The University of Texas at Dallas

Human Resources Management

Mark your calendars. Get ready for a new factor being added to the annual performance reviews.   Commencing in calendar year 2010, a new rating factor, Service Orientation will officially be added to the annual performance review process for both Classified and Administrative and Professional (A&P) staff.  That means when annual reviews for 2010 are completed (i.e. during the first quarter of 2011), the new factor will be used in determining an employee's overall evaluation rating. However, as will be explained below, we are going to do some pilot testing with the new factor for the upcoming 2009 review cycle (i.e. reviews which will be completed during the first quarter of 2010).

Service Orientation

What do we mean by service orientation and why are we adding it to the annual reviews?   Simply stated, service orientation refers to how we treat our customers, colleagues and co-workers. It's about our desire to be helpful and responsive to our customers--whoever they may be. In our goal to become a Tier One research institution, we will be challenged not only to become known for our research prowess but also to match this with outstanding service to students and their parents.  In his November 4, 2009 State of the University message, Dr. Daniel addressed this very specifically.

… if you see students expecting to be treated more and more like customers paying a stiff price tag for the privilege of earning an education, they’re right. They are paying more and more and more, and I think it means we need to think of our students in a bit of a different way than we might have before, and we really need to think about providing a service culture to our students.

Students and their parents have many higher education choices in today's market. We may not be able to compete with some colleges and universities with their sports programs or large student bodies but we can certainly distinguish ourselves by the level and quality of service we offer to students and to their families. However, outstanding service must not end with the students. It should also be extended to our faculty, staff, alumni and the various communities we serve.   We want to be known as one of the best places in the nation to get an education but we also want to be known for something more. We want to be known as one of the best places to work, to teach, and to conduct research.. Not only are we competing for the best and brightest students but we also are seeking to attract exceptional faculty and staff. Make no mistake. The quality of the service we provide to each other will play an important role in these efforts as well.

Service Initiative Launched

In consideration of the impact that service quality has on the mission of the University, Dr. Calvin D. Jamison, Senior VP for Business Affairs, working with a subcommittee of the Cabinet consisting of Dr. Hobson Wildenthal, Executive VP and Provost, Dr. Darrelene Rachavong, VP for Student Affairs, Dr. Jim Gary, VP for Information Resources, and Ms. Susan Rogers, VP for Communications, charged a campus-wide committee to change the culture by creating a standard for providing excellent customer service. The committee was charged to develop guiding principles and practices that would serve to create a culture focused on superior customer service both internally and externally. The committee put in many hours of deliberation and planning that ultimately led to the creation of a new training program called, "Catch Comet Pride." The training program was developed by staff from Human Resources and successfully piloted in July of 2009. A certificate training program grew out of the pilot training and is now open to all UT Dallas employees. Check the HR training web pages for additional information about the Catch Comet Pride certificate program.

A key issue identified during this initiative was the need to emphasize the importance of the services we provide and then to identify ways we can hold each other accountable for the quality of that service. This discussion led to the decision to create and add Service Orientation as a new factor to the annual review process for both Classified and A&P staff. The section that follows provides additional details concerning how the new factor will be implemented over the next year.

Impact on Annual Reviews for 2009 and 2010

According to University policy, annual reviews at UT Dallas are conducted each year in the first quarter of the year for the preceding calendar year. The new Service Orientation factor will become official for calendar year 2010. That means reviews conducted in first quarter of 2011 will include this factor and new performance review instruments will be created to include the factor. However, for the upcoming review period of 2009, we are asking all supervisors to include service orientation as a separate, non-counting factor. Reviews for calendar year 2009 will be done in January - March of 2010. NOTE: Even though the Service Orientation factor will not be included in the calculations of the overall evaluation rating for performance during 2009, we want both supervisors and employees to become aware of the new factor and to anticipate its impact for 2010 review period. In other words, we want to use the upcoming review cycle for 2009 to get both supervisors and employees talking and thinking about what it means to provide great service and to discuss service areas that need to be developed and/or improved for 2010.

To that end, a special supplemental form has been created and is available here and in also in the box on the right. We are asking that all supervisors use the supplemental form to evaluate employees on service orientation and to discuss the permanent implementation of this factor in 2010 and what impact that will have on their performance for the coming year. . As in the past, supervisors will complete the normal annual review instrument and then send the summary page to Human Resources. In addition to the summary page, we are also asking supervisors to send a copy of the supplemental rating form on service orientation. Essentially, we are going to conduct a "test run" on using the new Service Orientation factor in preparation for its official implementation. Here are some things to remember about this test run:

• Though the special Service Orientation supplemental form will be sent to HR, this form will not be scanned into the employee's personnel file.
• The rating on the Service Orientation factor should play no role in the overall performance rating given for 2009 and should not be included in the supervisor's calculations of the overall rating.
• The purpose of the test run is so HR can create a benchmark assessment about the quality of customer service currently being offered and to identify future training needs.
• Supervisors should use the test run to provide constructive feedback to employees about the level and quality of the employee's service to others and draw up an action plan in anticipation of the coming changes.
• Employee's should consider the test run as an opportunity to learn about service areas in which they are doing well and ones where improvement is needed.

Questions?

Training concerning the new Service Orientation factor for both supervisors and employees will be offered starting in January of 2010. Supervisors or employees who have questions about the new Service Orientation factor or the process outlined above, should contact one of the persons named below.

• Charles Salomon, x 4131
• Terry Cartwright, x 5328
• David Gleason, x 4633