Performance at UNC | Performance Planning
Back to top
Performance Home
Components of Performance Planning
What is performance planning?
Performance planning is a forward-looking approach to how we work strategically to support the success of our employees to ensure that Carolina continues to be a world-class university and research institution. Through performance planning, managers and employees work collaboratively to define clear goals and create a plan to meet those goals, identifying the support employees may need to grow their skills and advance in their careers at Carolina.
Performance planning is also a formalized part of the annual performance season process where employees and managers collaborate on goal-setting for the upcoming performance cycle and document those goals as part of an employee’s annual performance plan.
The components of performance planning during the annual performance season process are:
- Performance Conversation is a meeting between managers and employees to discuss the past year’s performance and plan for the next year’s goals and growth areas.
- Performance Plan records an employee’s individual goals and development plan for the next cycle.
- Development Plan is the part of the performance plan that outlines the development goals for employee’s continued professional growth.
These annual performance planning tasks begin in April and run through early June. At the conclusion of the performance cycle in March, the performance plan and its goals is the basis for the employee’s annual appraisal, which assesses the employee’s progress towards their goals for that cycle.
While these annual performance planning tasks formally take place during performance season, performance planning is an ongoing conversation between managers and employees all year to foster employees’ continued professional growth and boost the performance and productivity of our teams, power our organizational goals and unleash our employees’ engagement and motivation.
Performance Planning Requirements
For performance planning as part of the annual performance season process, the following requirements look ahead to the next performance cycle:
- Managers and employees must meet for a performance conversation.
- Employees must have 3–5 individual goals for their performance plan.
- Employees must have at least one development goal outlined on the development plan portion of their performance plan.
Completing & Documenting
Performance Planning
Except for the performance conversation, all tasks related to performance planning take place online in Carolina Talent Performance, the University’s workflow platform for performance management.
- During the performance conversation, manager and employee discuss future plans and create the specific goals for the next performance cycle.
- Employees enter their individual goals into Carolina Talent Performance. Although both managers and employees can enter goals into the system, we recommend employees enter their own individual goals.
- Managers enter the development goal/s for their employees and select the recommended action (called Action Step or Learning Item in the system) for the employee will take to achieve that goal.
- Managers approve all goals in Carolina Talent Performance.
- Managers sign and employees acknowledge the performance plan in Carolina Talent Performance.
Note: Once the final step, the Employee Acknowledgement task, is complete, Carolina Talent makes available the final Performance Plan document. Managers and employees can both view the performance plan document in Carolina Talent Performance > Performance Documents. If applicable, the second-level supervisor of the employee is required to review the performance plan before it is issued to the employee.
Step-by-step instructions for Carolina Talent Performance
Visit the Carolina Talent Performance Hub for instructions on how to complete each step of performance planning in Carolina Talent Performance, including:
- How to view, edit and submit a development plan
- How to complete the performance plan task
- How to create, copy, edit, delete, assign or approve a goal
General guidance & FAQs for goals
- Institutional Goals
- Individual Goals
- Development Plan
You can view your employees’ performance plan in Carolina Talent Performance via Snapshot.
Performance Conversation
At the center of performance season is the performance conversation for manager and employee to have an open dialogue and to share and receive feedback on past performance, challenges, development areas and goals for the next performance cycle.
During the annual performance season process, it is an expectation that managers meet with each of their employees for a performance conversation to discuss the employee’s performance for the previous performance cycle and to plan for the next cycle. This conversation between managers and employees should be two-way and should inform the employee’s performance plan in Carolina Talent.
If the employee did not complete the self-assessment, they are encouraged to reflect on the following questions to help them prepare for the conversation. Additionally, managers can prompt their team members to reflect on these questions in advance of the performance conversation.
- What is your perspective on your performance this past year? What achievements are you most proud of?
- What do you see as your top strengths?
- How have you developed in the past year and what have you learned?
- What additional areas of improvement have you identified? How would you like to develop in the coming year?
- What additional support or resources could help you?
- What is the most enjoyable part of your job? What gives you energy? Do you feel like you get to spend enough time on the activities you enjoy?
