The start of the new fiscal year provides an opportunity to review last year’s evaluation, have impactful conversations about last year’s performance and what will carry over into this new year, and start working on job-specific work goals. 

1. Review the 1-Year Performance Management Roadmap

2. Review last year’s evaluation and note any items that will carry over to this year

3. Hold a leader and employee check-in (Exploration Questions), preferably during an already scheduled 1:1 or Check-In.

4. Employee begins to formulate current year Job Specific Work Goals in SMART format, with guidance from leader. SMART Goals Resources,  LinkedIn Learning Login Instructions

5. Begin to reflect on professional development and encourage the employee to visit the Development Journey, and begin to create a Development Plan. This plan will not be rated but often aligns well with developing skills that will allow the employee to be successful in achieving their Job Specific Work Goals.

6. Leader identifies any Department Specific goals that will apply to employees within their span of control, and shares content with employees.

7. Submit any Job Specific, Department Specific, or Professional Growth goals within Cornerstone.

If you haven’t started working on your SMART goals, it’s ok. The second quarter focuses on revisiting your goals and Development Plan, as well as preparing for your mid-year conversation.

1. Review the 1-Year Performance Management Roadmap

2. Hold a leader and employee check-in (Exploration Questions), preferably during an already scheduled 1:1 or Check-In

3. Revisit and refine Job Specific Work Goals.  If you haven’t started yet don’t worry, but it would be good to get moving on creating SMART goals Additional resources: SMART Goals Template

4. Submit any Job Specific, Department Specific, or Professional Growth goals within Cornerstone.

5. Revisit and refine Development Plan as needed

6. Prepare for Mid-Year Conversation

The third quarter is when we begin to review our progress towards our current goals, make any necessary adjustments, and seek input from our colleagues about our overall performance this year. 

1. Review the 1-Year Performance Management Roadmap

2. Hold Mid-Year Conversation

3. Begin to think about sending out 360 Reviews from peers and colleagues

4. Revisit and refine Development Plan as needed

5. Revisit and refine any work goals as needed

By the time we reach the fourth quarter, much of the work has been done to make our evaluation process a success. There are a few final details to complete the current fiscal year review and start thinking about next year’s goals. 

1. Review the 1-Year Performance Management Roadmap

2. Hold a leader and employee check-in (Exploration Questions), preferably during an already scheduled 1:1 or Check-In.

3. Continue to think about 360 Reviews and send 360 Review forms out.

4. Provide 360 Review feedback to peers and colleagues, if requested.

5. Revisit and refine Development Plan as needed

6. Revisit and refine Job Specific Work Goals as needed

7. Begin to think about Job Specific Goals for next year

8. Complete the Performance Evaluation Steps in Cornerstone by June 30.

What is a 360 Review?

• A 360 Review gathers performance feedback from multiple parties; peers, Leaders, customers, direct reports, etc. Encouraging a broad range of perspectives will provide a more accurate account of employee performance. This information can be taken into consideration as part of the overall feedback process in performance management. Feedback can be provided at any time during the year, and you can use any method you choose, whether it be through Cornerstone Performance, email, Qualtrics, etc. 

Am I required to do a 360 Review?

• No, 360 Reviews are optional, including the use of the 360 Review tool within Cornerstone. The only exception to them being optional would be if a Leader decides to require them for their area. An advantage to using the 360 Review tool in Cornerstone is that you’ll be able to initiate and store 360 Reviews from a single, convenient location.

How do I ask for feedback using the 360 Review tool in Cornerstone? 

To see instructions on how to request feedback using the 360 Review tool in Cornerstone, watch the video (How to Create and Review 360 Reviews) or read the documentation (Create and Review 360 Request).

Who sees the 360 Review feedback that I receive?

• If an employee requests their own 360 Review feedback, both the employee and their Leader will see the feedback in the system. Leaders can request 360 Review feedback on behalf of an employee, however the Leader will only be able to view the response directly. Leaders are encouraged to share the feedback with their employees before or during the performance evaluation.

Am I required to use the Check-In tool in Cornerstone?

