The City of Joondalup in Western Australia has launched a new online Performance Appraisal system. Joondalup is located about 25 kilometres north of Perth’s CBD and an area of 97 square kilometres.
Joondalup’s Human Resources Advisor Learning and Development Shelley Besel Knott, said this system reflects the City’s practice of setting staff targets and development goals at the beginning of the appraisal cycle, the mid year review and the end of year performance assessment.
Some of the benefits of this system include:
- Saving paper and time: Instead of recording information in paper form, the information is now recorded online. The online document has version control and approved versions are automatically saved to the City’s records management system.
- Improved monitoring: Supervisors/Managers two levels above the employee can view the completion status of the appraisal forms. This allows for better monitoring and management, to ensure compliance with the Local Government Act.
- Easy access: As the system is available on the City’s intranet, at any time the employee and those two levels above can view the performance appraisal.
- Confidentiality via system access: The employee’s log in determines their access to view and work on the performance appraisal. For example, an employee who is not a supervisor will only be able to see their own performance appraisal.
- Registering of training needs: A bonus function is the ability for employees as part of their developmental planning to register their interest in specific training courses. This allows Council to better plan what courses to deliver.
- Approvals done electronically: No longer a need to read or keep mounds of performance appraisal paperwork. The approval process allows the approver to view an online pdf of the form, and then approve it electronically. An email is dispatched to relevant parties, and a “behind the scenes” workflow tool progresses it to the next approval level.
- Refreshing of information: The system taps into the Council’s HR database to ensure that reporting structures stay current. This also ensures control in terms of who sees what data.
Shelley Besel Knott said although some written forms will remain if the employee does not use a computer, the tracking and monitoring is still done online, and a rapid registration tool allows quick saving of the form to the records management system.
“An administration tool allows Human Resources to track, report and make any needed changes,” she said.
The system was built in house by the Joonalup’s IT team working in conjunction with Human Resources.
The database is a MS SQL Server and the main user interface is browser based – on the .net platform (vb). MS Access is also used for the other components. A Workflow engine progresses the sign offs and produces pdf snapshots.
The system does not replace the important discussions that must take place between employee and supervisor.
Shelley Besel Knott said Council has trained all supervisors to ensure the system is used effectively.
For further information contact Shelley Besel Knott telephone (08) 9400 4436.
