Copyright holder: Tyndale University, 3377 Bayview Ave., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M2M 3S4 Att.: Library Director, J. William Horsey Library Copyright: This Work has been made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws of Canada without the written authority from the copyright owner. Copyright license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License Citation: Ryder, Janis Lynn. “The Impact of a Staff Performance Management System on Performance Outcomes and Employee Commitment in a Private, Christian, Higher Education Institution.” D. Min., Tyndale University College & Seminary, 2019. ***** Begin Content ****** Tyndale University College & Seminary The Impact of a Staff Performance Management System on Performance Outcomes and Employee Commitment in a Private, Christian, Higher Education Institution A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Ministry Tyndale Seminary by Janis Lynn Ryder Toronto, Canada September 2019 Tyndale University College & Seminary Thesis Approval The academic requirements for this Doctor of Ministry thesis have been satisfactorily completed. Approval Date: August 20, 2019 Student’s Name: Janis Lynn Ryder First Reader: Marilyn Draper, PhD Project-Thesis Advisor Second Reader: Mark Chapman, PhD/Associate Professor of Research Methods; DMin Project-Thesis Coordinator Third Reader: Brian Craig, DMin Research Portfolio Advisor Copyright © 2019 by Janis Lynn Ryder All rights reserved DECLARATION AND DISCLAIMER Statement 1 This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. (Signed) (candidate) (Date) Statement 2 This project portfolio is the result of my own independent work/ investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged with explicit references. (Signed) (candidate) (Date) Statement 3 The views expressed in this project portfolio are my own and do not necessarily express the views of the project portfolio readers or Tyndale Seminary. (Signed). 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(Signature) (Date) v ABSTRACT This thesis explored performance management in a private, Christian, Canadian, higher education institution. A Model for Effective Performance Management was developed which served as a framework for a participatory action research project that piloted a staff performance review process and tool aimed at improving employee performance and organizational commitment of university staff employees. Seven university departments were part of the pilot project which included participating in supervisor training, testing a new performance review process and tool, and providing post-pilot feedback. Post-pilot online survey results and interviews with leaders demonstrated a higher rate of completed performance reviews, increased competency and comfort level of supervisors/appraisers to lead performance review conversations, and increased employee commitment and performance resulting from the performance review experience. There are opportunities for HR professionals, churches, and para-church organizations to use and benefit from this research and the Model for Effective Performance Management. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have always considered myself blessed beyond measure with the people the Lord places in my path on this journey called life. This was particularly evident during my last ten-year DMin adventure. It began with a seemingly innocent invitation from Dr. Paul Magnus in 2008 to attend a lunch meeting with the accreditation panel to discuss a proposed DMin program at Tyndale Seminary. I appreciate Paul's encouragement and spurring on this practitioner with little theology background to dig deeper into what God was calling me into. I also acknowledge the coaching and support of another Paul - Paul Bramer, Director of the DMin program. Paul and later Dr. Mark Chapman approved a hiatus and return to my studies so I could finish the race and contribute to a community I dearly love. I also heartily acknowledge my first Advisor, Dr. Rod Wilson. Rod was not only a critical academic guide but cared for my whole person. I am grateful that he discerned it was time for a break, when I could not. Throughout the journey, I have appreciated the gift of amazing friends and colleagues who continue to spur me on - Judith, Andrea, Jane, Jonathan, Bob, Bonnie, Annette, Charlene, and many others. In the past year, I have been blessed with the guidance of Advisor, Dr. Marilyn Draper and incredible coaching of Dr. Pauline Beange. Above all, I reached the finish line with the love of a heavenly Father and the prayers of many friends and family. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .... x LIST OF TABLES .... x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .... x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .... 1 Project Focus .... 5 Organizational Context .... 10 Core Concepts .... 15 Performance Management .... 15 Human Capital .... 17 Organizational Commitment .... 18 Organizational Culture .... 20 Opportunity .... 23 For the Researcher .... 24 For the Organization under Study .... 26 For Leadership in Christian Organizations .... 27 For Human Resource Professionals .... 29 Chapter Summary .... 31 CHAPTER 2: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT THEORIES AND PRACTICES, AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE THEORY .... 34 Performance Management in the Context of HR Development .... 34 Performance Management in Churches .... 50 Organizational Change Theory .... 53 Chapter Summary .... 60 CHAPTER 3: THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK .... 62 The Body of Christ .... 63 Leadership .... 70 Self-Awareness and Leading as Beloved .... 71 Calling .... 74 Steward Leadership .... 77 Team Leadership .... 81 Spiritual Disciplines .... 85 Accountability .... 89 viii Chapter Summary .... 96 CHAPTER 4: PROJECT RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, METHODS AND FINDINGS .... 98 Participatory Action Research (PAR) .... 99 Initial Steps .... 104 Planning Cycle .... 109 Acting Cycle .... 113 Review Cycle .... 120 Ethical Considerations .... 122 Research Project Findings .... 125 Post-Pilot Employee Online Survey Results .... 130 Post-Pilot Leader Interview Summary .... 132 Project Constraints .... 140 Chapter Summary .... 144 CHAPTER 5: INTERPRETATIONS, CONCLUSIONS, FURTHER STUDY AND IMPLICATIONS .... 145 Impact of Organizational Change .... 146 Conclusions .... 155 Further Refinement and Study .... 161 For the University .... 161 For Performance Management in General .... 164 Implications of This Research Project .... 166 Christian Organizations .... 166 HR Professionals .... 168 Personal Reflections .... 170 Chapter Summary .... 174 APPENDICES .... 176 A: Position Description Template .... 177 B: Performance Reviews Completed Report-2010 .... 178 C: Exit Interview Summaries-2010 and 2012 .... 179 D: Research Project Timeline .... 180 E: Existing Staff Performance Review form .... 181 F: Pilot Staff Performance Review form .... 187 G: Staff Performance Review Guide for Supervisors .... 194 H: Post-Pilot Online Survey for Participants .... 200 I: Post-Pilot Interview Guide for Participating Leaders .... 205 J: Post-Pilot Online Survey Results .... 207 K: Post-Pilot Leader Interview Summary Report .... 210 ix REFERENCE LIST .... 213 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Model for Effective Performance Management .... 37 Figure 2: Leadership Pipeline Competency Matrix .... 107 Figure 3: Staff Performance Review Process .... 114 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Pilot Implementation Timeline .... 129 Table 2: Reasons for Performance Reviews .... 134 Table 3: Data Sets Summary .... 139 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CEO Chief Executive Officer CFO Chief Financial Officer CHRO Chief Human Resources Officer CHRP Certified Human Resources Professional COO Chief Operating Officer CPHR Chartered Professionals in Human Resources G3 Group of 3 people responsible for talent management HR Human Resources HRAUWC HR Association of Universities in Western Canada HRPA Human Resources Professional Association PAR Participatory Action Research PR Performance Review SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound goals Unless otherwise noted, Bible references use New International Version (NIV) KJV King James Version MSG The Message NLT New Living Translation TPT The Passion Translation x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work (Eph. 4:16). Over the course of my career God has given me a passion for equipping Christian leaders to develop work environments that facilitate the building up and growth of the whole body (the organization) while ensuring that each supporting member (employee) is doing his or her part of the work. This passion inspired me to choose one of the most challenging, albeit critical areas of leadership for my doctoral research - performance management, which includes performance evaluation as well as employee development. This thesis explores performance management in a private, Christian, Canadian, higher education institution. Using participatory action research, a staff performance review process and tool were pilot tested to determine their impact on employee performance and organizational commitment. In conducting a literature search for this project, I discovered Talent Wins, a recent book by organization experts Ram Charan, Dominic Barton, and Dennis Carey who affirm how critical people development is to the success of an organization. They assert, the time has come for ... every CEO who intends to succeed in his or her job - to take charge of talent” (Charan, Ram, Barton, 1 Dominic, and Carey, Denis. 2018, 2). By “talent,” the authors are referring to the organization's people resources. They provide a new playbook for how to “take charge of talent” or own the recruitment, management and development of people. This would include everything from aligning the leadership team, redesigning the work of the organization and HR, creating a mergers and acquisitions strategy for talent, and reassessing the CEO's time allocation and mindset towards the organization's human capital. The authors of Talent Wins include Ram Charan who is winner of best teacher awards at Northwestern University and General Electric's Crotonville Management Development Institute, with forty years of experience as a world- renowned adviser and problem-solver to boards and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). Dominic Barton is global managing partner of worldwide management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, who has authored over 80 articles on leadership, financial market development, and history, and Dennis Carey is Vice Chairman of global organizational consulting firm, Korn Ferry, where he recruits board directors, CEOs and their direct reports and has published five books and over fifty refereed journal articles on topics such as CEO succession and human capital. When these authors emphasize the importance of human capital development as the key aspect of organizational health, the business world takes notice. The Christian world should not be surprised that the authors identify human development as front and centre. 2 Charan, Barton and Carey place development of people or human capital as the number one priority for CEOs rather than relegating this responsibility solely to the Human Resources (HR) department, which happens so often, usually with minimal budget. The key partnership between the CEO and HR, recommended in Talent Wins, is critical for organizations moving forward. The issue of people development and managing their performance along with organizational success and effectiveness is not only critical, but controversial, especially when the interpretation of performance management is narrowly defined as the annual performance review. Liz Ryan, CEO/founder of Human Workplace, author of Reinvention Roadmap, and frequent contributor to Forbes magazine, stated that, “Performance reviews are artifacts left over from the Industrial Revolution” (Ryan 2018, 1). She cited these reasons for her assertion: the massive amount of time and energy required, unclear purpose or desired outcomes, unfairness, and reinforcement of old hierarchical notions whereby supervisors sit on a higher plane. She concluded that consequently, employees in many organizations are not provided with regular performance reviews. Despite this negative press, other large companies are remaining committed to performance reviews. In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, contributors from Facebook stated that, “At Facebook we analyzed our performance management system a few years ago. We conducted focus groups 3 and a follow-up survey with more than 300 people. The feedback was clear: 87 percent of people wanted to keep performance ratings. Yes, performance evaluations have costs - but they have benefits, too. We decided to hang on to them for three reasons: fairness, transparency, and development” (Goler, Gale and Grantin 2016, 90). I was not only challenged by this controversy but also the responsibility to provide a performance review process for staff at the private, Christian, Canadian, liberal arts university where I was serving as Executive Director of Human Resources. Fueled by my passion for enabling leaders to develop both individual and organizational effectiveness, I chose to confront the hurdles Ryan laid out in her article and focus on the principles promoted by Goler, Gale and Grantin. The result became my research project. This thesis reports on the participatory action research project that explores the purpose of a staff performance management system in a private, Christian, Canadian, higher education institution. The research project consisted of the development of a Model for Effective Performance Management and a pilot test of formalized staff performance reviews, and whether they impacted the employees' performance and organizational commitment. The thesis also explores the relevance of the proposed performance management model and review process and tools for other organizational environments. The primary project was 4 researched, designed, implemented, and evaluated over a two-year period between 2012 and 2014, with some follow-up in 2018. This chapter begins with a discussion of the thesis's focus and an outline of the personal and organizational contexts of the project. There is then a section on key concepts that will be used throughout the thesis, beginning with “performance management”. This is followed by an overview of the opportunities this project has to contribute not only to the university under study, but to other Christian organizations and the fields of human resources and leadership in general. The chapter concludes with a summary of the remaining thesis chapters. Project Focus Having discussed an overview of the research topic, the next step is to outline the project focus. As referenced earlier, in their recent book, Talent Wins, the authors provide a new playbook for putting people first. The process begins with alignment at the top by forging a “G3” - a group of three people consisting of the chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO) and chief human resources officer (CHRO) (Charan, Barton, Carey, Denis 2018, 6). This recommendation would elevate the CHRO in most organizations, and particularly in most universities, where heads of HR seldom hold an executive title. The G3 would ensure a comprehensive and coordinated approach for all people strategies, from recruitment of qualified talent; through orientation, training and development; performance management and analytics; compensation 5 and benefits; leadership development; information sharing and culture-building; recognition and incentive programs; and succession planning. This approach would also ensure that the CEO was engaged with and responsible for the institution's human capital. In 2010 the executive leadership team at a private, Christian, liberal arts university in western Canada recognized a need to engage human resources (HR) as a strategic partner in changing the institution's culture. The posting for Executive Director of HR included the phrase, “Continuously evaluate University culture and provide recommendations to establish and/or guide a high performing culture.” While this was not exactly a G3 structure as described above, it did provide an opportunity to work closely with the executive leadership team in recruiting, managing and developing the university's human capital and shaping its culture. This is what attracted me when the posting was forwarded to me. My career experience had involved working in both senior HR positions and senior leader roles in a range of organizations, including Director of Employee Programs with CIBC, Executive Director of Prison Fellowship Canada, and President of my own consulting practice with organizational clients of all sizes from the public, corporate, and not-for-profit sectors. The job opportunity at this university would enable me to apply much of what I had learned about people strategies in a private, Christian, higher education academic setting. 