• No, the use of Check-Ins is entirely optional. An advantage to using this tool is that you’ll be able to reference your goals, development plan, and take check-in notes in a single, convenient location.

Does Check-In content show up in the performance evaluation?

• Check-In content is saved in the system and can be accessed in Cornerstone, but is not part of the performance evaluation. 

What is the deadline to submit FY24 performance evaluations?

• The deadline to submit FY24 evaluations will be Sunday, June 30, 2024.

What is the deadline to submit a 6-month probationary form?

• The 6-month probationary forms are due six months after the employee’s hire date.

What are the cutoff dates for employees to be considered eligible for filling out an annual performance evaluation?

• If someone transfers from a Michigan Medicine department to another Michigan Medicine department, and was a Michigan Medicine employee prior to 1/1/2024 they will complete the evaluation.
• If someone transfers from the UM Campus to Michigan Medicine after 1/1/2024, the previous department is encouraged to complete and provide an evaluation to the employee.
• If someone was hired as a Michigan Medicine employee between July 1 - December 31 of the calendar year, they will complete the evaluation.
• If someone was hired as a Michigan Medicine employee on January 1 or June 30 of the new calendar year they do not need to complete the evaluation this year, but will need to complete it next year.

Am I required to create a Development Plan in Cornerstone?

• No, the use of a Development Plan is entirely optional. An advantage to using this tool is that you’ll be able to track progress on your development objectives in a single, convenient location. 

Are Development Plans rated?

• No, Development Plans are not rated and are not part of the Annual Performance Evaluation.

Why should I create a Development Plan?

• Development plans help employees build skills that are relevant to their current role and also can help build skills for advancement to new roles. Development Plans also connect to Cornerstone Learning and you can share a transcript of courses taken to show that you've developed certain skills.

Who can see my Development Plan?

• If a Development Plan is saved as a draft, only the Employee who created the Development Plan will be able to view it. Once the Development Plan is submitted, the Plan will be visible to the employee and their Leader. If a Leader creates a Development Plan for an employee, both the Leader and the employee will able to view the Development Plan.

Can my Leader add an objective to my Development Plan?

• Yes, Leaders can share objectives to an employee’s submitted Development Plan. 

I have an employee that transferred from campus to Michigan Medicine. How should the evaluation be conducted if the employee has been in the role for a short period of time?

• In cases where an employee changes departments during the year, it’s recommended that their current supervisor reach out to the employee’s previous supervisor and ask them to 1) fill out the evaluation relating to goals they had in their past role and 2) share what rating the previous supervisor would give. This information will often help the new supervisor glean information about how the employee works, collaborates, and completes work.
• If the employee has not been in the role long, this is an opportunity to outline your expectations for them in the current fiscal year. Document their progress on the goal(s) keeping in mind the time (or lack thereof) that they had to make measurable progress. It would also be good to use this as an opportunity to start outlining goals you’d have for them in the next fiscal year.

How do I handle conducting an evaluation for a post-doc employee?

• Postdoctoral fellows use a different form than the evaluation. Refer to pages 18-20 of the Postdoctoral Handbook for reference.

How many goals am I required to submit?

• Employees are required to have at least one goal submitted in Cornerstone.

How long do employees have to submit goals?

• Goals should ideally be set in the 1st quarter of the fiscal year (before the end of September), though this may be challenging for some areas.  To provide enough time for goal attainment and adjustment, we recommend having draft goals set no later than the end of October. Employees can add goals to Cornerstone at any time during the year, however they'll need to add them to the system before submitting their annual evaluation to their leader if they are to be counted for the given fiscal year. 

Can a Leader add a goal to an employee’s evaluation?

• Yes, a Leader can add a goal to an employee’s evaluation. Goals can be added before or during the evaluation process, prior to submitting the evaluation.

Are my previous goals available in Cornerstone? 

• No, no previous performance information will be migrated into Cornerstone.

Where can I get help with goal setting?

