| August 2000 |
Still planned are efforts to eliminate the Hay system, introduce role assignments, reduce the number of job levels and institute broader salary bands, all key components of the original reengineering proposal.
“The implementation of behavioral stages is being reconsidered, but the process for performance planning and assessment has continued,” says Mike Willard, Compensation section head. “The key competencies were incorporated, and the PADS Web tool is being used. Based on feedback and lessons learned from this year, users will see improvements to the Web tool before the next assessment period.”
ORNL Lab Director Bill Madia observed in an April Reporter interview that promotions are “a part of our culture, fundamentally ingrained as a way to recognize and reward.”
Director of Human Resources and Diversity Programs Darryl Boykins says the proposed job evaluation approach and compensation system was too heavily based toward behavioral traits, such as collaboration, teamwork and mentoring.
“Although team and collaborative efforts are critical individual and organization success factors, individual contributions are equally important to the Laboratory,” Boykins says. “We saw a need for a system that was less behavioral-based and brought teamwork and individual effort into better balance. Our pay and recognition systems must recognize the value of both. Redesign of the system is under way and implementation is targeted for mid-2001.”
Some employees thought the entire process was on hold and were surprised when they were asked to submit, as usual, self-assessments and performance plans. Although the job evaluation and compensation systems are being re-evaluated, the performance planning and assessment process itself is proceeding as it always has, with the introduction and use of the new PADS Web tool.
“I think one reason people were confused is because some employees referred to all HR reengineering as ‘PADS’ and inferred from HR reengineering being on hold that PADS and the associated Web tool was also on hold,” Willard says. “The PADS Web tool was designed to support our performance planning and assessment process and will continue to be modified until we’ve completed a total performance management and compensation system.”
Meanwhile, the performance planning assessment process goes on. By now this year’s performance ratings have been entered into PADS. Final approvals and performance discussions with employees began in early August. Salary planning for the next fiscal year also began in early August. All performance discussions will be completed by the end of October.
One of the most marked and obvious changes in the Annual Results Assessment is a set of seven performance ratings. The definitions of the new ratings are available on the PADS Web page, www-internal.ornl.gov/~izu/ara/gen/araTraining11.htm.
In the meantime, the PADS team will continue to adjust the Web tool. “We’ll be looking at things that worked well—and things that didn’t—and modify the system accordingly,” Willard says. “We have either fixed, or documented for future consideration, concerns and problems experienced with PADS during this review period.”
Comments and suggestions regarding PADS may be submitted to Willard, willardmc@ornl.gov. Additional
Comments and suggestions regarding PADS may be submitted to Willard, willardmc@ornl.gov. Additional information, such as answers to frequently asked questions about PADS, is on the PADS Website at http://www-internal.ornl.gov/pads.—B.C.
PADS’ progress
HR reengineering proceeds as HR fine-tunes the new system
As most employees who have completed their required self-assessments and performance plans know, reports of the demise of the Performance and Development System, or PADS, were greatly exaggerated. Human Resources reengineering, after being placed on hold during the change in contractors, is proceeding.
The Leadership Team put a hold on the career stage assignments, Willard explains. “That’s where they had the most reservations. It was essentially behavior-based and promotion-less. They asked us to reevaluate and continue development of a new system that will still meet most of the reengineering objectives, while retaining promotions and job-based criteria.”
One reason for confusion is that, because HR reengineering was referred to as 'PADS,' employees thought that the PADS Web tool was also on hold.