: Right. And the other thing to keep in mind is that all of this process is confidential. It’s for the use of people within the hospital to conduct the business of caring for patients in a safe and legal manner. And this is not stuff that managers should be discussing with one another in the elevator. It’s important to remember that if that confidentiality is breached, the employee may have a cause of action against the hospital.

MODERATOR: I’d take that even a step further. We ask that all the original documents come to Human Resources. Managers can keep copies in their files, but I prefer the original. And the reason for that is I have been in far too many situations where the manager says, oh, I’m ready to terminate; we have done warnings, suspensions, and everything right. There is nothing in their file. And so I say to them, well, produce what you’ve done, and let me look at it before we decide. I got a call the next day, and my file is missing. I don’t know what happened. It was in my office.

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REBECCA F. CADY: Right.

MODERATOR: Did you have it locked? Well, maybe not. And so things mysteriously disappear at times. And all the reason to have your originals in safekeeping.

PAULET GREEN: Yes.

REBECCA F. CADY: A good point.

MODERATOR: We were talking about performance management, handling difficult performance issues, and the forms of taking the discipline of different types– written warnings, suspensions, or even terminations. But there are times when an acute situation occurs. It’s a crisis because there’s a theft, or an alleged abuse, or a complaint of sexual harassment, or a drug diversion– several things that are one-time events, hopefully. Let’s talk about how we may want to handle that and give some advice to our managers.

PAULET GREEN: I think it’s really important for managers to be very aware of what’s happening in their units with their staff. And that when these things are identified, they’re addressed early with HR. And that there’s a system set up that if these crises occur and the manager is not on the unit, that there’s a system set up where the manager is notified in a very timely manner so that she can start the ball rolling and whatever needs to be done to be able to adjust the situation.

MODERATOR: My advice is not to take any of those situations lightly.

REBECCA F. CADY: Absolutely.

MODERATOR: Immediately, those kinds of issues need to bubble to the top of the priority list and an investigation needs to begin.

REBECCA F. CADY: Absolutely. And from a legal standpoint, the priority in that situation is to make sure that the patient is safe and taken care of and that the appropriate people are notified in terms of the risk manager. If we’re talking about patient abuse, or even if someone’s discovered using narcotics on the job, that can have potentially huge legal ramifications for the facility. And so, in that situation, patient safety has to be one of the top considerations.

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MODERATOR: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act gives employees the right to work in an environment free of harassment, ridicule, and insults. Let’s discuss the difference between a hostile work environment and sexual harassment.

REBECCA F. CADY: Okay. Two things are covered here. The hostile environment is things such as bullying, either racial or cultural putdowns, what we would call as bad playground behavior and not playing well with other children, and anything that would be offensive to somebody based on their race, national origin, skin color, their gender, that type of thing.

And sexual harassment can also fall into a hostile work environment. The classic example is the girlie magazines in the locker room or the posters, the revealing-poster s-in-the-locker-room type. And that’s prohibited, as well as frank, outright– what’s called quid pro quo harassment, which is you will allow me to touch you or do things to you, or you will lose your job, or you will get poor evaluations.

MODERATOR: Or not a promotion?

REBECCA F. CADY: Right, or not a promotion. And so those are the two sort of flavors that comes in. And the hospital’s liable for any of those activities under its roof. If the harasser is a supervisor, potentially, the supervisor could be held personally liable for those actions. But, generally speaking, when the harasser is a co-worker, while the facility would be on the hook for that or liable, the individual co-worker would not necessarily be subject to a civil suit regarding that behavior.

So it’s something to keep in mind. And obviously, all facilities have policies that prohibit this kind of behavior. And facilities must consider having specific, very clear protocols for disciplining employees when Title VII implicates the issues involved.

PAULET GREEN: And the other issue, as you’re discussing again, is coming back to knowledge– educating the staff, having those in-services where you have individuals coming in and letting them know exactly what is appropriate and what may not be appropriate and about the different parameters of their behavior.

REBECCA F. CADY: Exactly. And in terms of the bullying and harassing behavior that doesn’t have to do with sexual issues, again, it comes back to that manager. Is the manager supporting staff if a doctor is being nasty? That’s very important. And that also spills over into patient safety issues. It’s a big thing we see lately. So these issues are multi-faceted, and they’re complicated. And, again, the manager doesn’t need to feel like it’s all on his or her shoulders. Human Resources–

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MODERATOR: Or embarrassed to bring it up.

REBECCA F. CADY: Right. Because it’s the right thing to do. You can’t stand by and let this happen on your unit because you will be held responsible, both by the facility and the nursing board will probably be taking a look at it as well if you’re not taking care of these issues. You’re still practicing nursing even though you are acting as a unit manager. And so the board of nursing will want to look at that if something blows up.

MODERATOR: Today, with the internet, I’m seeing stuff, like on nights, slow times, surfing porn sites at work. That has not been an uncommon situation. And in the example I’m thinking of, the staff knew that that was happening, and probably a few of them had said something to a charge nurse, or a charge nurse had observed it. So then leadership knew.

REBECCA F. CADY: Right.

MODERATOR: And at the point leadership knows, they have a responsibility to do an action–

REBECCA F. CADY: Absolutely.

MODERATOR: –to remedy the situation, not ignore it and hope it will disappear.

PAULET GREEN: Absolutely. And, again, you go down to that being a performance issue because is that what a staff member is being paid to do? And so, again, it’s dealing with the situation based on the performance issues and documenting accordingly.

REBECCA F. CADY: Very true.

MODERATOR: When a complaint comes up, my recommendation is, number one, call Human Resources immediately because most managers don’t know what to do– someone called someone a name, someone said a bad joke, they’re dealing with pornography, whatever the situation is. Human Resources has trained professionals to do the investigation. We usually do not return it to the manager to investigate the facts. Human Resources will interview the accuser– interview the complainant first and then the accuser and the witnesses, to try to determine whether the situation even occurred–

PAULET GREEN: Ah-hum.

REBECCA F. CADY: Right.

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MODERATOR: –whether it occurred, but there was nothing wrong, whether it was very inapp