6 My arduous recruitment process involved over twenty interviews, seventeen of which were conducted as individual or group interviews on campus over the course of three days. This was not a recruiting practice I was accustomed to or would endorse as an HR professional but was an early indicator of the culture at the university. There was a lack of trust in administration and a need for everyone to have input and ensure I knew what my priorities had to be. As is the case for most leaders when beginning a new job, I spent my first few months primarily listening and then produced an analysis of key issues for employees and leadership. As already noted, providing employees with feedback, clearly communicating how they can contribute to organizational goals and providing adequate training and development will build commitment and overall performance. One of the most frequent comments I heard in making my early rounds, and particularly in exit interviews with departing employees, was disappointment in not receiving feedback and/or performance reviews. Employees stated they would appreciate the opportunity to meet at least annually with their supervisors to talk about what was expected of them and how they were doing. At the same time, I discovered a very low participation rate in the staff performance review program. It should be noted that university faculty had a separate review process that involved a professional development discussion at the end of the academic year with their respective dean. The results of these discussions were not necessarily recorded and if they were, they were submitted 7 to the Provost's office and not copied to HR, so there was no record on faculty employees' files of an annual reviews. Staff performance reviews at that time were annual evaluations of an employee's performance using a standard form that required both the employee and his or her manager to rate eleven performance factors including customer service, communication, problem-solving, interpersonal relations, job knowledge, professional conduct, and work results among others. The form was intended to facilitate a conversation and provide an opportunity for employees to learn more about how they were contributing and discuss future work enhancements or new roles, which included completion of an employee development plan. My investigation revealed that only 26 percent of (approximately two hundred and fifty) staff employees received annual performance appraisals in 2009 and 28 percent in 2010. Conversations with senior administration suggested that the program was not seen as mission-critical and supervisors indicated that since they had not been able to provide salary increases for some time, conducting performance reviews was awkward and seemed like a waste of time and energy. There were also negative comments regarding the form that had to be used. While many supervisors believed they were very good at providing informal feedback, their team members were looking for more intentional, one- on-one time to better understand their roles, how they fit into the mission of the organization, how to perform better and provide input to their supervisors. In their 8 article, “Let's Not Kill Performance Reviews Yet”, in the Harvard Business Review, Goler, Gale and Grantin state: “The reality is, even when companies get rid of performance evaluations, ratings still exist. Employees just can't see them. Ratings are done subjectively, behind the scenes, and without input from the people being evaluated” (Goler, Gale and Grantin 2016, 90). They go on to explain three reasons for performance evaluations: fairness, transparency, and development. 1) A fair process exists when evaluators are credible and motivated to get it right, and employees have a voice. Without evaluations, people are left in the dark about who is gauging their contributions and how. 2) People want to know where they stand, and performance evaluations offer transparency. They help employees understand how their contributions are seen in the organization, and they make it easier for the organization to effectively recognize and reward top performance. 3) Performance evaluations allow for an overall assessment that helps people prioritize. Employees learn what their key strengths are and where they should focus their development efforts. Evaluations also serve as a forcing function to make sure that tough feedback is delivered rather than swept under the rug. (Goler, Gale and Grantin 2016, 91-92). With these three valuable reasons as inspiration, I was encouraged to focus on the performance management system at the university. This thesis is intended 9 to examine the impact of introducing a comprehensive performance management system on staff employee performance outcomes and organizational commitment in a private, Christian, Canadian, higher education organization. The research project was focused on a pilot of a revised staff performance review process and tools. Organizational Context The research project was conducted at a private, Christian, liberal arts university, over 50 years old, with a current enrolment of 4,000 thousand students and over 23,000 alumni. The university offers 43 undergraduate and 17 graduate degree programs, employing approximately 678 full and part-time faculty and staff plus additional resources on contract as required. I joined this university in 2010 as Executive Director of Human Resources (HR) with a mandate from the executive leadership team to transition the HR department from an administrative, procedure-driven, and transactional office into a strategic, professional, and service-oriented resource for leaders and employees (faculty and staff) in the organization. A report titled, The High-Impact HR Operating Model by Deloitte four years later supported this type of transition in the HR agenda: Organizations now expect HR not only to be efficient in their delivery of core services but also set the talent agenda and drive performance and engagement. The “traditional” ways of delivering HR capabilities are not getting there ... this new model brings HR closer to the business, turns the team into consultants and advisors, and moves HR's skills up to a new 10 level of capability (Mazor, Volini, Stephan, Aubrey and Bowden 2014, 1). The three key principles of this HR operating model presented in the Deloitte paper resonated with me and the mandate I was called to fulfill at this university. Firstly, business imperatives and insights about the workforce must guide how HR operates. Secondly, HR must be nimble and demonstrate agility, flexibility, and coordination, as it unlocks high business performance throughout the organization. Thirdly, industry and social networks, the organization's customers, as well as external stakeholders must be integrated into how HR operates. These principles were also consistent with my passion to live out that text from Ephesians 4:16 - to assist the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament to grow and build itself up in love, as each part does its work. I set out with great enthusiasm in the HR role at the university and as was reported earlier, one of my early tasks was to address the business effectiveness issue of performance management. In June 2013, the new university president (an alumnus) communicated his passion for a culture of trust, transparency and engagement. All these priorities (as previously noted) are foundational to building employee commitment and performance. In addition to maintaining support for human resource development initiatives, including the development of an improved performance review program, the president embraced a formalized approach to leading change and asked that all members of the executive 11 leadership team become familiar with it and adopt it when introducing initiatives. This model proved to be very helpful in providing a shared vocabulary for change and initiating meaningful conversations regarding attitudes towards change. The model will be fully described in Chapter Two. One of the unique characteristics of working in a Christian organization is the opportunity to live out and share your faith with fellow Christians in your workplace. As with most organizations, this university has a stated set of core values to which all employees are asked to subscribe. Of the six core values, the one that specifically relates to this research project is the following: “Servant Leadership as a Way of Life: (the university) strives to teach and to embody the pattern of servant leadership exemplified by Jesus Christ. Professors, administrators and students seek to motivate and mobilize each other to think and act with creativity, integrity, and skill for the benefit of all concerned” (Trinity Western University, n.d.). This is consistent with the verse that opens this Chapter where we are encouraged to support each other in love to build and grow. It also aligns with the mandate of performance management to provide feedback, motivate, and coach - all with a servant's attitude. The university's core values promote not only servanthood in leading, but also the pursuit of faith-based, faith-affirming learning, striving for excellence in university education, obedience to the authority of scripture, and growing as disciples of Jesus in community. 12 In addition to its core values, the university's Community Covenant is an important aspect of this organization's context. All university employees are required to annually sign the Community Covenant agreement, which includes the following statement, that the university, “envisions itself to be a community where members demonstrate concern for the well-being of others, where rigorous intellectual learning occurs in the context of whole person development, where members give priority to spiritual formation, and where service-oriented citizenship is modeled” (Trinity Western University, 2009, 1). As leaders within the university, senior administrators, department directors, front line supervisors, and faculty are particularly responsible for upholding the institution's culture, core values, and Community Covenant. As we have discovered, aspects of all three support a work environment that engages and develops employees as contributing members of the community. This would therefore be an ideal context to introduce the importance of effective performance management. It would enable and encourage leaders to clarify expectations for employees, provide honest and developmental feedback on performance, set measurable and meaningful goals with their employees, and own and champion the process. However, in learning more about the institution's history, I discovered that in 2008 the university president had implemented a new vision and major change initiative that everyone referred to as the redesign. In order to address financial 13 challenges, difficult decisions were made and all departments (faculty and staff) were required to identify ways and means of cutting their expenses (primarily in salary dollars) based on prescribed percentage cuts according to the size of their departments. Staff salaries were frozen, ending a practice of providing staff with automatic annual salary step increases, even though faculty continued to receive annual increases. Staff department managers, already feeling stretched and discouraged, were now required to do more work with fewer resources. When I conducted my listening tour in late 2010 and asked about performance reviews, leaders reported having no time and little interest in filling out meaningless forms and sitting down with each team member to simply say, “You're doing a great job but there is no money available to show the university's appreciation.” The Human Resource department had done an exemplary job of delivering core HR administrative services such as monitoring staffing requests and keeping senior leadership informed to ensure overall compensation expense management. They endeavoured to deal with releases as compassionately as possible, but this was not an area of expertise or experience for either HR or senior leadership. A reputation was building for how poorly the university was treating its loyal employees. The Executive Director position that I assumed in 2010 (which had only one previous incumbent) had been vacant for three years, due to both financial constraints and a more traditional sense of what was required of an HR department. I came to the university full of enthusiasm, hopeful and optimistic 14 that my over twenty-five years of experience might be helpful and provide creative ideas to assist the leadership in their desire to develop the institution's human capital. I was hopeful that change could be introduced and those working faithfully for the university could realize their full potential. Core Concepts Performance Management One of the more confusing concepts in the field of human resource development is the distinction between performance management and performance appraisal or evaluation. I believe Grubb explains the difference well: Performance management is the creation of an entire system (a setting, a work environment, a culture) bringing together all of the essential factors so all of the people are enabled to work in an aligned and coordinated manner to the best of their abilities. Performance appraisal is much more limited. It is the process to assess how individual employees are performing and how they can improve their job performance and contribute to the overall organizational performance. (Grubb 2007, 2) Another helpful description of performance management came directly from one of the university staff directors who was a research project participant (paraphrased below): Performance management is more than an annual activity. It is about developing a performance-based culture that clarifies responsibilities, creates accountability, develops and equips employees, acknowledges high performers, and addresses poor performance when required. Most important - it is what a leader should be doing (Schellenberg 2018). While Grubb clarified a system-based understanding of performance management of which performance appraisal is only a part, the director captured 15 the key starting points or foundational pieces for that system - organizational culture and leadership that is people and performance driven. Performance management is a process by which managers and employees work together to plan, monitor and review an employee's work objectives and overall contribution to the organization. Effective performance management includes providing meaningful, real-time feedback; ensuring that employees have clear expectations; and coaching employees to achieve their maximum performance levels. As discussed at the outset of this chapter, performance management is now being recognized as a critical aspect of organizational success in the private sector, but it is also being acknowledged as important in other sectors as well. Performance management is now central to public and non-profit management. What was once an innovation in the public and nonprofit sectors in the early 1990s has since become an expectation (McDavid, James C., Irene Huse, and Laura R. L. Ingleson 2018, 7). In their recent book on program evaluation and performance measurement in the public and not-for-profit sectors, McDavid, Huse and Ingleson propose a comprehensive model called the “Performance Management Cycle.” This model reinforces the premise that to be effective, performance management encompasses an overall approach to building the potential of an organization's human capital that incorporates strategic planning, policy and program development, ongoing implementation and management, as well as assessment (McDavid, Huse, and Ingleson 2018, 8). 16 Human Capital is another concept that will be frequently referenced in this thesis. Human Capital A traditional and rather narrow interpretation of the term, human capital suggests it means a workforce to be expended and even exploited, but today we find a broader understanding of the term as a valuable organizational asset to be developed and retained. For the purposes of this project, human capital represents all the value (knowledge, skills, experience, energy, passion, creativity) individuals bring to an organization or institution. This definition is aligned with one Becker contributed in an article titled, “The Age of Human Capital” in 2002: Human capital is “the knowledge, information, ideas, skills, and health of individuals. This is the "age of human capital" in the sense that human capital is by far the most important form of capital in modern economies... An economy like that of the United States is called a capitalist economy, but a more accurate term is human capital or a knowledge capital economy. While all forms of capital are important, including machinery, factories, and financial capital, human capital is the most significant” (Becker 2002, 3). The premise that human capital is the most significant form of capital in our modern economy is foundational to this research project and an assumption underlying the Model for Effective Performance Management introduced in Chapter Two. 17 Organizational Commitment For the purposes of this research, organizational commitment refers to the depth and significance of an employee's attachment to his or her employer rather than an organization's commitment to ensure the health and safety or development of its human capital. While organizational commitment is highly correlated with job satisfaction, commitment relates specifically to the organization for which one works rather than to the work one is doing. An on-line survey of nearly six hundred working Americans found that 56 percent agreed that after compensation and benefits, feeling they were appreciated in their workplace would encourage them to stay with their company. Just over half (54 percent) felt that colleagues appreciated them more than supervisors or senior managers. Forty-six percent said opportunities for career advancement would motivate them to stay. Other significant findings related to performance management include: 1) 68 percent said they had received no useful feedback from supervisors in the last six months, 2) 82 percent had not agreed to career goals with their supervisors, 3) 53 percent lacked a clear understanding of how their role contributes to company objectives, and 4) 25 percent had been given new duties or responsibilities that they felt were beyond their skill set (Cornerstone OnDemand 2010, 1). Adam Miller, president and CEO of Cornerstone OnDemand said: American workers simply want to be empowered to do a good job and be recognized for their contributions. If companies don't clearly communicate how employees can contribute to organizational goals and provide adequate training and performance feedback, they risk losing their best 18 people as the economy improves. This kind of turnover is costly and can dull a company's competitive edge (Cornerstone OnDemand 2010, 1). Since performance management incorporates all of the elements Miller referenced: communicating how employees can contribute to organizational goals, recognizing contributions, providing adequate training as well as ongoing performance feedback, I was curious to explore how we might assess the impact of performance management on organizational commitment among the employees at the university under study. Germane to defining organizational commitment in a Christian work environment are two components of commitment: work ethic and a sense of calling. Employees with a healthy work ethic demonstrate integrity, honesty, quality of work, professionalism, discipline, and teamwork. They tend to be more engaged with and committed to their organization. The beginnings of what we know as the modern work ethic can be traced back to the 16th century Puritan belief that “diligence in the performance of work was seen as perhaps the highest form of Christian obedience” (Mudrack 1997, 217). Further, the idea of a call is particularly relevant in the context of this research project - a Christian, liberal arts university. As an evangelical institution, there is a belief that God's people are distinguished as a Spirit-led people and are “called” or directed by God in all things, from applying for a position to making strategic leadership decisions. As a result, a candidate's sense of calling to work at the university and a particular role is discussed during recruitment interviews. 