The
My Contribution key activities are as follow:
- Objective
setting, where
you are asked to define SMART objectives for the next academic year and discuss
this with your manager. This is due in August and September each year
- Mid-Year
review, where
you are asked to have a formal review meeting to discuss progress with your
line manager. This is due in January and February each year
- End
of year review,
where you review and discuss your performance over the last year, with both the
team member and line manager providing feedback and a rating for
achievement of objectives. This is due in June and July (at the end of the
academic year)
During your Objective Setting meeting,
you’ll set performance objectives (My Review) to
help you understand what part you’ll play in supporting the University to
achieve its goals and ambitions. Your own career aspirations are discussed, and
personal development objectives (My Development) are also set at
this time. These objectives form an important part of your working life at
Edinburgh Napier and, as a University, we’re committed to supporting you
achieve your objectives.
Your objectives should be linked
to Edinburgh Napier’s values and Leadership
Behaviours and
be built around our strategic priorities. Your line manager should have
shared the departmental plan with you in order to link your objectives to the
department’s objectives.
It’s
recommended you set a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 8 performance objectives
per academic year (these could be a mix of individual and team objectives). In
terms of personal development objectives, we recommend you set a minimum of 1
and a maximum of 3 personal development objectives per academic year.
You
may want to set shorter-term objectives (e.g. for a period of a few months
rather than the full year). That way you could end up with more than 8
performance objectives which is fine; there is no limit to the number you can
add on the system.
What
is a SMART objective?
Using the SMART approach to write your objectives will help you complete them
successfully and on time.
Specific – providing clarity and
being unambiguous about the result you are aiming for (which is often different
to what is happening currently), and understanding why this goal is important.
Specific is about describing details of the change you want to see by mapping
out an inspired vision of the future
Measures
of success – knowing
when you have achieved your goal by specifically articulating your measures of
success
Achievable
and agreed – objectives
should be achievable by being stretching enough to motivate you, but not
too difficult to achieve
Relevant
and realistic – the
objective should align to the University and School/department plans to make it
relevant. Realistic is making sure you discuss any reasons with your line
manager which might make the objective difficult or unrealistic for you to
achieve.
Timed – objectives should have a
deadline as, without one, goals have a habit of slipping or being
re-prioritised. Set review dates before the final deadline to make sure you’re
on track and get any support you need. If objectives span over more than one
academic year, make sure you capture what elements of the overall objective
will be delivered in the current year.
For more guidance, view the Guidance
on Setting SMART Objectives document.
SMART objectives - examples
can be found below
Professional Services examples
School/Academic examples
The business school developed a structure to support their colleagues in the objective setting process, with the aim to develop consistency around number / type of objectives and enhance the quality overall, this could guide and support the objective setting activities for academics / schools.
Preparing for your meeting
Guidelines
for planning your objective setting meeting include...
1) For performance objectives, consider the following:
o Review
what priorities were successfully completed last year and identify what could
be a priority this year
o Review
the university strategic objectives and your School/department plan that
supports their achievement
o Draft
own SMART performance objectives based on your role and department priorities
o Identify
whether the objective would be an individual objective or a team objective
§ Individual
objective - a performance objective unique to you
§ Team
objective - a performance objective which is shared among different colleagues working in the same area and (similar) role
2) For personal development objectives, consider the following:
o Identify your current strengths,
development areas and capability
o Identify your career aspirations; research/analyse
the knowledge, skills and capabilities required to move towards your future
career objectives. For our academic colleagues, also consider the Academic
Appointment & Promotions Framework and what specific actions you would need to take to
develop your academic profile
o Refer to the Leadership
Behaviours or our values
§ when you define your strengths and
development areas
§ when you define what development you
may need to deliver your performance objectives
o Draft own SMART personal development
objectives based on your career aspirations and personal development
3) Discuss your aims and suggestions with your line
manager.
4) Discuss
what support you may need to achieve your performance and personal development
objectives.
5) Consider how long it could take to achieve the
objectives. Some objectives (in particular those in relation to personal
development) may take longer than 1 year to complete. Make sure you break the
objective down into shorter milestones or tasks and identify key deliverables
for a specific academic year.
6) Complete the online form ahead of your meeting with
your line manager.
Use the offline template for objective setting if you
would like to prepare the sections and questions you need to complete in the
system in advance.
Support and guidance for colleagues and people managers
There is a variety of support resources available to you. These include learnign events, instructional videos and guidance documents designed to assist you with viewing, updating, and completing the My Contribution forms on HR Connect. Please visit the My Contribution Support and Training page.