Administrative Order
Administrative Order No.: 7-19
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
A
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
p
a
y
anniversar
y
date shall be chan
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ed accordin
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. In the case of an em
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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
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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:
A
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