19 Similarly, an employee's demonstration of that calling and calling to other roles and opportunities are discussed during performance review conversations. “Performance management processes operate on a continuous basis. Therefore, they provide perhaps the best ongoing opportunities for employers to foster employee engagement and commitment” (Vance 2006, 17). For these reasons I was interested in discovering whether a more effective performance management system would impact employee commitment at our university. Organizational Culture Simply stated, organizational culture is “the way things are done around here” (Deal & Kennedy 2000, 4). It has also been defined as, “the underlying beliefs, assumptions, values and ways of interacting that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization” (gothamCulture, n.d.). Edgar Schein was one of the early analysts of the concept of culture existing at several different levels in organizations, whereby the term level relates to the degree to which the culture is visible to an observer. The levels he identifies are: Artefacts - These are outward expressions of culture that provide signals to others about what is valued, such as physical office spaces and how they are organised, the dress code and language used, technology and products, publications of the organization, both internal and external documents, and behavioural patterns such as ceremonies and celebrations. 20 Espoused values - These are the explicitly articulated strategies, goals and objectives of the organization. They guide members regarding how to behave in different circumstances, and what happens when there is a breach between espoused values and behaviours. Underlying assumptions - These are the taken for granted beliefs that represent the essence of the culture of the organization. In Schein's view these constitute the core and most important aspect of organization culture, and an understanding of how these assumptions came to be is necessary for any complete understanding of organization culture (Schein 2004, 31). As is typical of academic organizations, the artefacts of this university were relatively understated and casual. Administrative offices are traditionally furnished. Directors and deans have modest offices and recent funding has been applied to new living accommodation for students. All outward expressions, including ceremonies and celebrations present a traditional, casual, student- focused culture. The culture that is expressed outwardly is consistent with espoused values as outlined in a Community Covenant that all students and employees were required to sign annually during the time of this research project. It emphasized the mission statement that focuses on students and the biblical base and founding principles of the university. While there are consequences identified in the Covenant for a breach of behaviour, there is also room for grace, which leads to 21 Schein's third level - underlying assumptions. For the most part, students would report that they experience grace and a strong sense of community at this university. There is a legacy of alumni claiming this was indeed where they first developed their leadership skills. The same would be true for most employees. The community and working with others were the most mentioned highlights on staff exit interviews. Ironically, the same was not true for a group of faculty members and their relationship with administration during the time of the research project. They felt a growing lack of trust in administration and endeavoured to organize a union for faculty. The vote did not pass but it was evident that the dissatisfaction needed to be addressed. At this time, leadership in the President's office changed and structures were put in place to improve communication. This impacted the research project in that the executive leadership team agreed it would be wise for me to focus the performance management project on staff employees only. In his Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision for Non-Profit Staff, Carter McNamara provides another approach to looking at culture. He describes four types of organizational culture, one of which is the “Academic Culture” (McNamara 2008, 15). In this type of culture, employees are highly skilled and tend to stay in the organization while working their way up the ranks. These organizations (such as universities, hospitals and large corporations) provide stable environments in which employees can develop and exercise their skills. 22 The university under study could be described in this way. In 2014, 77 faculty and staff or 11 percent were over sixty years of age and 139 or 20 percent were going to reach the age of sixty-five in the next ten years. In at least two of twenty departments, over 50 percent of the faculty and staff were long-term (over 15 years of service) employees over fifty-five years of age. While this type of culture provides stability, it also provides challenges when introducing innovation and change. The leadership of the university was endeavouring to introduce new methods of student recruitment, educational technology, global programming, donor support, and employee engagement. In order to sustain its current student enrolment as well as its donor support and to grow and realize its full potential, this stable organizational culture was going to have to learn to embrace change. Opportunity When embarking on a significant journey such as the completion of a doctoral thesis, it is helpful to consider what opportunities such a journey may provide. In this section I discuss opportunities that my research project might provide personally, for the university under study, for leaders of Christian organizations in general, and for HR professionals working in various types of organizations. 23 Opportunity for the Researcher Over the last twenty-five years, I have had the privilege of serving in diverse leadership roles in the corporate, public, non-profit, and academic sectors. This experience nurtured an innate passion for motivating, encouraging, and empowering others to reach their potential and deliver results, and has enabled me to observe and impact many different organizational cultures. It is also what inspired me to study human and organizational behaviour at the post graduate level - to learn more about how leaders can be most effective in building their team members' and consequently their company's success. More recently, as I worked with a variety of Christian leaders in both Christian and secular work environments, I became more curious about the theological underpinnings of leadership. I wanted to learn more in order help these leaders confront their spiritual leadership challenges. In 2008, I heard of the new Doctor of Ministry program focusing on leadership at Tyndale Seminary and after numerous convincing discussions with its architect, Dr. Paul Magnus, began my doctoral journey. In June 2010, I accepted the opportunity to serve as Executive Director of Human Resources at a private, Christian, liberal arts university across the country which required not only a long distance move from Toronto but also a change in my thesis research project. As described earlier in this chapter, I quickly discovered that staff performance management would become a priority for my 24 attention at the university which aligned with a personal and professional passion to facilitate the growth of individuals and organizations. From my early years as the eldest of eight children, to my first job teaching in a grade eight classroom, through to coaching executive high-potential candidates at CIBC, my life calling is expressed in Hebrews 10:24, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” My passion was captured by the graphic designer who developed a web site for my consulting practice in 2005. He suggested using a watering can motif because he saw me as someone who enjoys watering and nurturing the growth of others. This project is so important to me because it focuses on the nurturing and development of potential at many different levels: individual employees, supervisors, and the organization. A project aimed at improving staff performance management would impact the growth of individual employees; experiencing clarity of expectations, feedback on performance, and development planning. Secondly, supervisors previously anxious and ill-equipped for providing honest feedback and developing their teams would receive training and coaching to build their competencies as good people managers. Additionally, there is the potential for an organization to flourish as more and more employees commit to the university's mission, producing generations of Godly Christian leaders for “the various marketplaces of life” (Trinity Western University 2018). This project did 25 indeed present an opportunity for me to spur others on toward love and good deeds. Opportunity for the Organization Under Study In that the ultimate outcome of my research project was to improve staff employee performance and organizational commitment at the organization under study, it had the potential to develop the university's human capital and ultimately its mission outcomes. On another level, it was closely aligned with the university's strategic map and business plan introduced in 2012-13. The Strategic Map, approved in 2014 called for building organizational effectiveness by: 1) attracting, developing, and retaining people of character and competence, dedicated to the mission, 2) cultivating a high-performance culture aligned with the mission, and 3) assisting and supporting our employees through their personal transitions and challenges while promoting a healthy sense of inter- and intra-personal wellness (Trinity Western University 2014, 1). As outlined in the Supervisors Guide (Appendix G) and Staff Performance Review form itself (Appendix F), this research project introduced a staff performance review process and tool that enabled trained supervisors to clarify their human capital needs, communicate with each employee how he or she was performing against mutually agreed-upon responsibilities and targets and further contribute to the success of the department's goals, and manage performance issues when necessary. It was encouraging to identify clear linkages between this project and the successful implementation of the university's business strategy. 26 Opportunity for Leadership in Christian Organizations In addition to being informative for the university under study, I look forward to sharing the findings of this research with leaders in other Christian organizations, including denominational churches. The Model for Effective Performance Management outlined in Chapter Two is transferable to other Christian organizational contexts as are discussions regarding the impact of change and steward leadership. In a recent study involving evangelical churches across Canada, Heather Card, former Chief Operating Officer of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities asked over 300 pastors and church board leaders about their pastoral evaluation experience. Sixty-two percent of the respondents reported some level of satisfaction with their performance evaluation process. The following three items were mentioned most frequently as ways to make the evaluation process a positive experience: constructive criticism that identifies areas for growth or improvement, encouraging and affirming comments, and collaborative, interactive dialogue that focuses on shared ministry. The top items identified as contributors to a negative experience included: poor execution of the process, a process that supports complainers with personal agendas, focus on weaknesses without recognizing giftings, and lack of understanding of the pastoral role and ministry context (Card 2016, 37-38). In discussion with Card, it became clear that while many churches are using helpful processes and tools, including congregational 27 questionnaires, 360 surveys, self-assessments, and interviews, 50 percent of the Board Member respondents reported they do pastoral evaluation by bringing their previous business or management experience to the process, and there is an opportunity to train these boards with a new model with theological foundations. From my own experience working in and with Christian organizations, including my church boards, and based on feedback from colleagues in these organizations, Christian leaders struggle significantly with performance management. They tend to be the least educated and experienced in managing and leading people and more reticent to address performance management issues. There is propensity among Christian leaders who are clients in my coaching practice to avoid being honest in communicating an employee's mistakes and/or poor performance in the belief that they are demonstrating compassion. The challenge for church and other Christian leaders (paid and volunteer) is to demonstrate compassion and communicate truth to ensure the health of the whole body of Christ. This connection will be explored in the discussion of Steward Leadership in Chapter Three. After outlining the design, development and implementation of the performance management research project in Chapter Four, there is a discussion of the impact of organizational transition. Transition is a reality for all organizations including churches, whether it be transition of pastoral staff, congregants, key volunteers, or doctrine. Chapter Five provides 28 leaders of Christian organizations with suggestions on how the findings from this research project could apply to their environments. Opportunity for Human Resource Professionals Adele Haar, then Vice President of Human Resources at Suncorp Valuations presented a session titled, “Performance Management: Pursuing Excellence. A New Look at an Old Thorn” at the 2018 Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA) annual conference. Her research indicated that 90 percent of employees surveyed find annual reviews an ineffective means of providing performance feedback, and an exceptionally painful way to receive feedback. Reviews are associated with receiving disappointing or bad news and are therefore demotivating experiences for most employees. Most managers report performance management to be a waste of time and close to 90 percent of employees and managers admit that they do not say what they would like to say during reviews. Finally, most companies surveyed are not able to link performance management with improved performance. Her proposal to the audience of hundreds of HR professionals was not to do away with performance reviews and performance management, but to focus on three essential practices in order to achieve the true intent of performance reviews. Firstly, create alignment by providing employees with clarity of expectations. Secondly, focus on improved performance by providing honest and specific feedback on job performance, opportunities for development and ongoing 29 coaching. Thirdly, build engagement by providing venues for input, flexibility in work environments, opportunities for special projects where possible, and recognition. Few of these strategies were being implemented in any of the organizations she studied, and certainly not in an integrated system (Haar 2018). I believe this research project addressed all these practices. There was acknowledgement of the need for alignment both vertically with senior leadership support for the project, and horizontally with supervisors in the organization, ensuring the inclusion of staff in all departments and faculties. We endeavoured to improve performance by first ensuring that all people managers received training and coaching in the implementation of new performance management tools and processes, including how to set measurable departmental and team member goals and targets. A leading change process, which included a communication plan, was used in planning and launching the project as well as building engagement or participation of staff and managers. In addition to facilitating employee development, the competency of staff supervisors, and organizational outcomes at the host university institution, I believe the tools and learning developed throughout the project will be valuable to HR colleagues, regardless of their work environment. Some suggestions will be provided in Chapter Five. When presenting my thesis proposal and early research findings to a group of HR professionals from primarily public, secular, universities in western 30 Canada, I was encouraged by their keen interest in the project and its application in their institutions. They were anxious that I complete my research and share the results. My intent is to produce guides and provide seminars for both HR professionals and organizational leaders (with a special focus on leaders of Christian organizations) to build understanding and competency regarding the impact of effective performance management. Chapter Summary Chapter One introduced performance management which is the focus of the research project conducted in a private, Christian, Canadian, liberal arts university. The project explores the impact of a staff performance review process and tool on employee performance and organizational commitment. The organizational context was described to provide background and backdrop for discussions of the design and two-year implementation of the project. Core concepts used throughout the thesis such as ‘organizational commitment' were described and finally opportunities for the research to benefit the researcher and others were introduced. Chapter Two highlights human resource and performance management theories and practices that guided the development of the research design and methodology. This literature has been gathered from a cross-section of sources, including academic institutions and Christian journals and books. A Model for 31 Effective Performance Management developed for the purpose of this project is introduced. Organizational change theories and models are also discussed with special focus on John Kotter's Leading Change model (Kotter 1996) which was adopted by the university for their change initiatives. In addition, performance management practices in churches and other Christian organizations are reviewed. Chapter Three presents three major theological themes relevant to this research project: the body of Christ, several aspects of leadership and a Christ- oriented understanding of accountability. Each theme is described with references and then related to the performance management project. Following the background provided in Chapters One through Three, Chapter Four delivers information on the project implementation, including a complete discussion of the chosen research methodology, participatory action research (PAR). The project plan, program process outlines and tools, and training materials are provided. This is followed by a full report and discussion of the research findings. Project data and outcomes are reported in quantitative and qualitative format. Project constraints are reviewed as well as ethical considerations, as they relate to this project. Chapter Five reports the conclusions resulting from the research project findings. The research question of the impact of a staff performance management program on employee performance and organizational commitment is addressed along with learnings about what worked well and what could be done differently. 