- What is the least enjoyable part of your job, or what takes your energy away?
- What are your career aspirations?
- Scheduling meetings with their employees to occur in the May 21-June 10 timeframe following the HR Checkpoint for compliance
- Preparing for how to provide feedback, recognize employees for their contributions, discuss development areas and discuss future goals
All performance plans should be completed by June 10.
Managers and employees should be meeting regularly for one-on-one conversations (weekly or bi-weekly) throughout the year.
Performance Plan
The performance plan is the written outline of an employee’s goals for the upcoming performance cycle and has three parts:
- Individual goals focus on what is most important for the upcoming the year in an employee’s job role.
- Development plan outlines an employee’s development goal/s for overall professional development.
- Institutional goals are established by the UNC System to identify the competencies expected of all UNC System employees.
Managers and employees work together to define an employee’s individual goals and development goals for the upcoming performance cycle and to outline how the employee can accomplish each goal. Managers and employees then enter these goals as part of the Performance Plan task in Carolina Talent Performance.
The performance plan also lists an employee’s institutional goals for the upcoming performance cycle. Institutional goals are set by the UNC System and automatically populate into the Performance Plan task in Carolina Talent Performance. Managers and employees do not create institutional goals nor enter them manually into the system.
Individual Goals
During each annual performance season process, managers and employees together define 3-5 individual goals for the employee to focus on what is most important for the upcoming the year. Each goal represent the performance expectations of your role and must clearly outline how the employee can meet and/or exceed the expectations for the goal. These goals are documented on an employee’s performance plan. At the end of the performance cycle, managers rate employee progress toward these individual goals as part of the annual appraisal.
Institutional Goals
Institutional goals are the competencies and behaviors expected of all employees and how we live into our organizational values and create our organizational culture. The UNC System has established 5 institutional goals (plus 1 more for managers) in key areas of employee performance for all UNC System employees.
Institutional goals automatically populate into an employee’s annual performance plan; managers and employees do not create institutional goals nor enter them manually into the system. As part of the annual appraisal at the end of the performance cycle managers rate employee performance for the previous year according to these goals using the standardized three-point rating scale set by the UNC System.
Development Plan
The development plan is the part of the performance plan that outlines the strategies, actions and resources an employee needs to grow their skills and knowledge over a period of time to help employees enhance their capabilities and advance in their careers.
The development plan is a broad roadmap for an employee’s professional growth and lists an employee’s development goals (called objectives in Carolina Talent). A development plan may encompass multiple objectives and include elements such as stretch assignments, learning activities, training programs, mentorship and other opportunities or experiences that facilitate growth and development.
Development Goals
For each annual performance season process, the development plan must include at least one development goal for the next performance cycle. Development goals may include improving professional relationships, expanding your network, gaining more experience in certain areas, learning or improving skills and more.
Compared to individual goals, development goals focus more on the professional development needs, interests and aspirations specific to each employee’s desired growth and less on progress toward unit or institutional outcomes.
Managers do NOT rate an employee’s development goals as part of the annual appraisal. Managers and employees can both update progress toward an employee’s development objective in Carolina Talent any time during the year.
Development Plan in Carolina Talent
As part of performance planning for the annual performance season process, managers enter the development goal/s for their employees into Carolina Talent Performance. To enter an employee’s development goal/s in Carolina Talent, managers manually enter the employee’s goal/s (called objective in the system) and then select the recommended action the employee will take to achieve that goal.
For each of an employee’s development goal/s, managers select from two types of actions to outline the strategies, steps or resources that will aid the employee in progressing toward the goal:
- Action Steps | Managers manually type in the recommended method or action the employee will take to achieve this goal
- Learning Item | Managers can select from pre-populated training courses in Carolina Talent or LinkedIn to assign to their employees in working toward a development objective
Carolina Talent Performance
Log in to Carolina Talent Self Service to view and complete performance tasks,
and visit the Carolina Talent Performance Hub for step-by-step instructions and FAQs.
Contact Performance Management
Jessica Procel, Talent Management Program Manager
Kathleen Guerra, Senior Director of Organization & Professional Development
919-843-7752
performance_management@unc.edu