PeopleAdmin Connections Newsletter – Issue 8

I N  T H I S  I S S U E

New dashboard makes performance management easier, more transparent

Behind the scenes: Building and adapting Performance Management to address top challenges

Solutions Corner: 2 new enhancements to your solution

Honor your favorite educator and win

Get the most out of your solution with these webinar series


Emily Wilson

At PeopleConnect 2017, North America’s largest network of higher education talent management professionals will gather to learn, network, exchange knowledge and empower possibilities in the new era of data-driven, research-based talent management.
Attendees will also have an opportunity to join customer-led sessions on topics such as analytics, search committees, strategic partnerships, union contract requirements, and more, including a performance management session presented by Emily Wilson, professional development coordinator at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.
“I think any time spent growing your professional skills and building your network is time well-spent,” Emily said. “And I’m thrilled about the opportunity to get in front of a group of people to talk about something that I enjoy.”
Here’s a preview of the performance management challenges Emily will cover:

To grow personally and professionally, individuals must be equipped with the right tools to succeed. But when policy or budget restrictions prevent you from delivering these tools, you have to think outside the box to “create a situation that meets the needs of your customers and your stakeholders.”
“Successful performance management involves bridging gaps between what your customers need and what you can provide,” Emily said.

Colleges and universities often seek new technology to increase efficiencies across various departments. But before those efficiencies can be realized, employees must adopt and effectively use that technology.
“A lot of the success in implementing a new performance management process lies in helping people see these are not just new systems they have to learn. They’re tools that will really change the way they work,” she explained. “We made these changes because we want them to be successful.”

In addition to helping other departments embrace technology that will ultimately make their lives easier, you must make the best use of your performance management solution.
“You have to learn your system inside and out,” Emily said. “Really be able to understand and visualize it. Know how the admin’s screen translates to the document. Get your hands in there.”

Emily also suggests involving other departments when developing your performance management processes.
“Don’t try to do it on your own,” she said. “The more people you bring on board and get feedback from, the better your product will be and the more people will buy in.”
New dashboard makes performance management easier, more transparent‘It’s very straightforward and visual. I really like the way the data get exported, and that it’s the right kind of information for me’
Jennifer Derry
Director of Training and Staff

A new dashboard in Performance Management is making it easier for users to access and report on performance review data.
“All of this relevant, useful information is right there in front of you, so you don’t have to go digging around,” said Jennifer Derry, director of training and staff development at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. “I love that it’s the first thing I see because it reminds me that I need to be checking in on how things are moving along.”
Released for general availability earlier this month, the dashboard’s simplicity and time-saving features have already made a positive impression on Jennifer and other beta testers.
“I tend to get a lot of phone calls during an open cycle from managers asking how their employees are doing. By the time they call, it’s because people are overdue,” Jennifer said. “What I like about this dashboard is right from the moment I log in, it allows me to see which reporting organization or department is struggling, so I can reach out ahead of time.”
Jennifer is also grateful for the ability to more easily run and export reports.
“Before the dashboard, I would have to go in and run a report, which always took a little time to populate,” Jennifer said. “Now, it’s very straightforward and visual. I really like the way the data get exported, and that it’s the right kind of information for me.”
Emily Wilson, professional development coordinator at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, also appreciates Performance Management’s enhanced reporting capabilities.
“One of the first searches I did involved looking at employee anniversary dates. Part of our policy for SHRA employees is that anyone who has been with us for less than six months doesn’t get a formal review,” Emily said. “I’m able to go in and exclude anyone who meets that criteria so their supervisor doesn’t get all the way to an appraisal. I found people I had missed within seconds. Before, I wouldn’t have caught that until the end of the cycle.”
Behind the scenes: Building and adapting Performance Management to address top challenges‘We really do focus on the big picture and little nuances that improve the user experience’
Russ Guild
Customer Success Consultant for Delivery Services, PeopleAdmin

