Employees truly are JMU’s best asset. They work to achieve the mission, vision and objectives of their units as well as those of the university. Performance management is a series of activities used to help and motivate employees in these efforts and improve their overall chance for success. These activities consist of regular, consistent, informal and formal communication between the supervisor and the employee and entail planning, monitoring, developing, evaluating and rewarding.

Performance management is one of the most important, but challenging, responsibilities of supervision. It requires effort, deliberate intention, and may include difficult conversations. Consequently, it is critical to remember the objectives of performance management and regularly convey to employees their value and that any feedback given to them is for the purpose of encouraging their success.

Instructional Faculty evaluations are conducted annually and incorporate teaching, scholarly achievement and professional qualifications, and professional service. For more information regarding instructional faculty evaluations, please refer to the Faculty Handbook, Section III.E.1.

Wage employment is intended to cover peak workloads and seasonal or short-term needs. Wage employees are sometimes referred to as hourly employees; they are compensated for hours worked rather than a fixed salary. Employees in these part-time positions cannot exceed an average of 29 hours worked per week (and are limited to working no more than 1,500 hours) over the standard measurement period, May 1 - April 30, of each year. Although wage employees are not subject to the same performance management practices as full-time staff, they serve a valuable role at the university and should be monitored, coached and developed as such.

Performance feedback for wage staff can consist of verbal counseling or counseling memorandums. While wage employees do not have access to the grievance process, it is important that any termination is a legal and non-discriminatory one. Consequently, it is helpful to have documentation to support termination.

Awards and recognition are helpful in making employees feel appreciated and valued and encourage the continuation of positive performance and behavior. Look for opportunities to catch your employee doing something good! Informal recognition could include verbal acknowledgement, a note or an email. There are several formal options:

• Duke 2 Duke is a peer to peer recognition program that uses an online platform for submissions. Recipients are awarded small token gifts.
• Individual Impact and Customer Service Awards are monetary awards made through submittal of the Employee Recognition Nomination form.
• The President's Purple Star Awards are granted by the President's office and are in support of the Governor's Awards, which is a state-wide program.