The Maryland Performance Planning and Evaluation Program
In the Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Sheet

• For probationary employees, what is the performance appraisal cycle?
• For probationary employees, what evaluation form is used at the required 90-day performance review meeting?
• For probationary employees, what evaluation forms are used at the required 180-day performance review meeting?
• What performance standards are evaluated at the end of their first 90 days of probation?
• Is attendance an essential job function or a behavioral element?
• How will the anonymous supervisory assessment process work in DHMH?
• What’s the relationship between the progressive discipline process and the use of the Performance Improvement Plan? Where in the progressive discipline process, if at all, does the Performance Improvement Plan fit?
• What impact does the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) have on the PEP process?
• If the supervisor’s manager signs off the supervisor’s assessment of the employee in advance (of the employee), where does negotiation with the employee occur? Isn’t the evaluation already a "done deal"?
• What’s the performance cycle going to be for transfer and contractual employees (converted or hired into PA position)? Their Entrance on Duty (EOD) date, their transfer date, their contract start date, or something else?
• How will "Pay for Performance" be tied into the PEP process?
• When must a completed appraisal be presented to an employee in relation to the mid-cycle and end-of-cycle timeframe?
• Which Behavioral Elements do you use for people who are professional but also supervisors or managers?
• What if the employee refuses to cooperate? That is, refuses to complete a self-evaluation, or refuses to sign the job description, or refuses to attend evaluation meetings, or refuses to sign evaluation forms?
• What about "other duties as assigned"? How are these handled under the new PEP process?

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1. For probationary employees, what is the performance appraisal cycle?

Probationary employees are given a written evaluation of their performance, along with any recommendations for improvement, at the end of their first 90 days of probation. Their performance is then appraised at the end of their first180 days, and this 6-month appraisal is treated like a mid-cycle performance evaluation, including the use of the PEP template and the appropriate behavioral elements.
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2. For probationary employees, what evaluation form is used at the required 90-day performance review meeting?

No special form other than the Probationary Rating Form (Form OHR-PA-3, dated 11/98) is required. The 90-day performance review meeting must be documented, signed by the supervisor and the employee, and placed in the employee’s official personnel file. However, for an "other " probationary employee (that is, not a new employee serving an original probationary period), it may also be necessary to use a "Performance Improvement Plan" (Form OHR-PA-2, dated 5/15/97) if there have been observed performance difficulties.
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3. For probationary employees, what evaluation forms are used at the required 180-day performance review meeting?

The Probationary Evaluation Form (Form OHR-PA-3, dated 11/98) must be used. In addition, the Performance Planning and Evaluation Program (PEP) Template (Form OHR-PA-1, dated 6/97) should be prepared and completed for a mid-cycle performance evaluation, along with the appropriate set of Behavioral Elements. The Probationary Evaluation Form is attached to the Template and Behavioral Elements and presented together to the employee.
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4. What performance standards are evaluated at the end of their first 90 days of probation?

The probationary period should be structured to help probationary employees achieve an evaluation standard of "M" (meets standards) by the time of the required 180-day performance review meeting. Not all standards must be fully met during the first 90 days, although supervisors should assess if reasonable progress is being made toward the performance standards required of the position.
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5. Is attendance an essential job function or a behavioral element?

Attendance is considered a behavioral element. It is specifically stated or indicated under "productivity" in the listing of behavioral elements.
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6. How will the anonymous supervisory assessment process work in DHMH?

DHMH Office of Human Resources recommends that each appointing authority establish a process that will be fair, timely, reasonable, and accurate. Such a process should ensure that:

• the Supervisor Feedback Instrument (Form OHR-SFI-1, dated 6/97) is used by employees who choose to participate;
• only one form is completed by each employee;
• the timing of the survey is based on the supervisor’s evaluation cycle (EOD date), not the employees’ evaluation cycle;
• an "Independent Third Party", preferably an objective in-house resource, receive the completed Supervisor Feedback Instruments, compile a summary report, and forward the completed Supervisor Feedback Instruments and summary report to the supervisor’s supervisor;
• participating employees be permitted to copy and retain any Supervisor Feedback Instrument they have completed; and
• the completed Supervisor Feedback Instruments and summary report be retained by the supervisor’s supervisor in his/her secure working file, and not in the supervisor’s official personnel file.
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7. What’s the relationship between the progressive discipline process and the use of the Performance Improvement Plan? Where in the progressive discipline process, if at all, does the Performance Improvement Plan fit?

A Performance Improvement Plan may be used at any time when the supervisor feels it would provide meaningful guidance and direction to the employee, but should only be used when accompanied by a Letter of Counseling. It is not considered a formal disciplinary action as such, but rather an extension of a Letter of Counseling. Formal disciplinary action may be necessary later, however, if the corrective action defined in through this counseling process does not occur.
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8. What impact does the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) have on the PEP process?

First and foremost, essential job functions should not be written to discriminate against a person with a disability who, with a reasonable accommodation, would be otherwise capable of performing the job. DHMH Office of Human Resources highly recommends that supervisors who have not already done so register for and attend the half-day "ADA Supervisor’s Workshop" conducted by the DHMH Training Services Division. Second, all PEP-related forms and procedures may need to be presented in an alternative format to accommodate a person with a qualifying disability under the ADA. Supervisors should consult their Unit ADA Coordinator for further information and guidance.
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9. If the supervisor’s manager signs off the supervisor’s assessment of the employee in advance (of the employee), where does negotiation with the employee occur? Isn’t the evaluation already a "done deal"?

