Employee Performance Appraisal Types and Processes

1. Administrative Reviews

Winthrop's Administrative Review Process applies to athletic or academic administrative employees. 

2. Staff Reviews

All Staff Reviews are completed in the HR Portal and can be accessed via Wingspan within the Employee Tools section on the Home tab, by selecting the Performance Management link.

Probationary Reviews:

E-mail notices are sent to supervisors approximately six weeks before an employee's performance appraisal is due. Please complete an electronic performance appraisal in the HR Portal (PeopleAdmin) and then review the information with the employee and have them sign it online. This process needs to be completed no later than the first day of the month of the employee's review date.

Please contact the Office of Human Resources at extension 2273, if you have any questions concerning this process.

Annual Reviews:

Rating Supervisors will be able to access their employee list on the landing page of the Winthrop University Employee Portal.

  • Position Description - Current position descriptions can be accessed by the supervisor and employee within the Position Management function of the HR Portal. If the job functions or success criteria within the position description is not up-to-date or needs additional changes, the supervisor can submit a draft of requested changes within the Position Management function of the HR Portal. Contact the Office of Human Resources for additional assistance.
  • EPMS - Evaluations continue to be subject to the same policy and rating scale.

EPMS Form Directions:

The goal of the performance review is to provide the employee with feedback on their performance and accomplishments since the previous rating. The job duties should be rated on how well the employee has met the success criteria that have been identified by the rating supervisor. Please refer to the Employee Performance Management Policy for detailed information regarding the EPMS process.

All staff shall be given an annual appraisal no more than 90 calendar days prior to the universal review date of March 31st.
An employee in probationary status will have a review period that begins on the first date of employment and ends the day before the annual performance review date. For example, an employee who is hired on June 2nd should have his annual review completed on or before June 1st of the following year.

Once the rating supervisor completes the form and before conducting the performance review meeting with the employee, submit the form electronically for review by the next level supervisor (reviewing officer) to acknowledge their agreement. Having the reviewing officer acknowledge the performance review before it is given to the employee will keep them informed regarding the employee's performance, and ensure agreement on the overall rating of the employee.

Section 1A - Job Responsibilities: List the most important functions for successful job performance. Entries will be identified as essential or not along with the percentage of the overall position's workload. The performance review should include at least 80% of the responsibilities that are based on the employee's position description. Each job responsibility should have associated measurable Expected Performance Results and Specific Expectations or Instructions.*

Ratings Chart (Effective January 2017)

Section 1B - Optional Components: The rating supervisor may choose to select one or more of the optional non-recurring components for the upcoming year: Profesional Development goal, Project, or Special Assignment. Ratings should be included in the overall performance rating.

Section 1C - Competencies: Choose performance characteristics that are directly related to the employee's job. NOTE: Supervisory roles are designated on the review form. All employees who are supervisors must be rated on their performance in completing their employee's evaluations. Ratings for these items should not be included in the overall performance rating.
Section 1D - Overall Evaluation: Once the ratings are entered for the performance of the job duties, an overall EPMS evaluation rating must be entered. Rating supervisors must consult with the Office of Human Resources before assigning an overall rating of "unsuccessful/unsatisfactory". Please refer to the section of the EPMS policy regarding the Substandard Performance Process for Covered Employees for more information.

Employee Comments: The employee is permitted to add comments regarding the performance evaluation prior to acknowledging electronically on the HR Portal.

Signatures: The final evaluation must be acknowledged electronically by the rating supervisor, reviewer and employee.  Copies do not need to be forwarded to the Office of Human Resources. Please note that the employee's signature does not indicate agreement only that the employee has read and received the performance appraisal from their supervisor.

The Plan (also called the Planning Stage Document) should be retained by the supervisor for use during the upcoming rating period. The supervisor should discuss the job responsibilities with the expected performance results, optional components (including goals and projects), and competencies for the next rating period. The Plan must be acknowledged electronically by the rating supervisor. 

2024 Training Slides (pdf 405kb)
2024 Training Screenshots (pdf 534kb)

*For the Plan step, changes can be made by the supervisor to the Position Description for the via the "Modify Performance Details" process. Instructions can be found on the EPMS - Modify Performance Details page.

  • Expected performance results (for the employee to be successful in performing this job responsibility)
  • Specific expectations or instructions (related to this job responsibility that will help the employee achieve these results)