Promoting Excellence...
2004 Performance and Staff Development Program

Fulfilling Penn's mission of education, research, and public service would be impossible without the hard work and extraordinary commitment of the University's staff members. The annual performance appraisal program, officially called the "Performance and Staff Development Program," provides an important way to recognize and reward effective staff efforts throughout the institution.

Performance appraisal is designed to help staff and supervisors to talk about job responsibilities, goals and expectations, as well as encourage the personal and professional growth of Penn staff members. It also fulfills an essential role in the University's performance-based compensation plan by providing the substantive support for annual salary increases.

This year, performance appraisals for all regular staff should be completed by June 4, 2004. It's especially important for supervisors to complete appraisals for all staff receiving annual salary increases to validate the level of increase awarded. 

As Dr. Rodin discussed in the January 20, 2004 issue of Almanac, despite the tough economic realities facing the University, there will be a 2% salary pool for faculty and staff increases this year (www.upenn.edu/almanac/v50/n18/economic_outlook.html). Although Penn is hardly alone among great universities in facing a serious financial challenge, our insistence on cost efficiencies has helped us avoid the salary cuts, hiring freezes and even layoffs that MIT, Yale, Stanford, and Rice have recently announced.

Effective, candid performance appraisals are important for many reasons:

The Performance and Staff Development Program materials for the 2004 appraisal cycle are now online at the Human Resources website at www.hr.upenn.edu/staffrelations/performance/default.asp. The Division of Human Resources provides helpful training to supervisors and staff on how to make the most of the performance appraisal process. To find out about this training or for more information on the Performance and Staff Development Program, please contact the Division of Human Resources at (215) 898-6093. Let us help Penn's supervisors and staff members promote excellence at work.

--Division of Human Resources