32 There is also a discussion of the impact of organizational change on this project and any HR initiative. There are discussions of how this project and its findings could be applied in other organizations, whatever the sector. This includes a section for HR professional colleagues. Finally, there are comments on further research that is indicated as a result of this project and personal reflections from the researcher. Whether you describe it as talent wins, or growing and building the whole body up in love, as each part does its work, the focus of this project is prioritizing our most valuable resource: our people. The next chapter provides a deeper understanding of how we do that. It provides the theoretical basis and framework for developing human resource processes and tools that will equip leaders in engaging the valuable human capital they have been entrusted with (as good stewards), guiding them through change, and managing their performance such that they are excited about being part of the team and committed to the organization. 33 CHAPTER 2: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT THEORIES AND PRACTICES, AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE THEORY This chapter reviews the precedent literature regarding performance management in the context of human resource development. The discussion not only looks at performance management as a tool for building organizational effectiveness and profit but also how it can develop individual employee competency and commitment to the organization. It explores what is working and what is not in a variety of organizations and whether there is anything unique about managing performance in Christian work environments. As the introduction of any human resource initiative involves change, organizational change is discussed - how it impacts those experiencing it, models of managing change, and the critical role of the leader during a change process. Performance Management in the Context of Human Resource Development In the context of human resource development and for the purposes of this thesis discussion, the term, “performance management” encompasses a wide range of what would be considered human resource practices: from establishing 34 clear job expectations and responsibilities, providing ongoing and more formalized performance feedback (often using a rating scale), to managing poor performance, and recognizing and rewarding good performance. Employee engagement, empowerment, input, and communication, as well as compensation, training and development, strategic planning, leadership, and succession planning are all considered essential components of a comprehensive performance management system for the purposes of this project. This approach is consistent with the way that experts in the HR field would describe performance management. A Directory of Human Resource Management defines performance management as: the process of linking the overall business objectives of the organization with departmental objectives, team objectives, and individual objectives. It involves setting targets, constantly reviewing progress towards those targets, and taking remedial action where there are training/development shortfalls (Heery and Moon 2017, 61). As a visual thinker, it was helpful for me to draw what I was learning from experts in the field through my literature search and from my own experience. The result was my own Model for Effective Performance Management which forms the framework for much of my discussion of the phases of this project. See Figure 1 on page 37. An effective performance management system begins with the organization's declaration of why it exists, its key purpose or mission statement. It usually withstands the test of time as it is the organization's core purpose or 35 raison d'etre. The mission of the university under study, as an arm of the Church, is to develop godly Christian leaders: positive, goal-oriented graduates with thoroughly Christian minds, growing disciples of Jesus Christ who glorify God through fulfilling the Great Commission, serving God and people in the various marketplaces of life (TWU. About. n.d.). Examples of other mission statements include this one from World Vision Canada: “World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization working to create lasting change in the lives of children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Inspired by our Christian values, World Vision is dedicated to working with the world's most vulnerable people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender” (World Vision Canada. About Us: Who We Are. n.d.). Another example of a long serving mission statement is that of The Peoples Church in Toronto: “to worship God as we make disciples of Jesus Christ by teaching, praying, giving and serving among the peoples of Toronto and the world” (The Peoples Church. Mission & Vision. n.d.). Each of these statements demonstrates how a mission communicates, internally and externally, why the organization exists and provides the essential first building block for an effective performance management system. Employees who know what their organization produces or what services it provides, what it stands for, and where it is heading are able to confirm alignment of their values with the mission and vision of the organization and identify how they can contribute to the organization's future success. 36 Model developed by J Ryder (2019) Figure 1: Model for Effective Performance Management [Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 1 details. ] 37 A mission statement also serves as an orienting point that guides the organization in knowing what types of skills and experience will enable success of the mission. For example, a start-up software company will require creative people with highly technical skills, excited about innovation, flexible work hours and workspace, and not necessarily years and years of experience. Alternatively, a university will seek faculty from a range of fields (depending on the focus of the school's mission) with strong academic backgrounds and years of research and teaching experience, as well as a strong leader with vision and understanding of the higher education sector. In addition, experienced administrators, proven fundraisers, and reliable maintenance and support staff are necessary components of the human capital required to accomplish a university's mission. Based on the mission statement, more specific and dynamic strategic plans are developed on a regular basis. These plans include, among others: economic factors such as sales or service trends, customer or client needs, product or program development, and external economic factors as well. While strategic plans are often created with a three to five-year horizon, they need to be reviewed and re-developed at least annually to make necessary adjustments based on the dynamics of new competitors, changes among the groups served or customer base, advanced technology, and transitioning political and economic environments. 38 In 2014, the university where I was working undertook an extensive strategic planning exercise. It involved an expanded leadership group including not only the executive leadership team, but also all faculty and staff department leaders, as well as elected presidents of faculty and staff associations. This group of approximately forty people met several times to review the external and internal analysis data and provide input into the university's priorities going forward. The benefits of having a wide range of perspectives and joint buy-in outweighed the challenges of scheduling meetings and consolidating input for this number of participants. The finished document became known as the 2014-2019 Strategy Map and because of the collaborative process used in its development, the plans and directions were understood by department leaders as they formulated their next level departmental goals. High level themes of the Strategy Map included enabling students to achieve their full potential and ensure sustainability, but these were broken down into actionable and measurable strategic objectives such as: set and achieve compensation targets for employees; expand non-traditional learning opportunities (online, multi-campus and mixed modal) for graduate and degree completion studies; and diversify revenue sources through the use of institutional assets (e.g., land, intellectual property), and by selectively engaging financial partners. 39 Strategic plans help to determine how many talented people are required at any given point in time and in what configurations. This human resource planning analysis of human capital demand against the existing talent in the organization requires the coordinated effort of senior leadership, including the head of HR and Finance. As referenced in Chapter One, the aligned work of a “G3” - a group of three people consisting of the chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO) and chief human resources officer (CHRO) has been recommended by some business experts (Charan, Barton, and Carey 2018, 6). IBM provides a strong example of this important partnership: IBM is a recognized leader in the integration of HRP (human resource planning) and strategic planning ... The importance attributed to the HR department's role in the strategic planning process is highlighted by the fact that no business decisions are approved until the vice-president of HR concurs with the business plan (Dressler, Cole, Goodman and Sutherland 2007, 96). While this type of partnership did not exist structurally at the university under study, the described role of the Executive Director of HR did include working with senior leadership to develop and implement a strategic HR plan and continuously evaluate university culture and make recommendations for establishing a high performing culture. This was supported by the senior leadership team during the course of the research project. In order to fulfill organizational strategic plans, it is critical to break the plans down into measurable departmental goals to ensure that each part of the body understands and does its part. I have suggested in my Model for Effective 40 Performance Management that the achievement of department goals will be enhanced by two factors: strategic recruitment of leaders aligned with the organization's mission, values and culture, and leadership development related to effective performance management skills and tools. It is important to consider alignment with the organization's mission, values, and culture when selecting effective leaders at all levels - from the senior executive team to front line supervisors. In their 2017 article, “The Leadership- Profit Chain,” based on a variety of organizational studies, The Ken Blanchard Group proposed two types of leadership: strategic leadership (the ‘what') that includes an ability to lead at a ‘big picture' level, setting vision, building culture, and determining strategic imperatives; and operational leadership (the ‘how') developing procedures and policies that clarify how each unit and employee will achieve the overall strategy, and managing their performance. Both types of leadership are required in a leader and although most leaders are naturally gifted or inclined towards one type, they need to learn how to become effective in both. The article also emphasized the strong link between effective leadership and employee commitment to the organization (The Ken Blanchard Group 2017, 3-4). In higher education institutions as well, questions are being raised regarding what it takes to lead and manage into the future. The management and leadership of tertiary education institutions have been the subject of increasing uncertainty as institutions have grappled with the profound external changes that influence the way they function (Meek and Wood 1997; OECD, 1998). The collegial approach of the 41 traditional post-war university has given way to the corporate management influences of the last twenty years. Advocates of the former decry the influence of the latter, and vice versa (Yielder and Codling 2004, 315). Yielder and Codling move on from this dichotomy to propose a shared leadership model in universities that calls for both academic leadership with expert responsibilities such as teaching, research, academic elements of programme development, academic staff development (e.g., scholarships and research opportunities), and managerial leadership with responsibilities such as resource management, budget management, staff allocation, appointment and management, and the planning aspects of programme development. There are additional responsibilities that span both these leadership categories such as serving as an industry liaison externally and internally on advisory, programme and management committees, as well as liaising with the programme administrator (Yielder & Codling 2004, 315). This notion of shared leadership was incorporated into the discussion and ultimate set of leadership competencies that were developed as a guide for recruitment and development of leaders at the university under study. In Chapter Four, I will outline the competency categories and levels of competency required which reflect the mission, values, culture, and strategic plans for the university at that time. Once academic and managerial leaders have been recruited or promoted based on their understanding, ownership, and ability to motivate others regarding 42 the organization's mission, values, culture, and strategic plans, there is a need to ensure they are trained and developed regarding effective performance management. This not only includes how to use the latest performance evaluation forms and systems, but how to have engaging, and at times, difficult conversations with their team members, maintain effective performance results, and ensure ongoing employee development. The results of the 2010 WorldatWork study on The State of Performance Management reported the following as the top challenges faced by organizations in implementing effective performance management systems: managers' inability to have difficult performance discussions, poor goal-setting, and the process is seen as HR-driven rather than owned and supported by senior leadership (Sibson 2010, 1). The university would therefore need to be intentional in addressing these challenges when designing leadership development programs and supervisory training related to this research project. Leadership development can take many forms in order to enhance a leader's strengths and address identified leadership gaps - internal and external formalized training programs, mentoring with another leader in the organization, executive coaching with a professional coach, and reading and exchanging ideas with a boss. Korn Ferry, a global organizational consulting firm with approximately 7,000 clients in 50 countries recently produced a report on leadership 43 development that was helpful in designing leadership development programs at the university and supervisory training for the research project in particular. The report outlines eight principles for the design, delivery, and implementation of leadership development initiatives: 1. Embrace new experiences to spark learning and development. 2. Adopt deliberate practice and reflection to build skill and automate changes. 3. Learn from others, both in learning communities and when applying skills in the real world. 4. Foster a growth mindset; they have to care, be curious, and open. 5. Leverage emotion to spark motivation and activate effort. 6. Optimize stress to move out of a comfort zone and into a learning zone. 7. Practice mindfulness to quiet ego and pause automaticity, creating space to choose a different approach. 