At both the mid- and end-of-cycle ratings, the review and approval process should work as follows:

• Supervisor and employee independently rate each performance standard and behavioral element established for the employee’s position. Remember that the employee must be given a minimum of five (5) business days to complete the self-assessment.
• The supervisor and employee meet to discuss the evaluation. The supervisor reviews and discusses the employee’s self-assessment, but should not commit to a specific rating on any performance standard or behavioral element.
• The supervisor now completes a written evaluation (using the template, relevant behavioral elements, and the Overall Performance Rating Worksheet), taking into account the employee’s self-evaluation, documented performance information (monitored by the supervisor during the performance period), and the supervisor’s appraisal of the employee’s performance. (Note that the anonymous supervisory assessment would be an additional element to be considered in the appraisal of a supervisor of five or more employees.)
• The supervisor forwards the completed evaluation (that is, completed template, relevant behavioral elements, and the Overall Performance Rating Worksheet) to his/her supervisor for review and approval (signature). The supervisor’s supervisor is not required to approve the completed evaluation, and should discuss any concerns and modify the evaluation accordingly with the supervisor before signing off. In addition, if the supervisor’s supervisor is not the appointing authority, the completed evaluation must then also be forwarded to the appointing authority for review and sign-off before it is presented to the employee.
• The completed and approved evaluation is then presented to the employee for review and signature. Once signed, the employee receives a copy of the evaluation, the supervisor places a copy in his/her secure working file, and the original evaluation is placed in the employee’s official personnel file. If the employee refuses to sign the evaluation, the supervisor notes "employee refused to sign" on the employee signature line, and copies and original are then distributed as described above.
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10. What’s the performance cycle going to be for transfer and contractual employees (converted or hired into PA position)? Their Entrance on Duty (EOD) date, their transfer date, their contract start date, or something else?

The performance cycle will still begin and end on their EOD date into a budgeted position (PIN) in State service, and, depending on the date of transfer, this may result in an initial shortened performance period. However, every effort must be made to keep the performance cycle aligned with the employee’s EOD date.
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11. How will "Pay for Performance" be tied into the PEP process?

In FY 2000, if an employee receives a "Meets Standards" overall performance on his/her mid-cycle or end-of-cycle evaluation immediately preceding the employee’s increment date, then the employee will move to the next step increment of the pay scale on his/her regularly scheduled increment date (normally, July 1 or January 1). In addition, employees who are rated "Exceeds Standards" at the end of the FY 2000 PEP cycle will move to the next step increment on their regularly scheduled increment date and also receive a $500 bonus. Finally, those employees who receive an "Outstanding" overall performance rating at the end of the FY 2000 PEP cycle will move to the next step increment on their regularly scheduled increment date and receive a bonus of $1,000.
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12. When must a completed appraisal be presented to an employee in relation to the mid-cycle and end-of-cycle timeframe?

It could be early – that is, prior to the EOD date or the mid-cycle review date, but no specific deadline has been established for presenting a completed evaluation to an employee. DHMH Office of Human Resources recommends, however, that the evaluation be completed and presented to the employee in the month of the EOD date. Accordingly, the mid-cycle review should occur in the month of the mid-cycle date.
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13. Which Behavioral Elements do you use for people who are professional but also supervisors or managers?

What is most important is that you use an appropriate Behavioral Elements package. There is a Behavioral Element package for each job family and all classifications are included in the listing of job families that has recently been distributed. Some positions also have supervisory and management duties, generally defined as supervision of supervisors. For these positions we recommend choosing the Behavioral Element which seems most appropriate in relation to how the majority of time is spent. The behavioral elements are very similar and it would not be an issue if a manager were evaluated under the professional behavioral elements. It is just a difference of emphasis. Do not do multiple behavioral elements for a single position. It should be noted that the behavioral elements are a guide and may be used exactly as is or modified to be more specific to a particular position.
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14. What if the employee refuses to cooperate? That is, refuses to complete a self-evaluation, or refuses to sign the job description, or refuses to attend evaluation meetings, or refuses to sign evaluation forms?

According to the State Personnel & Pension laws governing the appraisal procedures, each employee shall participate in the employee’s performance appraisal process by preparing a self-assessment. If the employee refuses to sign the job description and/or evaluation form, it should be noted on the form by the supervisor. Employees are required to attend evaluation meetings. Refusal to do so could result in disciplinary action.
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15. What about "other duties as assigned"? How are these handled under the new PEP process?

We recommend that supervisors state on the MS-22 prior to the listing of essential job functions: "The following are essential job functions and do not include marginal functions or other duties as assigned." It is important, however, that supervisors make certain that essential job functions are carefully defined so as not to exclude special or infrequent assignments that might be a significant factor in the employee’s overall performance rating. Remember that marginal functions or other duties as assigned will not be a factor in the employee’s performance appraisal unless one or more of them are identified as essential.

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Copyright © 2005 Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH)
Updated 03/14/2006