Administrative Order No.: 7-19

Administrative Order

Title: Performance Evaluation

Ordered: 11/7/1978 Effective: 11/7/1978

AUTHORITY:

Section 4.02 of the Metropolitan Dade County Charter.

POLICY:

It is the policy of Metropolitan Dade County to conduct annual performance

evaluations of employees below the level of Division Director. The purpose of this

dministrative Order is to establish the policy and procedure to be used to appraise

an employee's work performance, productivity, effectiveness, and compliance with

rules and regulations. Performance evaluations will assist in identifying and

recognizing employees who demonstrate superior performance. The evaluation

process will also facilitate communication between supervisors and employees,

provide accurate information which may be used in the making of personnel

decisions and improve employee job performance generally.

MERIT INCREASES:

Performance evaluation is directly related to the County's Wage and Salary program

in that for an employee to merit a pay increase it must be directly related to the

employee's effectiveness in the job. Except as otherwise provided, no eligible

employee may receive a merit increase, nor have his merit increase deferred, unless

the employee has received a performance evaluation. A completed evaluation form

will be attached to Advice of Personnel Action form for final processing. When

circumstances arise which make it impossible to conduct a timely evaluation, it may

be waived, and a merit increase granted or deferred, solely upon the written approval

of the Department Director or a designated Division Director. A Department Director

shall not exercise such authority twice in succession for the same employee without

prior approval of the County Manager.

Employees whose overall evaluation is "unsatisfactory" or "needs improvement" will

not receive a merit increase. An employee whose performance is rated

"unsatisfactory" shall be reevaluated in six months to determine eligibility for a merit

increase at that time; however, a rating of "needs improvement" may result in a

deferral of less than six months. At the end of the specified period, the employee

shall be reevaluated to determine eligibility for a merit increase. In both situations the

anniversar

date shall be chan

ed accordin

. In the case of an em

ee rated

"unsatisfactory", periodic evaluations may be conducted during the specified period.

If at any time during this period the department believes that the employee is not

responding properly to this opportunity to improve performance, the final formal re-

evaluation may be conducted and the employee dismissed. However, employees

whose performance was rated "unsatisfactory" or "needs improvement" shall not be

granted merit increases until the end of the specified re-evaluation period. Merit

increases which have been deferred shall not be granted retroactively.

Employees whose overall evaluation is "satisfactory" or higher shall receive the merit

increase for which they are eligible. Eligibility shall be in accordance with the rules

and regulations of the Pay Plan or, if applicable, the provisions of a collective

bargaining agreement. Longevity increases, referred to as "L-1" or "L-2" or service-in-

grade steps, shall also be administered in accordance with the merit concept outlined

in this Administrative Order unless otherwise provided by a collective bargaining

agreement. These increases shall be granted or deferred on the basis of the

individual achieving annual "satisfactory" performance evaluation ratings in a majority

of the evaluations conducted during the service period.

Nothing in this Administrative Order shall be construed to expand eligibility for merit

increases or permanent status.

TRAINING RESPONSIBILITY:

It is the responsibility of each department to periodically conduct supervisory training

to 1) clarify County policy and procedures regarding performance evaluation, 2)

improve supervisory evaluating and counseling skills, and 3) communicate to all

employees the managerial commitment to achieving, maintaining and rewarding

employees based upon their performance.

COVERAGE AND FREQUENCY:

Probationary; permanent, exempt, except as herein provided; regular part-time;

regular CETA and full-time trainees, shall receive performance evaluations under this

dministrative Order. Performance evaluations must precede the granting of a merit

increase to employees eligible for such increases, the granting of permanent status

and at the end of the applicable probationary period for the position. Employees are

to be evaluated at least annually prior to their pay anniversary date. Special

performance evaluation may be scheduled at any time; however, a special evaluation

will not affect the eligibility for a merit increase. Supervisors who are transferred or

leave their County employment are to complete a performance evaluation for each

employee who has been under their supervision for the majority of the employee's

evaluation period. Employees who are transferred to another supervisor or to another

department are to be evaluated prior to their transfer if four (4) months or more of an

evaluation period has elapsed.

FORM:

The Employee Form should be used for non-supervisory personnel. The Managerial

Form should be used for foremen, supervisors, administrators and managers. Any

additional departmental forms must be approved in advance by the Director of

Employee Relations prior to use.

PROCEDURE:

The departmental personnel officer or designated administrative officer will forward

the evaluation form to the employee's immediate supervisor thirty (30) days prior to

employee's review date. The evaluator will review the performance evaluation section

in the Administrative Policy and Procedures Manual as a guide to raters and

reviewers in the standards and methods to be applied in performance evaluations.