8. Enact behavioral commitments to create sustained personal change. (Korn Ferry Institute 2017, 1) These principles were applied in developing the supervisor training for staff performance review program. Training took place in groups and encouraged sharing of past experiences, both successes and challenges. We endeavoured to create a safe place where supervisors felt able to be open and vulnerable to move out of their comfort zones and explore new approaches. Role-playing and case studies provided deliberate practice of new skills, and the provision of a Guide (see Appendix G) for further reference with scheduled follow-up enacted behavioural commitment. The WorldatWork study referenced earlier also found that employee trust in the process is an essential outcome of a strong performance management system. In their study sample, less than one third (30 percent) of employees said 44 they trusted their performance management system. Overall, less than half of all respondents (43 percent) regarded the system as effective (Sibson Consulting 2010, 2, 5). This was consistent with what I discovered and heard from managers and employees at the university under study prior to the research project. In order to build trust in a performance management system, my model proposes that employees need to believe there are fair and consistent position descriptions and position evaluation structures in place. In this context, fair and equitable would be represented by an organization-wide, professionally designed, and institutionally customized, understood, and approved structure for introducing new roles, developing position descriptions, assigning position titles, and rating positions based on a prescribed set of criteria (for example, education level required, experience required, level of responsibility and risk, physical demand, impact on external stakeholders). Fair and competitive benefits and compensation structures require regularly scanning for what similar organizations are providing employees in benefits packages, incentive programs, salary scales, and work-life balance options, as well as understanding the needs and satisfiers of employees. Throughout my literature search on the topic of performance management, employees' sense of fairness in any organizational system contributed to their level of trust and their commitment to the organization. In an article on the state of performance appraisals, Bretz, Milkovich, and Read illustrated that the most essential issue faced by an organization is the perceived fairness of its 45 performance appraisal system. Factors such as accuracy and reliability of rating systems, training of raters, and determining fair procedures based on occupational group and pay structure are some of the issues the authors identified as important in building trust and fairness (Bretz, Milkovich, and Read 1992, 17-21). Consistent and competitive structures that define positions, benefits and compensation not only build a sense of fairness among employees but equip leaders in providing clarity to their team members regarding their roles and responsibilities and how their work relates to the department's goals and ultimately to the organization's strategic plan and mission. A clear position description that is regularly updated is the backbone of an effective performance management system. This enables an employee to confirm what he or she is signing up for and what the leader is measuring performance against. A template for a position description used in this research project is provided in Appendix A. This brings us to the box that is highlighted in the Model for Effective Performance Management, regarding performance evaluation, review or appraisal. It is highlighted because it is the focus of the research pilot project. The performance review process is an opportunity for the leader to clarify expectations and goals, provide feedback on past performance and fit with organizational values and culture, reward and recognize good performance, discuss development needs and opportunities, as well as any plans for improving performance where required. It is also an opportunity for the employee to provide 46 a self-assessment on past performance, input into future goals and development, as well as comments on the department and team. Assuming the leader has been trained in the use of the performance management tools and how to have both engaging and difficult conversations, the ultimate goals of performance review discussions, which go well beyond an annual meeting, are to build employee commitment and performance outcomes. As referenced in Chapter One, when I took on the role of Executive Director of HR, the university's annual performance reviews were completed by only a small percentage (under 30 percent) of staff members. At the same time, I was hearing from exiting employees that they wished they had been given the opportunity to receive feedback from their bosses and had more clarity regarding expectations. My literature search at the time confirmed that our situation was not unlike many organizations in North America. Deloitte Consulting's annual Global Human Capital Trends 2014 reported on a survey of 2,532 business and HR leaders in 94 countries. The survey results concluded that: The challenges of revamping performance management, addressing retention and engagement, and improving HR globalization received gap scores of between -20 and -24. These areas reflect a need to rethink HR strategies to deal with the 21st-century workforce (Schwartz, Bersin, and Pelster 2014, 11). In their article in the Human Capital Trends 2014 report, titled, “Performance Management is broken: Replace ‘rank and yank' with coaching and development,” authors Barry, Garr and Liakopoulos reported that 58 percent of 47 the respondents surveyed said their performance management process was not an effective use of time. After exploring the data, the authors interviewed companies such as Adobe where voluntary turnover was reduced by 30 percent in a highly competitive talent environment after they revamped their performance management process. Based on their research, Barry, Garr and Liakopoulos developed the following starting points for organizations to improve their performance management systems: 1) Get senior leaders involved and keep them involved; 2) Use performance management to build skills; 3) Teach managers to give better feedback; 4) Simplify the process; 5) Delink performance scores and compensation; and 6) Coach everyone - not just the perceived superstars and hold everyone accountable. (Barry, Garr, and Liakopoulos 2014, 49) This list was consistent with other resources I had researched such as an article titled, “Twenty Best Practices for Just Performance Reviews,” (Postuma and Campion 2008, 49) which provided helpful principles for the design and implementation of a performance review program, including timing, training and communication. This literature corresponded with many of the steps in my Model for Effective Performance Management (see Figure 1). While much of their research involved corporate, secular organizations the basic premises of working with people hold true in academic and Christian organizations as well. 48 This key building block in the Model for Effective Performance Management (see page 37) of performance review leads to improved employee commitment and performance. The challenge for me was to learn from best practices and adapt them to the context and culture of the university under study. I recognized this constituted change for the institution. I was inspired by a business author I consider a master of change, John Kotter, who said, “in successful transformations, I increasingly see gutsy HR men and women helping provide the leadership needed to change the systems to fit a new vision. In some cases, they do so despite little encouragement from line managers or even from their HR colleagues. They do so because they care deeply about employees ... (Kotter 1996, 111). Whether I could be described as “gutsy” or not, I was encouraged by the leadership support at the time and committed to our employees who were asking for more job clarity and performance feedback to press forward in building a more effective performance management system at this university. We did not need to abandon the existing program but rather launch a change process - engaging, empowering and equipping leaders to clarify roles, set measurable goals, and using fair, consistent and competitive structures, manage the performance of their team members, ultimately to further the mission of the university. Chapter Four will provide detail on the performance review tools and training developed and implemented for this research project as well as the 49 research findings and Chapter Five will outline the conclusions and implications resulting from the findings. Performance Management in Churches Much of my discussion in this chapter thus far has referenced secular organizations, and to some extent higher education institutions, and we can learn a great deal from the experiences of our colleagues in these organizations. However, the university under study is a Christian university whose mission is to develop godly Christian leaders, as an arm of the church. It was therefore important to investigate what was happening in Christian organizations, particularly in churches, to ensure effective performance management of the human capital (staff and volunteers) committed to fulfilling the mission of the church. In his book, Effectiveness by the Numbers: Counting What Counts in the Church, William Hoyt suggests that churches fail to count what matters most. Factors that matter include: the number of conversions and baptisms, rather than worship attendance; how well the attendee mix at church programs and events reflects the cultural, ethnic, and economic make-up of the community; the number of children and youth who grew up in the church and over time have evidence of lasting Christian commitment. Measuring these factors and counting in general may not only seem daunting but also unspiritual in some Christian organizations 50 and churches, inherently seeding skepticism of the leader's or pastor's calling. Hoyt argues: ... counting is such a natural part of life and if keeping score is so important, then why do so many churches fail to count? Why do so many fail to count accurately, and why do so few count the things that matter most? Most often the problem is a matter of fear ... They fear their leadership effectiveness will be called into question. They fear they will be found out and labeled failures (Hoyt 2007, 5-6). He goes on to remind us that Jesus and His disciples counted. As scripture reports, they counted how many men, women and children attended gatherings, how many were fed, how many churches were established and how many were baptized (Hoyt 2007, xvi). God clearly identified that the church's mission is to produce followers of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20). As good stewards, Christian organizations and churches faithfully endeavour to improve their effectiveness in achieving that mission, tracking progress as they journey together, guided by the Holy Spirit. To facilitate achieving this mission, Hoyt encourages his readers to be intentional rather than opportunistic regarding the development and recruitment of leaders, to provide ongoing assessment of gifts, measurable goals, honest feedback, and coaching. He cites biblical references as his rationale, such as the apostle Paul who instructed Timothy to produce more leaders when he said, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2 TNIV). Jesus, invested in a dozen to whom He ultimately trusted the future of His church, 51 sending them out in two's. There will be further discussion of the theological rationale and themes for the key concepts of performance management in the next chapter of this thesis report. Card's survey of 185 pastors and 105 church board members across Canada (84 percent in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta) who actively participate in performance reviews, reports on systems that range from a straw vote of ‘Yes' or ‘No' by the congregation to renew the pastor's contract, to comprehensive 360 reviews involving the collection of feedback from people who report to the pastor, administrative staff, congregation members, community members, and board members. Mennonite churches commented on an Appreciative Inquiry method they use that identifies and affirms what is being done well, highlights areas where the pastor may not be well-equipped, seeks to explore other ways activities may be accomplished, or identify ways that the pastor can grow. This process fits well within the Mennonite tradition, which espouses an egalitarian view of leadership within the church where the pastor, lay leaders, and congregation have joint ownership of the church mission. Only 4 percent of those surveyed mentioned the idea that the performance review process is one where the board and pastor collaborate with each other. Although all board member respondents indicated in the screening questions that they were part of the team responsible for conducting the performance review of the pastor, 24 percent (25 board members) said they did 52 not know what criteria was being used to evaluate the pastor. Despite 35 percent (37 church board members) reporting they had access to denominational resources, 50 percent (53) said they learned how to conduct pastoral performance reviews from their own business or management experience. When asked about their satisfaction with the performance review process they experienced, one in five of the pastors surveyed were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. Another significant group (17 percent or 31 pastors) expressed a neutral opinion (Card 2016, 35). Consistent with findings in the Deloitte study and my research at the university under study, Card summarized that, “These statistics indicate a significant potential for improvement in satisfaction levels” and performance management systems in churches (Card 2016, 39). If we are to enable each part of the body to do its special work so that the whole body is healthy, growing, and full of love, whether we are working in a secular or Christian organization, there is need for innovative change in the way we facilitate and support those parts (our employees) and their work. Organizational Change Theory In Talent Wins, introduced in Chapter One, Charan, Barton and Carey assert their challenge to senior leaders of organizations, large and small, for profit and not-for-profit, to not only consider talent important, but to put it first. The authors recognize this emphasis on talent first, “means a complete transformation 53 of the way most companies have done business for decades” (Charan, Barton, and Carey 2018, 2). Not only will it require change for the CEO's time and priorities, but also for the role and competencies required of HR professionals and the senior HR leader. Over the last decade there has been an increasing focus on the profile of the HR professional as a strategic partner, especially in the corporate sector. In order to respond to this demand and equip HR professionals in Canada, the Registered Human Resources Professionals Act was established in 2013 and a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation was created. Continuing education opportunities are regularly provided for human resources professionals across the country that enable them to stay current regarding HR issues, practices, and products; network and learn from colleagues in similar and different organizations; and maintain their professional designation. A review of recent Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR as it is now known) conferences reveals themes and seminar topics such as “Momentum,” “Developing a Culture of Innovation,” and “Making Human Resources Strategically Invaluable - Driving Change Through People in Transformational Times.” There is clearly a focus on facilitating change in organizations, and based on my experience of over twenty-five years serving in HR roles, any strategy involving people will be experienced as a significant change and requires intentional and thoughtful planning. This was certainly true 54 for the implementation of the research project. It required a change initiative approach and an HR role as a strategic planner and facilitator of change. The president of the university under study (2013-2019) was a strong advocate for strategic change and at the same time sensitive to others' varying reactions to change. He understood the importance of having a process for leading change. In The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, Heifetz, Grahow, and Linsky state: “The most common cause of failure in leadership is produced by treating adaptive challenges as if they were technical problems” (Heifetz, Grahow, and Linsky 2009, 19). This research project involved firstly the introduction of technical change, i.e., the existing staff performance review form needed to be revised and supervisors required a training program to develop their performance management skills. Technical change can be implemented by enlisting technical expertise and using an organization's current structures and systems. The project also was faced by adaptive challenges. As the Model for Effective Performance Management (on page 37) suggests, the success or effectiveness of the performance review process was not all about the Staff Performance Review form or the supervisor training. Clear articulation of the organization's mission, strategic plan and roles as well as building a culture of fairness, trust and organizational commitment required adaptive change. This involves “changes in peoples' priorities, beliefs, habits, and loyalties. Making progress requires ... 55 mobilizing discovery, shedding certain entrenched ways, tolerating losses, and generating the new capacity to thrive anew” (Heifetz, Grahow, and Linsky 2009, 19). Understanding that this research project was a change initiative that involved both technical and adaptive change assisted in developing change strategies. As a researcher, not only did I need to ensure the tools and research methods being used were reliable and relevant, but also that the introduction, delivery and follow-up of the research project considered how the university staff embrace change and a planned methodology for managing the change process. In 1957, Joe M. Bohlen, George M. Beal and Everett M. Rogers at Iowa State University, developed a theory to describe how new innovations and ideas are accepted and adopted by groups and cultures. The Rogers Adoption Curve as it became known (also called the Diffusion Process) was originally applied to agriculture and home economics, but later applied to new ideas and technologies by Everett Rogers in 1962 in his first edition of Diffusion of Innovations. It has withstood the test of time and is now in its fifth edition. Diffusion of Innovations theory states that adopters of any innovation or new idea can be categorized as innovators (2.5 percent), early adopters (13.5 percent), early majority (34 percent), late majority (34 percent) and laggards (16 percent), based on a bell curve. One's category is determined by willingness and ability to adopt an innovation reflected in awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and actual adoption (Rogers 1995, 263-279). 56 The usefulness of both the adaptive change concept and Rogers Adoption Curve when planning a change initiative is to firstly recognize that the technical change being introduced, i.e. a new performance management system has adaptive, personal challenges for the organization and for individuals. It is important to identify those in the organization who are Innovators and Early Adopters. They will become excited about the initiative. Enlist their involvement in helping you move forward. Also understand that there will always be those in the late majority and laggard category who will challenge the initiative until the bitter end. As Rogers explains, adoption of innovation relies on two important concepts: uncertainty and information. An innovation presents an individual or organization with a new alternative or alternatives, as well as a new way of solving problems. However, the probability that the new idea is superior to previous practice is not initially known with certainty by the individual problem-solver. Thus, individuals are motivated to seek further information about the innovation in order to cope with the uncertainty it presents (Rogers 1995, xvii). In an academic environment where faculty are recognized for their ability to question and challenge, the early adoption of innovative business or administrative practices is understandably less likely. From my experience working with faculty members, they tend to approach change as the “late majority” or skeptics, using Rogers' adopter categories. They are more likely to respond to logical and clear explanations that have been tested and relate to their frames of reference. 