PeopleAdmin’s Performance Management solution empowers colleges and universities to automate the most cumbersome, time-consuming performance review tasks … and because designing an effective performance review process is a difficult and highly customized task, it takes precision, deep expertise, and ongoing adaptations to ensure the software solution is ready for every challenge.
“It’s my job to get an in-depth understanding of each campus in a short amount of time,” said Russ Guild, customer success consultant for delivery services at PeopleAdmin. Russ ensures Performance Management meets the unique needs of each customer during implementation by “really getting to know their team, what they’re trying to do, and when they’re trying to do it.”
To partner with colleges and universities making strategic adjustments to Performance Management’s setup and workflows, Russ takes a forward-thinking approach.
“With Performance Management, we want to look at what we’re dealing with now, but also what the future holds,” Russ said. “How’s the process going to look next year when you kick off another evaluation? Will it include the same people?”
In some cases, the future circumstances he considers involve planned changes, such as shifting institutional goals or resources. In others, however, they’re simply a matter of natural progression.
“We look at the campus’s growth, for example. If they’re getting big enough, I suggest saving some time now by looking at the bigger picture and angling things in that direction to accommodate a larger scale.”
And because of the time Russ and others on his team spend learning about what higher education institutions are looking for in their performance management processes and solution, their observations and insights have already led to improvements in Performance Management.
“The ability to reopen a task exists because of customer feedback. There was a time when accidentally closing a task meant that evaluation stayed wrong for the entire year or the entire evaluation process had to restart,” Russ explained. “Since we’ve released that enhancement, HR has a lot more control.
“There’s also the dashboard, which is huge,” Russ added. “It has a lot of options for viewing different data and reports, and it’s very visual. Users can look at it and quickly get the information they need.”
But the updates aren’t always major product overhauls.
“Sometimes the enhancements we suggest are small, behind-the-scenes tweaks, such as making sure the screen doesn’t scroll to the top when you save,” Russ said. “We really do focus on the big picture and little nuances that improve the user experience.”
Solutions Corner: 2 new enhancements to your solution alt=”” width=”300″ height=”293″ class=”alignleft size-medium wp-image-43729″ />
To improve visibility into your processes and workflows, PeopleAdmin recently made two enhancements to the full suite of SelectSuite solutions by adding the following:
Workflows tab
This tab allows you to easily see how workflows and workflow transitions are configured in your site. Additionally, by displaying the workflow configuration format to customers the same way PeopleAdmin employees view them, you can see what your customer support representative will look at if you request any changes.
The tab can be found under Admin Module > General Setup > Workflows.
Forms tab
This tab allows you to view a standard, printable version of your forms and determine who can see them.
It can be found under Admin Module > General Setup > Forms.
tell us your story

National Inspired2Educate program continues in 2017
“Perhaps one person cannot change the world; but this person surely changed a student’s world forever,” wrote Ima Hicks, French instructor at Virginia Union University and recent Inspired2Educate award recipient. Ima was inspired to pursue a career in education by her college professor, Mathis Szykowski, and today strives to carry on to her students his legacy of perseverance — “born of experience and a dedication to learning, self-critical evaluation, equity, and reconstitution.”
Ima and Professor Szykowski are examples of the profound impact educators can have on the lives of students, and are among the nine educators who have been named recipients of the Inspired2Educate award and scholarship.
The Inspired2Educate program gives current educators an opportunity to recognize the teachers, administrators or professors who inspired them to pursue a career in education, and to promote the great work happening in classrooms across the country.
Last year’s Inspired2Educate winners came from various backgrounds and institutions — from elementary school teachers in Boston and Oologah, Oklahoma, to a superintendent in Lubbock, Texas, and professors in Virginia and Pennsylvania — and this year you and your school could be honored as well.
To enter, simply submit a video or essay about the educator who inspired you to pursue your career in education. Each quarter, we’ll award one entrant with a $1,000 scholarship and a $1,000 scholarship for his or her institution. Get the most out of your solution with these webinar series
PeopleAdmin offers two free webinar series — New & Next and Remote Workshops — designed to ensure you make the most of your solution.
New & Next webinars highlight new features and functionality that has been or will be added to your solution.
Remote Workshops offer tips and tricks to help you use your solution in the most effective way possible.
Both webinars last from 30-60 minutes and are offered each month.
Contact cem@peopleadmin.com for more information.

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