• You can find help here on how to create SMART goals and use the helpful SMART Goals template that’s been created. There are also microlearning SMART Goal Workshops throughout the year offered by Organizational Learning.

Do I need to set department-specific goals? Where can I see examples of what other departments have used?

• Leaders have the option to make department specific goals required or optional for their span of control. Examples include but are not limited to:  Attention to Detail, PA Competencies, Pharmacy Tech Competencies, etc. See additional department specific goal examples submitted by several areas here. 

Can Leaders create a Development Plan for an employee?

• Yes, leaders can create a Development Plan for an employee or members of their team.

Can Leaders access and edit Development Plans for their employees?

• Yes, leaders can access and edit a Development Plan for an employee if the employee has created a Plan in the system and clicked “Submit”, making their plan visible to the Leader.

Can Leaders cascade goals to their employees?

• Yes! If leaders would like to assign the same goal to multiple members of their team, Leaders can save time and energy by cascading a goal in Cornerstone. Leaders can cascade a Job-Specific, Department-Specific, or Professional Growth goal to their team. Read the documentation or watch the video about How to Create and Manage a Goal as a Leader.

How does the merit program operate within the fiscal year schedule? 

• Merit percentages are typically approved by the Board of Regents in June (the last month of the fiscal year).  Following board approval, Compensation will send an email communication detailing the specifics of merit shortly after board approval (usually in June). Merit typically is effective in employee’s September paychecks. 

• For more detailed information please contact the compensation team (compensation@med.umich.edu) or your HRBP.  Compensation and the evaluation are technically two different processes but we try to align them to minimize confusion for customers.

What is the merit eligibility cut-off date?

• An employee must be hired before January 1, 2024 to be eligible for the FY25 merit program. Employees hired on or after January 1, 2024 do not need to complete the performance evaluation form.

How can I differentiate between an “M” and an “E”?

• We suggest checking out the Core Values Performance Evaluation Rating Descriptions and the Guidelines for Overall Performance Ratings to help determine the difference between rating scores.

My unit is full of top performers. Do I have to really follow the percentage breakdown for each rating?

• We appreciate that this can be a challenge for supervisors with so many high performers. We like to use a sports analogy to illustrate why it's important to make these distinctions in ratings. For example, the Michigan football team aims to field a winning team with high performers every year. The standard of quality of performance doesn't change, but the bracket of excellence may change depending on the behaviors exhibited by players in a given season. Having more high performers bumps that bracket up overall. And even though a team may be full of all-stars, it's important to identify who you'd qualify as a "starter" and call out the behaviors that position these players as stand-out performers in comparison to their teammates. It can be challenging, but it is a great exercise in articulating differences in performance quality.

How do I do “X” in Cornerstone?

• First, try to access the training resources via the Get Help button on the Cornerstone Welcome where you can find help documentation and videos. Or, consider attending an information session or office hours to see live demonstrations of the system.

What kinds of training and resources are available?

• Myriad resources are available to help employees with this transition, including information sessions, drop-in office hours, instructional videos, “The Wrap” podcasts, tip sheets, and other forms of training and support to assist employees through this change. For office hours Zoom links and all other support resources, visit the Performance Evaluation Resources webpage. 

When will we receive more information on additional Cornerstone features?

• The roll out of training and information follows in parallel to the 1-Year Performance Management Roadmap. The first quarter focuses on goal setting. Quarter 2 will focus on development plans and check-in conversations. Quarter 3 will focus on 360 Reviews and reporting in the system. Quarter 4 will focus on how to complete the annual evaluation. 
• The Information Sessions and Office Hours cover specific Cornerstone features following the same quarterly cadence. For office hours Zoom links and other support resources, visit the Performance Evaluation Resources webpage.

Where can I learn more about online performance management in Cornerstone?

• You can stay up-to-date on the latest news and information related to the FY24 Cornerstone Performance Management upgrade by remembering to bookmark and regularly visit this page: michmed.org/performance

As this project develops, we’ll be keeping the Michigan Medicine community updated via leadership communications, ‘Ops Updates,’ presentations, and regular articles in Michigan Medicine Headlines.