The rater will review the employee's job duties to ensure their accuracy, the

employee's performance for the evaluation period, the Personnel Record Summary

sheet and/or personnel file as necessary to complete the performance evaluation

form. The rater will evaluate the employee's performance; provide specific narrative

examples in space provided; and outline any action plan which has been established

to improve performance, or to improve the promotability of the employee.

"Rater's Overall Evaluation":

The "Rater's Overall Evaluation" should be consistent with the individual factor

ratings. If an evaluation reflects either a "Needs Improvement" or "Unsatisfactory" in

one or more categories, the "Rater's Overall Evaluation" may not be above the

Satisfactory level.

The rater shall indicate for eligible employees if permanent status or a merit increase

is granted, or the deferral of a merit increase. Whenever a merit increase is deferred,

or where an employee is not eligible for such an increase, the employee shall be

advised of the kind and degree of performance improvement required and a specific

time period shall be established during which improvement is expected to occur. The

department will make reasonable efforts to assist employees in reaching satisfactory

levels of performance; however, the employee is expected to assume personal

responsibility for self improvement.

Second Level Supervisor Acting as a Reviewer:

The completed evaluation form will be reviewed and signed by the supervisor of the

evaluator after it has been reviewed for accuracy and objectivity. If the rater and the

reviewer cannot agree on an evaluation, the Division Director or Department Director,

as appropriate, will be consulted to resolve the issue. The rater will schedule a

conference with the employee to discuss the performance evaluation and to establish

goals for future performance.

DISTRIBUTION:

Distribution of the evaluation will be made to the employee, the Personnel Division,

the departmental personnel section and the reviewer. The departmental personnel

officer or administrative office will check the evaluation for compliance with the

evaluation procedures and prepare an Advice of Personnel Action to accompany the

evaluation if a merit increase or permanent status has been granted.

APPEALS:

A permanent employee who has received an overall evaluation of "unsatisfactory" or

"needs improvement" , must first request a review of the Performance Evaluation by

the departmental Director within ten (10) calendar days. The Director may

recommend changes or alterations, or return the Evaluation unchanged to the

employee. If the decision of the Director is not acceptable to the employee, the

employee may continue the appeal within ten (10) calendar days after receipt of the

Director's decision by making a request in writing to the Personnel Division Director.

The Personnel Division Director will appoint a three person management panel, none

of whom shall be from the appealing department, to act as a fact-finding committee.

Only the employee, the rater, and the reviewer will be heard, separately, by the

panel. The hearing shall be informal, a transcript will not be kept and there will be no

cross-examination. The panel's review will be limited to 1) determining compliance

with evaluation procedures, and 2) determining the evaluation's accuracy and

objectivity and whether it should be revised and the reasons for this recommendation.

Within thirty (30) days following the hearing, the panel will submit a written report of

their findings and recommendations to the Personnel Division Director. A majority of

the panel may sustain the evaluation or recommend that the evaluation be revised.

The report will be forwarded to the Director of the Department and will be final and

binding on the Department.

RECOMMENDATION FOR SPECIAL RECOGNITION INCREASES:

A full time employee who has achieved an overall rating "Outstanding" may be

considered for a special recognition increase if:

1. The employee has demonstrated a) creativity and initiative, b) greatly

enhanced departmental efficiency and effectiveness, c) performance reflective

of superior applied knowledge in addition to productivity.

2. The employee has had two successive evaluations above satisfactory in his

current position within the previous 24 or more months, and

3. A memorandum endorsing the special recommendation increase is written by

the Department Director.

Employees within a pay range or at a maximum or longevity step 1 shall be eligible

for a one pay step special recognition increase. Employees who are at longevity step

2 are not eligible for a special recognition increase.

The County Manager will appoint a three (3) person panel to review departmental

nominations. Upon receiving a favorable recommendation from the panel, the

Manager may give a final approval to the award of a special recognition increase.

The effective date of the special recognition increase shall be the pay period

following committee recommendation. This special recognition increase provision is

applicable only to full-time employees covered by this Administrative Order.

EXTENSION OF PROBATIONARY PERIOD:

probationary period of less than one year may be extended once by the

department provided 1) the total period including the extension may not exceed one

(1) year, and 2) the employee has agreed to the extension, unless otherwise

provided for in a collective bargaining agreement. The employee's agreement shall

be in writing. No merit increase shall be granted during such extension period.

This Administrative Order is hereby submitted to the Board of County Commissioners

of Dade County, Florida.

M. R. Stierheim

County Manager