57 As reported in Chapter One, the faculty were not part of the research project in large part because a technical change introduced at that time would present an adaptive challenge, especially regarding administration's relations with the faculty. I was fortunate to have an executive leadership team (ELT) who were supportive of the design and implementation of the staff performance review project, however with hindsight, we did not consider all the adaptive change implications. I soon learned the ELT's enthusiasm was not a shared value throughout the management ranks whose buy-in would be required to execute the program. The fact that I was a female leader introducing change no doubt had an impact as did my non-academic position. It was therefore important to approach the innovation with a proven change management process. Rogers proposed a five-stage model for the diffusion of innovation that includes knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation and confirmation (Rogers 1995, 284). Some have suggested that Kubler-Ross and Kessler's five stages of grief model: denial, anger, depression, bargaining and finally acceptance, is a helpful way of understanding and helping people work through adoption of a change in their lives (Kubler-Ross and Kessler 2014, 7-28). These principles were particularly helpful in my work with both the Advisory Committee and coaching supervisors who were not early adopters. While these models are helpful, I have found John Kotter's eight-step process to leading change especially effective in my past experience with change 58 initiatives. The president of the university under study also appreciated Kotter's practical approach and distributed copies of Kotter's book to all leaders, establishing Kotter's Leading Change process as the guide for implementing change at the university. The following is a brief description of each of Kotter's eight steps to organizational change. I will elaborate on how we applied each of the steps in the context of this research project in Chapter Five. Step 1: Identify the ‘Burning Platform' / Act with Urgency Establish a need for the change by collecting reliable and relevant data through examination of the market, current and competitive realities. Identify and discuss crises, potential crises or major opportunities. Step 2: Develop the Guiding Coalition Assemble a group of Innovators and Early Adopters with enough power to lead the change effort. Aim for as much diversity as possible in the coalition, including a cross-section of departments. Encourage the group to work as a team. Step 3: Develop a Change Vision Create a vision to help direct the change effort and develop strategies for achieving that vision Step 4: Communicate the Vision Buy-in Use every vehicle possible to communicate the new vision and strategies. Teach new behaviours by the example of the Guiding Coalition. Step 5: Empower Broad-based Action Remove obstacles to change. Change systems or structures that seriously undermine the vision. Encourage the risk-taking and non-traditional ideas, activities, and actions. Step 6: Generate Short-term Wins Plan for visible performance improvements; create those improvements; and recognize and reward employees involved in the improvements. 59 Step 7: Don't Let Up Use increased credibility to change systems, structures and policies that don't fit the vision. Hire, promote, and develop employees who can implement the vision. Reinvigorate the process with new projects, themes, and change agents. Step 8: Make Change Stick Articulate the connections between the new behaviors and organizational success. Develop the means to ensure leadership development and succession. The development and introduction of a more effective performance management system at the university under study required a proven, simple yet elegant, change leadership process; one that recognized the varied ways that employees adopt change, the leadership and communication it takes to guide the change, and the critical steps in implementing a change initiative. The use of the Kotter process proved to be significant in the implementation of this research project. Chapter Summary In this chapter the focus of this research project - performance management, was explored within the context of human resource development. A model was presented that demonstrates the comprehensiveness of this organizational system. The current state of performance management practices in corporate organizations, higher education institutions, churches, and the university under study were reviewed. In general, there is much room for improvement in building employee commitment and performance outcomes. 60 It was asserted that any HR initiative requires a planned change process. The technical and adaptive change components of this project were discussed based on Heifetz, Grahow, and Linsky's work on adaptive leadership. In addition, Rogers' Adoption Curve (Rogers1995) on how people deal with change was reviewed. John Kotter's Leading Change (Kotter 2002) process was introduced as the model that was used in this research project. The implementation of this process will be described in Chapter Four. Harvard Business School professor, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, describes vanguard companies as those where “belief in the purpose and embrace of the values generate self-guidance, self-policing and peer responsibility for keeping one another aligned with the core principles. Employees feel that they are willful actors making their own choices based on principles they support” (Moss Kanter 2009, 2). In planning the introduction and implementation of a new approach to performance management at the university under study, our goal was to build an environment where employees were willfully making choices based on shared principles, contributing their special work toward the health and growth of the whole body. This raises theological questions related to “the body,” how we help others grow, and what kind of leader is called to facilitate the development of a healthy body, full of love. These questions will be addressed in the next chapter. 61 CHAPTER 3: THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK When describing my Doctor of Ministry research project to others I have been met with curious looks and questions of what performance management practices in a university have to do with ministry. This chapter explores the theological framework underpinning the key concepts of performance management, especially in a Christian work environment. The discussion begins with an overview of the body of Christ and a proposal that a Christian organization is a representation of the body. This is followed by a review of the responsibilities, attributes, and abilities of those in the body called to be equippers, or leaders, i.e., those responsible for supervising and leading others. Self-awareness (leading as beloved), calling, steward leadership, and team leadership are featured qualities of an effective Christian leader. In addition, three spiritual disciplines for Christian leaders will be discussed. Following a discussion of the body of Christ and various aspects of leadership, accountability is the third theological area that will be explored as relevant to performance management in Christian organizations and the development of a healthy body, full of love. We discover that this body of Christ can be transformative not only 62 for its members but for those with whom they interact: those they serve, their partners and competitors, as well as the community at large. In the context of the university under study these stakeholders would be represented by students, parents, donors, government grant providers, and other universities. The chapter will conclude with a summary of the theological themes and launch into a discussion of the project methodology. The Body of Christ The phrase, the body of Christ, is a powerful image used as a metaphor for the Christian church in four New Testament epistles. It introduces a new historical reality brought about in Christ (Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Ephesians 4:12, and Colossians 1:24). When Christ entered the world, He took on a physical body (Hebrews 10:5; Philippians 2:7) through which he demonstrated the love of God clearly, tangibly, and boldly; especially through His sacrificial death on the cross (Romans 5:8). Subsequent to his death, resurrection and ascension, Christ's work continues on earth through those who believe that He died for their sins, was buried, resurrected, and thereby offers salvation to all who will receive Him in faith (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Based on the understanding of most theologians, the Christian church came into being on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles gathered in a room in Jerusalem. After the apostle Peter preached 63 about God's plan of salvation, three thousand people believed and were baptized. This was the early formation of the body of Christ. The body of Christ is more about relationships than religious practices. Firstly, cultivating a close relationship and walk with God, which is made possible for members of the body of Christ because of the work of Jesus Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. It is through the creative work of the Father, the atoning work of the Son, and the renewing work of the Holy Spirit that humans have the ability to participate in the life of God. ... When people participate in the mission of God together, the emphasis will be on conformity to Christ. ... Christ is the fulfilment of the imago Dei and our growth and conformity into that image brings us into right relationship with each other (Fiddes 2000, 53). In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul, the great church planter, referred to the church as the body of Christ in order to highlight this relational unity. He suggested that, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12). Paul's most comprehensive treatment of this theme, in 1 Corinthians 12, consists of an extensive comparison between the human body (soma) and the church in order to emphasize horizontal union among the members of Christ's body and to demonstrate dramatically both diversity within unity (12:12a, 14-19) and unity out of diversity (12:12b, 20-27). A church that was well known for the giftedness of its members (1 Corinthians 1:7) as well as its challenges with division (1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 3:3; 4:6; 6:6; 11:17-22; 12:25) needed to heed 64 warnings against both groundless inferiority (12:14-19) and disdainful superiority (12:21-25). In this letter to the Corinthian body of believers, Paul also wanted to communicate that no member experiences pain, humiliation, or honour without it somehow affecting the whole body. “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26). Paul addresses the church in Rome and calls each member of the body of Christ there to exercise humility, interdependence, and love while employing their spiritual gifts within the Christian community, For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality (Romans 12:4-13). It can be seen that cultivating a close relationship with God is primary for a Christian; horizontal, social relations between members of the body of Christ are grounded in the vertical union each member enjoys with God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 12:13). The body of Christ language applies both to the local congregation (1 Corinthians 12:27) and to something more universal (1 Corinthians 12:13), 65 attesting to the flexibility of the metaphor. The church is sometimes called the "mystical body" (Pope Pius XII 1943, 1). In his Encyclical on the Mystical Body, Pope Pius XII discussed a hidden unity among all believers in Jesus. While all believers do not belong to the same earthly organization or denomination, they are united in unseen ways, such as salvation in Christ, mutual acknowledgement of Christ as the head of the church, indwelling by the same Holy Spirit, and recipients of Christ's righteousness. Physically, all Christians function as Christ's body in the world. They participate in His missionary work. They evangelize, extend charity, heal, and worship God the Father (Pope Pius XII 1943, 15-16). I would suggest that a Christian organization (one that articulates following Christ as a key tenant in its mission statement) is a representation of the body of Christ. If employment, or team membership, requires confirmation of one's faith in a risen Christ, and a commitment to using one's gifts to fulfill Christ's mission on this earth, then the community functions as a body where each part is interdependent and contributes to the health and growth of the whole. As the origin for all spiritual gifts, the Spirit facilitates and endows members of the body for the edification of the body of Christ. Because of this common commitment to Christ and His purposes and because all are brought into communion through the Holy Spirit members of the body are enabled to exhibit a high relationality and function together as a unified whole. 66 While the Holy Spirit equips the body to live in such communion Moltmann argues, “It is only as a unity in diversity that the Christian community will become an inviting community in a society, which is otherwise pretty uniform. Creation is motley and diverse, and the new creation even more so” (Moltmann 1997, 24). This was my experience at the university under study. The community was motley and diverse and when Christian communion happened, edifying the health and growth of the whole body, it was an exciting experience. The year I joined the university under study, the theme verse for the academic year was “One Another,” based on 1 Corinthians 12:4-27: There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work ... Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body - whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many . But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other . Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. This passage speaks to the unification of the body through the Spirit and the importance of each member of the body understanding its unique role and doing its part to ensure the health and growth of the body. It was a helpful backdrop for promoting many aspects of performance management: role clarity, 67 coaching and feedback to facilitate ultimate health and sustainability of the organization. An academic organization is typically comprised of individual parts that are diverse in their roles and responsibilities, career and academic backgrounds, compensation plans, and annual work schedules. Yet at this university, the diverse parts, namely, tenured faculty, adjunct faculty, administration, maintenance staff, student life ministry staff, and professionals among others, share a sense of spiritual calling as part of the unique body of Christ. Ideally, they function: as an arm of the Church, to develop godly Christian leaders: positive, goal-oriented university graduates with thoroughly Christian minds; growing disciples of Jesus Christ who glorify God through fulfilling the Great Commission, serving God and people in the various marketplaces of life (Trinity Western University 2018). The unifying commitment to fulfill the Great Commission brings university employees together as they serve Christ by serving their students and academic partners. This commitment has not only led to a strong sense of affiliation to the university for most, it has also born much fruit. In business terms, there have been strong outcomes. The university is consistently ranked among the top two universities in Canada for ‘Educational Experience' by the National Survey of Student Engagement conducted by Maclean's magazine; and has received an A+ in quality of education for seven consecutive years in The Globe and Mail's 2006-2012 Canadian University Reports - the only university to achieve this result. Over the last two years, two new dormitories have been built 68 on campus in order to accommodate growing enrolment which demonstrates positive outcomes of employee performance and commitment. It also provides increased opportunity to achieve the university's mission of developing godly Christian leaders who will impact others around the world. What has been a challenge for this university, as with most organizations, and indeed for the early churches, is nurturing a whole body, or culture in business terms, where there is unity in diversity. We seek to be a body of Christ where diverse parts are acknowledged for their gifts and contribution to the body; where if one part suffers, every part suffers with it, and if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it; where humility, interdependence, and love are consistently and continuously demonstrated. In summary, building and maintaining an effective performance management system in a Christian organization is dependent on a common understanding and commitment to be part of the body of Christ. This requires the integration of the following major scripturally-based tenets: acceptance of salvation in Christ, commitment to grow in relationship with God and others, acknowledgement of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, appreciation for unique spiritual gifts received for use in serving others, and sharing a common bond with and concern for other parts of the body who may have diverse backgrounds and giftings. 69 Leadership Ephesians 4:11-16 tell us that, within the body of Christ, certain members are given responsibility as equippers: to educate, train, guide, and enable other parts of the body to do their work well and build up the body in love. In this sense, it could be said that equippers are the people managers and leaders in the body of Christ within Christian organizations. Equippers or leaders plan, direct, and coordinate the goals of organizations, distribute the work of others, provide training to ensure others can fulfill their tasks, and encourage cultures of humility, gentleness, patience, and bearing with one another in love (Ephesians 4:2). In the context of this research project, equippers include the senior leadership team, department leaders, people managers, and front-line supervisors. As the performance management model presented in Chapter Two, page 35 suggests, leadership selection and development are key elements in delivering and sustaining an effective performance management program. There is a plethora of books, articles, online blogs, podcasts, conferences, and degree programs available today about leadership. Some of this information focuses on Christian leadership and provides lists of qualities and competencies that are critical to effective faith-based leadership. Based on an extensive study of this information and my own experience, I would highlight four areas that I believe are important for the leadership of effective performance management in Christian organizations. These could be considered building blocks as I would consider 70 self-awareness and an understanding of being a beloved child of God as foundational, followed by being attuned to a calling to equip and build up the body of Christ, having an appreciation and capabilities for steward leadership, as well as a team leadership approach. These are discussed below. Self-Awareness and Leading as Beloved A central theme that is found in most best-selling leadership books is the importance of knowing oneself. Whether we go back to Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Covey 1989) or consult Brown's more recent Dare to Lead (Brown 2018), self-awareness is a pivotal starting point for effective leaders. As Covey argues: The more aware we are of our basic paradigms, maps, or assumptions, and the extent to which we have been influenced by our experience, the more we can take responsibility for those paradigms , examine them, test them against reality, listen to others and be open to their perceptions, thereby getting a larger picture and a far more objective view (Covey 2013, 29). Brown concurs when she states, “When I lack self-awareness as a leader and when I'm not connected with the intentions driving my thoughts, feelings, and actions, I limit the perspective and insights that I can share with the people I lead” (Brown 2018, 179). In addition, famous monk and author, Merton writes, “If we attempt to act and to do things for others and for the world without deepening our own self-understanding, our own freedom, integrity and capacity to love, we will not have anything to give to others” (Cunningham 1992, 375). 