The University of Sheffield
Human Resources

Roles and Responsibilities

Reviewer

As Reviewer, you are responsible for:

• Undertaking the appropriate SRDS training prior to holding any review meetings.

• Ensuring you are fully briefed on departmental, faculty and relevant University objectives and priorities so that any discussions with reviewees are set in that context and that you have a full understanding of the departmental approach to assessing an individual’s contribution.

• Ensuring that where relevant any generic objectives are communicated to the reviewee. Generic objectives may be identified by your Head of Department, through consultation with the Departmental Review Panel (DRP) or by you where you are the individual’s line manager.

• Making arrangements for the review meeting (giving at least two weeks’ notice). You should take care to ensure that the location for the meeting is appropriate and free from interruptions. You should allow at least one hour for the meeting.

• Providing further support to reviewees as appropriate so that they are able to complete sections A, C and D before the review meeting.

• Considering the reviewee’s self-review (section A - which should be submitted to you at least one week prior to the meeting), information contained in sections C & D and any other relevant information (e.g. an individual’s CV, job summary, feedback from others/ other sources).

• Ensuring the meeting is open, supportive and constructive, and that all issues raised by the reviewee prior to and during the meeting are discussed.

• Providing feedback to the reviewee on the previous year and making an assessment of contribution. It may be appropriate to stop during the course of the review meeting and agree a further time to reconvene in order to allow time for reflection. The assessment of contribution made must be given face to face and can be communicated to the individual, either in the review meeting itself or afterwards.

• Ensuring that any individual objectives agreed with the reviewee, and any identified development needs, are in line with departmental priorities and objectives.

• Ensuring that there is an opportunity within the meeting to discuss career development, if the reviewee so wishes regardless of contract type or where they are in their career.

• Conducting the meeting in a way that is open-minded, encouraging and positive; ask open-ended questions in order to allow the reviewee to express themselves fully; recognise achievements and offer feedback on the reviewee’s contribution; seek to address concerns or problems in a constructive way. Ensure that you don’t make assumptions which lead you to treat someone differently.

• Ensuring that all the forms are completed, signed and submitted to the designated contact, within the department’s time frame.

• Notifying the DRP of any instances where dissatisfaction has arisen over an assessment rating.

• Providing feedback to the reviewee where an assessment has been changed as a result of DRP moderation.

• If you are reviewing a Researcher, you must ensure that you discuss their career development, and also the training and development activities they have undertaken. Further information can be found from the link on the right.

• Ensuring feedback is provided to the reviewee as appropriate, i.e. on decisions relating to development needs (within two months of the review meeting) and/or on recommendations from the Departmental Review Panel.

• Ensuring that you follow up any agreed action points within the agreed timescale e.g. any actions relating to further development and support.

Reviewee

As Reviewee, you are responsible for:

• Preparing for the meeting by reading the SRDS Guidelines, attending relevant team/departmental briefings and undertaking training as appropriate. (For information on SRDS Information Briefing Sessions, please see the link on the right)

• Completing section A of the SRDS form, filling in sections C and D and submitting the form to your reviewer at least one week prior to the meeting. See guidelines at http://www.shef.ac.uk/hr/guidance/srds/index.html</> for further information and guidance on how to complete the SRDS form.

• Having an open and honest discussion with your reviewer about all aspects of your work, your contribution to achieving team/departmental objectives and forward planning in terms of your individual work objectives and any development needs you may have. You may also use this meeting as an opportunity to discuss career progression regardless of where you are in your career. It may be appropriate to stop during the course of the review meeting and agree a further time to reconvene in order to allow time for reflection.

• Signing the completed forms within the timescales agreed with your reviewer and the departmental time frame.

• Taking any follow up action as agreed at the meeting.

• Keeping your reviewer informed of progress towards achieving individual objectives and undertaking agreed development activity. You should alert your reviewer to any issues or circumstances that might affect your ability to make progress in line with agreed outcomes of the SRDS meeting.