71 Therefore, in establishing a strong leadership foundation for the performance management system, it was clear that self-awareness had to be a key component. What underlies a sense of self for Christian leaders is a deep understanding of being a beloved child of God. Jesus reminded us of this cornerstone of our identity, as He prayed to His Father just before His death, “I in them and you in me - so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:23). Jesus prayed for the unity of the church as dependent upon our union with Christ in the Triune God. Jesus lived His life on earth from that inner place of knowing His Father's love, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). It served as a guide for Him (John 15:10) and an anchor when human rejections, jealousies, resentments, and hatred attacked Him, even from His own disciples. When Christian leaders view their position in Christ seen metaphorically in Song of Solomon 2:16, “My beloved is mine, and I am his,” they can become aware of their full potential. It is only when they believe at the core of their hearts, the centre of their spiritual being, they are God's beloved, that they will experience freedom and fulfillment. This concept is most clearly stated in Ephesians where we read that: Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life ... He will achieve infinitely more than your 72 greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination ... for his miraculous power constantly energizes you (Ephesians 3:17-20 TPT). A leader who can embrace the God-given love and power described in this passage will be freed up to use his or her gifts and spur others on to fulfill their roles for the health of the whole body. Jesus described an effective leader as quintessentially one with a capacity to serve and love his or her followers (Luke 22:24-27). Henri Nouwen described what that capacity to serve and love followers can look like in present day interactions: Whenever, contrary to the world's vindictiveness, we love our enemy, we exhibit something of the perfect love of God, whose will is to bring all human beings together as children of one Father. Whenever we forgive instead of getting angry at one another, bless instead of cursing one another, tend one another's wounds instead of rubbing salt into them, hearten instead of discouraging one another, give hope instead of driving one another to despair, hug instead of harassing one another, welcome instead of cold-shouldering one another, thank instead of criticizing one another, praise instead of maligning one another . . . in short, whenever we opt for and not against one another, we make God's unconditional love visible; we are diminishing violence and giving birth to a new community (Nouwen Legacy Trust 2017, 47). I was pleased to experience regular examples of what Nouwen describes here as Christian community at the university under study. Whether it was the maintenance staff person praying with a struggling student still up trying to finish a paper at five o'clock in the morning, or two managers resolving how minimal 73 funds were going to be shared for competing projects, the ethos of the body of Christ was present. Christian leaders who have expended the time, soul-searching and prayer to discover their strengths and vulnerabilities and have embraced the unconditional, far-reaching love of God through his Son are well prepared to effectively lead the segment of the body of Christ they are called to equip, develop, and admonish as required. Confidence in this love can enable leaders to become braver and create more courageous cultures (Brown 2018, 6). Calling Once a potential leader has an understanding of her or his giftings and is growing in confidence as a beloved child of God, there is freedom to listen and explore, as with all Christ-followers, whether God is calling to be an equipper of the body of Christ. From the early passages of scripture, God has called His people to lead. For some, their calling was to something so significantly new and different that He even gave them a new name, for example Abraham (Genesis 17:5), Israel (Genesis 35:10), Paul (Acts 13:9), and Peter (John 1:42). Just as these saints found, hearing and heeding God's call on our lives today and allowing Him to guide our actions requires discipline and continual spiritual nourishment. 74 “To call” is the Latin root meaning of the word “vocation”, which is distinct from “career”. Nouwen commented on this distinction, “When we are seduced into believing that our career is what counts, we can no longer hear the voice that calls us together, we become so preoccupied with our own plans, projects, or promotions that we push everyone away who prevents us from achieving our goals” (Nouwen 1989, 94). While Nouwen highlights the differences between calling and careers, he is not saying that career and vocation are mutually exclusive. Our vocation might lead to the pursuit of a certain career but should not be reduced to a career. A career disconnected from a vocation can lead to discord and stress whereas a career that is aligned with one's vocation is a concrete way of making unique talents available to the community or an organization. Nouwen suggests that the spiritual health of the Christian leader will influence his or her effectiveness as a leader and the overall organizational community. There has been considerable media coverage of Christian leaders who are so focused on their overwhelming schedules and the doing of their callings, they do not find time to attend to the nurturing of their souls or those of their teams and become distracted. An Ellis Research survey conducted in 2005 found that only 16 percent of US pastors surveyed were very satisfied with their personal prayer lives, 47 percent were somewhat satisfied, 30 percent somewhat dissatisfied and 7 percent very dissatisfied. Their median amount of prayer time 75 per day was 30 minutes. During that time, a typical pastor spent 12 minutes with prayer requests, 8 in quiet time, 7 giving thanks, 7 more in praise, and 5 confessing sin. The top 5 things they pray for were individual congregation member's needs, congregation's spiritual health, wisdom in leading the church, spiritual growth for the church, and personal spiritual growth (Facts & Trends June 5, 2005). Taking time for prayer, especially contemplative prayer, listening for God's direction and assurance is critical for a leader's spiritual health and ability to spiritually lead others. It was in times alone with His Father that Jesus was reminded of His calling and sought guidance and reassurance (Luke 9:18, Matthew 26:39). Calling is not, however, passive. It involves an aspect of striving as we read in 2 Timothy 2:15 where Paul suggests that we, as workers, are encouraged to do our best so as not to be ashamed to be presented to God, correctly handling the truth. In another letter, the apostle Paul repeated the need to press on (Philippians 3:12b-14), not wanting to be like someone running aimlessly or fighting like a boxer beating the air and being disqualified from achieving the prize (1 Corinthians 9:26). Running a race requires advancing. People who run to win the race cannot do so by moving in place (i.e., leaders who merely maintain status quo), getting detoured by every sign of danger (i.e., leaders who constantly operate in crisis mode), or running around in circles or off course (i.e., leaders who are easily distracted by non-essentials or latest fads). Rather, Christian 76 leaders are encouraged to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). In my discussions with leaders at the university under study most would affirm and many talk passionately about their initial sense of calling to their roles. Some would report, however, the clarity and intensity of that calling have faded over the years. Calling requires a leader to maintain spiritual health and renew continually leadership skills. Calling is more than a role. Steward Leadership If called to be a leader, how then is a Christian leader to lead? The term, ‘servant leadership' has long been applied to how Jesus modeled leadership while on earth. It has therefore been argued that Christ-followers should strive towards servant leadership (Greenleaf 2002, 28-29). Proponents of the servant leadership model include Robert Greenleaf (Greenleaf 2002), Max De Pree (De Pree 1987), James Autry (Autry 2001), Ken Blanchard (Blanchard 2003) and others. Although he had no theological education, AT&T manager, Greenleaf, a Quaker, was passionate about what he described as Jesus' example of leadership - one that serves others and places the good of others and the organization over the leader's self-interest. The university under study has also been a strong proponent of 77 servant leadership. It is not only taught in business classes but is incorporated into the values of the institution. In the last few years another perspective has emerged. Christian leaders and authors such as Tim Keller, senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, have introduced a distinctive model of steward leadership. Doulos, used so often in scripture, is a Greek word that is translated as “slave”, meaning someone who belongs to a master. However, since Bible translators over the past centuries understood the negative connotations attached to the word “slave”, most chose to use “servant” instead. Keller suggests that slavery in that day was very different from the slavery our more recent generations have known. Slaves in Jesus' time lived like and among others, earned wages, were not poor, and slavery was not race-based. They were not slaves for life. The only distinction between slaves and servants was that slaves were owned by their master. They could not quit and obedience to their master was unconditional (Keller 2007, 3). Jesus took the form of a slave (doulou) in order to steward the responsibilities of His Father. Paul refers to this in his letter to the Philippians: Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth (Philippians 2:6 - 10 NLT). 78 Throughout the New Testament, others including James, Peter and Jude refer to themselves as “slaves” for Christ (James 1:1, 1 Peter 2:16, Jude 1, NLT). When writing to the Ephesians from prison, Paul advised his brothers and sisters in Christ to not lose heart or be discouraged since despite being in a slave-like situation, he was experiencing God's grace and love (Ephesians 3). In the same way, Christian leaders are called into an unconditional slavery relationship with Christ and others, wholly accountable to their Master to steward, cultivate and develop the resources entrusted to them (Romans 1:1 and 2 Corinthians 4:5). From the first assignments as humans, we have been called to be stewards; in the Old Testament, God commissioned Adam and Eve to be leaders and stewards. In Genesis, He gave Adam and Eve “dominion,” they were called to “rule over ... every living creature” (Genesis 1:26, 28 KJV). He made them rulers “over the works” of God's hands (Psalms 8:6), and yet, “The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it” (Psalms 24:1). While Adam and Eve were entrusted to manage all creation's resources, they were to do so only according to God's will and for his glory, not theirs. As Genesis continues, we discover the distinction between this steward leadership that is accountable to God and cultivates God- given resources versus leadership that acts autonomously and exploits God-given resources selfishly thereby harming the resources they were called to steward (Genesis 3). 79 In Luke 12:42-48, Jesus tells a parable of a steward or manager (Greek word is “oikonomos,” meaning literally, “ruler of the house”), who has complete authority over the whole estate, all its workers, and resources. But Jesus also calls him a doulos (vv. 43, 45-47) or slave, not just a domestic servant or hired hand. In the parable, Jesus asks: Who then is the faithful and wise manager (oikonomos), whom the master puts in charge of his servants? Suppose that slave (doulos, also referring to the manager) begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him... and cut him to pieces (Luke 12:42-46). Here we see the Christian leaders' critical responsibility to care for and nurture the people resources (other parts of the body) they are called to steward. Leaders are to be compassionate and self-sacrificing stewards as demonstrated by Jesus who gave the ultimate, His life for those He served. In another parable, Jesus describes three stewards who were entrusted with financial resources to grow and prosper. In Matthew 25:26, we read that the fearful steward who buried his resources instead of managing them is called a wicked and lazy slave. Leaders are called to be responsible for the resources given to them - resources that include God's truth (1 Corinthians 4:1), spiritual gifts (1 Peter 4:10), the people in their organizations, as well as financial and other resources. In summary, while many would argue that slavery and authority are opposites, in the steward leadership model, it is the humble slave living wholly 80 for his or her master who receives authority. The ultimate steward is Jesus Himself. Despite His divine triune relationship with God, He humbled Himself and became human. He remained faithful and accountable to His Master and sacrificed Himself for others. The gospel of free grace assures all Christ-followers that they too can be humble stewards and entrusted with authority. We believe and can be fully confident that while we are still sinners, we are justified and accepted (Romans 5:1, 18), free to be steward leaders. For these reasons, I chose to use the steward leadership model in the supervisor training program for the research project and in my leadership coaching at the university, always integrating it with a servant leadership approach. The aspects of Christian leadership discussed thus far in Chapter Three: self-awareness, leading as beloved, calling, and steward leadership will equip and develop a leader to nurture the growth and health of the body of Christ, enabling her or him to spur others on to do their part and feel fulfilled in doing so. We endeavoured to incorporate all these aspects of leadership into our supervisory training program and leader coaching for the performance management project at the university. Team Leadership Just as steward leaders are building up and developing effective teams, they are also usually working with others as a member of a team. Christian leaders, as members of the body of Christ share a common vision and mission and 81 are indeed commanded to participate in Christ's work on earth through their church or organization. How Christians work with one another is just as important as what they are striving to accomplish. A key role of Christian leadership is to help team members become more Christ-like as they pursue the fulfilment of their mission and serve the needs of others. Therefore, in addition to having a stewardship approach, another important aspect of Christian leadership that is promoted in contemporary leadership literature is team leadership. As mentioned in Chapter One, respected business consultants recommend a “G3” team leadership model, consisting of the chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO) and chief human resources officer (CHRO) in order to manage the organization's talent (Charan, Barton, and Carey 2018, 6). In addition to Christ's teachings and His example building up His team of twelve leaders during His short time on this earth, the Trinity provides a rich understanding of teamwork. In the past fifty years, there has been a significant “trinitarian revival,” impacting almost every area of Christian theology (Holmes 2009, 77). Stanley Grenz suggests that this rebirth is “one of the most far reaching theological developments of the century” (Grenz 2004, ix). The development of the social understanding of the Trinity, with its emphasis on the relationality and communion of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, has been a significant factor in bringing about this renewal (Karkkainen 2007, 387). 