Heads Of Departments

As Head of Department, you are responsible for:

• Ensuring that the SRDS is implemented for all staff in your department on an annual basis. Responsibility for managing the process within the department may be delegated to a Deputy Head or other senior colleague as appropriate.

• Ensuring that reviewers and reviewees are appropriately paired and communicate those pairings. In the majority of cases the reviewer will be the immediate manager of the reviewee. Reasonable requests for a different reviewer should be considered, but the appropriateness of the pairing must take into account the intended outcomes of the SRDS process, year on year consistency and effectiveness of objective setting. Reviewers should normally have responsibility for a maximum of six reviewees.

• Ensuring that all staff are briefed on departmental and relevant University objectives and priorities so that discussions between reviewers and reviewees are set in that context and identification of any generic objectives.

• Ensuring that all staff acting as reviewers undertake appropriate briefing/training prior to undertaking any SRDS meetings.

• Convening the Departmental Review Panel. It is expected that the DRP will be chaired by the Head of Department and will normally consist of senior staff reflecting the composition of the department and an HR adviser (where possible this should be one of the named Faculty contacts).

• Identifying and communicating the Departmental objectives and priorities to staff within the department.

• Ensuring that the DRP and reviewers meet before any review meetings take place to outline and discuss the departmental time table, objectives and priorities (including any generic objectives where relevant) and standards for assessment levels.

• Chairing any DRP meetings and ensuring that members of the DRP have the relevant information for any DRP meetings (e.g. a summary of the assessment levels given, any relevant paperwork where an individual is dissatisified with an assessment of contribution given).

• Ensuring that DRP recommendations are communicated in line with University requirements.

• Ensuring that development requests, identified in SRDS review meetings, are given due consideration.

• Ensuring that issues and concerns raised by reviewees during SRDS meetings are considered and addressed as appropriate, either directly or via the reviewer.

• Ensuring that the process is kept under review at departmental level in order to meet University requirements and to be both efficient and effective in order to provide maximum benefit to the department and to individual staff.

• Ensuring SRDS data is captured on the spreadsheets supplied by HR and returned by the date requested.

Departmental Review Panel (DRP)

The role of the Departmental Review Panel (DRP) is to support the Head of Department/School in overseeing the SRDS process within the department and ensuring that it is implemented appropriately by:

• Providing guidance on the timetable, departmental objectives, priorities, any generic objectives and the assessment of contribution levels within the department.
• Considering the summary of assessment ratings across the department and identifying any relevant trends and or individual cases that need to be looked at in more detail.
• Following up on staff who haven’t had an SRDS review to ensure that a meeting is held.
• Considering those cases where a reviewee is dissatisfied with the assessment given.
• Providing feedback to reviewers where an assessment of contribution should be changed.

Membership of the DRP

The Departmental Review Panel (DRP) will be chaired by the Head of Department and will consist of senior members of staff (e.g. the senior management team/executive group) and an HR Adviser (where practicable this should be one of the Faculty contacts); other managers may be invited to contribute to the DRP discussions in order to provide supporting information on a particular case.

Department of Human Resources

The Department of Human Resources is responsible for:

• Providing information, guidance and training on the SRDS process for staff, as required. Provide support to departments and faculties in training staff as appropriate.


• Setting and communicating the annual timetable for implementation of the SRDS process.

• Supporting Departmental Review Panels (DRPs) by providing advice at DRP meetings.

• Collating the outcomes of SRDS meetings (based on information provided by departments) and presenting a summary report to the Human Resource Management Committee and the University’s Executive Board.

• Undertaking monitoring and moderation at University level and producing management information on the process and outcomes.

• Providing information relating to pay decisions to the Department of Finance (Pay & Pensions Office).

• Communicating final decisions relating to pay to Heads of Departments and to individual staff in line with agreed procedures.

• Undertaking regular reviews of the SRDS process to ensure it continues to meet its objectives and is implemented both effectively and consistently.