82 Jurgen Moltmann, a German reformed theologian is the pioneer of social trinitarian theology. He brought a new understanding of the Trinity as consisting of three persons in a loving relationship, which reflects a model for human relationships. Moltmann values the individual work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and sees their relationship as inter-dependent. He says, “Creation is seen as ‘the work' of the Father, atonement as ‘the work' of the Son, and sanctification as ‘the work' of the Spirit” (Moltmann 1981, 97-98). Moltmann goes on to argue, however that while each person of the Trinity plays a leading role at different times the other persons are not excluded - all are present and working together, bringing an important and vital contribution. This assignment of work to one person of the Trinity has an underlying assumption that the act is accomplished by the “three persons” and is known as the doctrine of appropriations (Studebaker 2012, 161). If the acts of the Triune God were merely unified, it could be reasonable to conclude that one person of the Trinity could dominate and still maintain the unity merely by their superior power and authority. However, Moltmann proposes both a unified and egalitarian approach within the Godhead. We see teamwork in action in the early church. Paul believed strongly in building ministry teams wherever he went and there is evidence of his regularly assessing their strengths and capabilities as he sent them out on mission trips or kept them with him for more training and discipleship. The final chapter of 83 Colossians provides a list of several of Paul's team members and his reviews of their ministries. There were some whom he commended and others who required direction. All these passages point to the emphasis placed on teams and the development of an individual's contribution to the ministry in partnership with one another and with the Triune God. Paul not only recognized the great ministry efforts of his team members and provided direction for those needing improvement, but he also confronted unhelpful team behaviour, such as abandonment. John Mark had deserted Paul and Barnabas on their very dynamic first missionary journey while en route to Pamphylia (Acts 13:13). Later we read that Barnabas was interested in having John Mark join the team again. However Paul disagreed and was not averse to issuing consequences for John Mark's abandonment (Acts 15: 36-41). Paul was passionate about his calling and understood he was beloved by his Creator. He was not without sin, but he was driven to be a good steward leader of those he been entrusted to nurture. It is humbling to realize that as Christian leaders we are human beings and will never attain the fullness of that divine model of the Trinity working together, but we are promised that God will provide the resources we require and talented people to steward. From the early days of the Old Testament, He has been equipping leaders such as Moses: 84 Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone (Numbers 11:16, 17). He continues to equip Christian leaders willing to become self-aware, beloved, team-oriented steward leaders, living out their God-given calling. These are the leaders who will be effective performance managers of those they have been entrusted to steward. These are the leaders we were endeavouring to recruit and develop at the university under study. Spiritual Disciplines for Christian Leaders I have found through my own leadership experience and in coaching other Christians leaders that the effectiveness of the leadership building blocks discussed thus far in this chapter will be greatly enhanced when they are applied using three important spiritual disciplines. These disciplines are outlined in Nouwen's In The Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership (Nouwen 1989). Nouwen's book was given to me in 2002 by my pastor at the time and now Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministry at Tyndale Seminary, Dr. Kevin Livingston. It has remained an essential component on my Christian leader's reading list. I use it regularly in my leadership coaching practice and we incorporated this book's spiritual disciplines in the supervisory training for this research project. 85 Nouwen examines the three temptations that Jesus confronted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11) and draws comparisons for Christian leaders today: the temptation to be relevant, the temptation to be popular, and the temptation to be powerful (Nouwen 1989, 27, 51, 73). Using Jesus' responses to these temptations as a guide, Nouwen encourages Christian leaders to develop three personal disciplines to resist the desire to be relevant, popular and powerful. Firstly, rather than focusing on a need to be relevant, the Christian leader is called to be self-effacing and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but her or his own vulnerable self. That is the way Jesus came to reveal God's love (Nouwen 1989, 30). When Jesus was asked to prove His power by performing a miracle, He clung to His mission to proclaim the Word and said, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Jesus' message of love was rejected by leaders and elites in search of power, efficiency and control. Near the end of His time on earth, His only question to Peter was, “Do you love me?” (John 21:15-17), not ... “How many people take me seriously? or, “How much did I accomplish?” ... The only good question is, “Are you in love with Jesus?” (Nouwen 1989, 37). Secondly, in order to address the temptation to be popular, Nouwen refers again to the passage in John 21 where Jesus is asking Peter if he loves Him, and when Peter responds in the affirmative, Jesus says, “feed my sheep” (John 21:15- 17). Nouwen says, “When the members of a community of faith cannot truly 86 know and love their shepherd, shepherding quickly becomes a subtle way of exercising power over others and begins to show authoritarian and dictatorial traits” (Nouwen 1989, 62). Nouwen is encourages leaders to share themselves with those they lead, to be transparent and vulnerable and share the Lord of life and love with them. Confession and forgiveness enable Christian leaders to love one another and address the temptation to be popular (Nouwen 1989, 64). The disciplines we have discussed are reflecting a Christian leader who is more focused on being vulnerable, bearing others' burdens, and sharing the good news of the gospel rather than striving to be relevant and popular. Nouwen also addressed the temptation to be powerful: “Much Christian leadership is exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control instead. Many Christian empire-builders have been people unable to give and receive love (Nouwen 1989, 79). Nouwen is calling here for courageous leaders who so deeply know and love Jesus they are ready to follow Him wherever He guides them. Just as prayer, personal study and reflection keep Christian leaders connected with their first love and just as confession and forgiveness keep their ministries and organizations communal and mutual, so Nouwen offers that the discipline of strenuous theological reflection will enable Christian leaders to discern critically where they are being led (Nouwen 1989, 85). “Theological reflection is reflecting on the painful and joyful realities of every day with the 87 mind of Jesus and thereby raising human consciousness to the knowledge of God's gentle guidance” (Nouwen 1989, 88). It is disheartening to learn of very public examples where Christian leaders who seemingly have been used in significant ways to further Christ's work here on earth have fallen into the temptations of relevance, popularity and power. One very recent example is that of the firing of Harvest Bible Chapel's founder and thirty-year pastor, James MacDonald, for what is described as misuse of church funds for lavish expenditures and abuse of power. A month later, the Chair of the church's executive committee, Steve Huston resigned along with other staff and board members. “Huston apologized on the part of the board for a ‘failed system' that gave ‘too much latitude' and ‘too much trust'; for requiring only ‘partial accountability' of MacDonald; and for an ‘absence of communication' that ‘spoke too little, too late” (Roys March 9, 2019). In summary, effective Christian leaders have a self-awareness, especially as a beloved child of God, understand their calling to leadership, have a steward heart for those they are called to lead, and engage team leadership. These leaders are also disciplined praying, vulnerable and trusting leaders. This is the leader we wanted to develop at the university under study - a leader with hope, courage and confidence who could implement effective performance management and build up the body of Christ in that institution. 88 You will find several of these leadership qualities in the Leadership Pipeline - Competency Matrix (see Figure 2, page 104) developed for university leadership recruitment, development, and succession planning programs. There will be further discussion of this Pipeline in Chapter Four. Leaders were encouraged and mentored to have their own personal daily prayer times but also more extended monthly or quarterly spiritual retreat times and were provided with work time for this purpose. The ELT modeled extended time in prayer as a team, praying for each other, for those in the university community needing prayer, and the issues at hand. As an HR department, we hosted weekly prayer times on campus that featured a different university department or faculty each week. More specific to the research project, the project itself was bathed in prayer, as we progressed with design issues, prior to meetings, and going live with presentations or sending out surveys. Prayer was also integrated into the supervisor training manual (see Appendix G). Supervisors were encouraged to pray for guidance and insight before completing a review on each of their team members as well as pray at the outset of their review meetings. Accountability In Chapter Two, a model was introduced that outlined the multi-faceted components of performance management. It begins with a well-articulated mission statement and continues with measurable strategic directions and goals, 89 clear roles and responsibilities, related accountability, reward and recognition, as well as management of goals not met. The practice of performance evaluation is an accepted and regular part of daily life in today's world - not only in the workplace, but in our academic, family, and social lives too. Large corporations announce massive layoffs based on declining product demand and a dip on the company's financial spreadsheets. Students strive to maintain an ‘A' average so they will be accepted at their first-choice university. Families keep job chore checklists on the fridge to see who will be eligible for their weekly allowance, and we rate our latest dining experience or vacation with the appropriate number of stars on TripAdvisor's web site. Taking care of our human capital at Christian universities also requires accountability. Holding others and ourselves accountable and rating performance is a daily activity. The Latin word responsere literally means “to be accountable”, and often the term “responsibility” and “accountability” are used interchangeably. As Christian leaders and employees in Christian work environments, we find that scripture has much to say about these concepts. Parables such as: the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35); the tenants (Matthew 21:33-43); the rich fool (Luke 12:13-21); the faithful and wise managers (Luke 12:41-48); and the ten minas (Luke 19:11-27) all incorporate the concept of accountability. While we are prone to portray Jesus only as a compassionate, forgiving, and caring saviour, his life reflects that he was confident in holding himself and others accountable. 90 In Matthew chapter 25:14-30, Jesus tells a sobering parable about the return on investment of another's funds. In the parable, a man goes on a journey and entrusts his servants with his property. To one he gives five talents, to another two talents, and to a third one talent, each according to his ability. The first two servants invested their talents wisely and produced a great return. The third servant buried his talent in a hole in the ground. The master returns from his journey and demands an account from each servant. The third servant is condemned as lazy and wicked. The parable commends those who take initiative, and who produce a return for the sake of the Kingdom. It equally condemns the wasting of opportunity. Jesus too was willing to be held accountable. We read His response, in Matthew 11: 2-3, when John the Baptist surprisingly sent his disciples to inquire whether Jesus was indeed the Messiah. Rather than being offended by such a challenge and reprimanding John for his unbelief, Jesus provided measurable examples that proved he was fulfilling the role he was sent to perform. He said, “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor” (Matthew 11:4-5). David Turner notes that the increasing opposition to Jesus made John the Baptist's question an understandable one and Jesus' response helped John realize that He was indeed fulfilling His Father's overall mission on earth (Turner 2008, 290). John would know that this mission had been prophesized in Isaiah 61:1-2. Jesus is modeling here a humble leader's 91 willingness and ability to respond to sincere questions, ready to account for the achievement of desired outcomes of a shared and well- communicated mission. In addition, the apostles Paul (Romans 14:12) and Peter both wrote that we will be required to give an account for our lives. We should therefore be alert and of sober mind so we may pray; love each other deeply; be hospitable without grumbling; and use whatever gifts we have been given to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace (1 Peter 4:7-10). Leaders in a Christian university setting are well resourced by scripture in understanding the importance of accountability. Further to what has already been discussed, we discover Nehemiah, who not only demonstrates all the leadership building blocks identified earlier in this chapter, but also the spiritual disciplines and accountability. He followed God's calling, managed resources judiciously, and took care of the human capital he was given. We read of Nehemiah's love for his God and God's people. He wept and fasted upon learning of the plight of the Jewish remnant who survived the exile, and the dilapidated state of the city of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:1-4). Out of that love, he sought God's counsel for everything in prayer: for clarity in his sense of calling to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (1:4 and 2:12); for courage in approaching King Artaxerxes to be released from his palace duties (2:4); and for protection and victory in the face of opposition (4:4,9). 92 With this sense of calling and continually retreating to seek God's strength and guidance, Nehemiah humbly and strategically planned out his mammoth project (Nehemiah 2:11-16), and passionately shared his vision and plan with others who became his enthusiastic followers (2:17,18). He managed performance well by providing clarity of purpose, delegating responsibilities with specific goals and timelines, ensuring his workers were equipped and encouraged, executing the plan (4:14-20), and celebrating a job well done when everyone gathered in the House of God and, “offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away” (Nehemiah 12:43). In all of this, Nehemiah was vulnerable and accountable for what he set out to accomplish. In turn, those on his teams trusted him and had the hope, courage and confidence to tackle and be accountable for what seemed like an impossible challenge. When Nehemiah found he could not rely on team members, he held them accountable as well. Whether it was misuse of the House of God, disobedience of rules of the Sabbath or intermarriage, Nehemiah held those responsible accountable for their actions and there were consequences (Nehemiah 13:5). While some of his practices may have seemed extreme, a guiding principle for accountability is provided in Matthew 18:15-17 for times when we are dealing with performance or behaviour requiring correction: 93 If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. This directive is clear. Christian leaders are not called to disregard substandard performance or behaviour that is detrimental to the health and growth of the body. To conclude this section, scripture also confirms that accountability is important to God and to Jesus. From the beginning of humankind, clear expectations were laid out to Adam and Eve regarding their roles and responsibilities in stewarding the Garden of Eden and there were consequences to be paid when those expectations were not met (Genesis 1-3). Through his parables and in mentoring his disciples, Jesus provided many examples of the effectiveness of providing clarity, quantifying goals and results, and dealing with performance that does not meet agreed upon goals. Prior to his triumphant ride into Jerusalem as a King, Jesus was very specific and clear in his instructions: As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.” (Matthew 21:1- 3). 94 While trying to retreat to a quiet place on the Sea of Galilee with his disciples, we find Jesus taking the time to not only feed his followers but also teach his disciples important lessons about the significance of His and ultimately their ministry. He asked them to count and record how many were in the crowd, how many fish and loaves were provided, and how many baskets of leftovers were gathered up (John 6:1-13). The numbers in this miracle of Jesus were critical in that they confirmed His power and deity to the thousands who were in attendance and emphasized the significant ministry for which the disciples would soon be accountable. This emphasis on our accountability to be effective in what we do can be found elsewhere in scripture. Christ's teaching consistently focuses on how fruitful or productive we are in His service of discipling others and nurturing them in their relationship with Christ (Matthew 3:10; 7:16-17; 12:33, Luke 6:43, John 15:1-5; Romans 7:4; Ephesians 5:9; Colossians 1:10; James 3:17 among many others). Although, there is always a running undercurrent that we can do nothing in our own strength. Only what is done through participating in the grace, love, and person of Christ through the Spirit is worthwhile and lasting, which brings us back to our identity as children of God. 95 Chapter Summary Through an exploration of three theological themes we have established a framework for performance management in Christian organizations. These organizations, including churches, can be considered representative of the body of Christ as they are comprised of Christ-followers. As such, each member is called to perform his or her part, using the gifts given to serve others and help the body grow. Some members are called to be equippers or leaders and have more specific responsibilities regarding performance management. These leaders are firstly to be self-aware and lead out of an understanding and experience of being beloved children of God, so they in turn can love others. Effective Christian leaders understand their calling and the vision and mission God has called them to. They are to be steward leaders of the resources they have been given, humble and vulnerable with their followers, good listeners, and able to gain trust and respect. They can communicate a vision to others and as strong team leaders delegate responsibilities and excite others to devote themselves to the organization's mission. In addition, effective Christian leaders develop three spiritual disciplines in order to serve their God and others well, resisting the temptations to be relevant, popular and powerful. They spend time in contemplative prayer, practice confession and forgiveness, and engage in strenuous theological reflection, thinking with the mind of Christ. Effective Christian leaders are accountable and hold others accountable. They are themselves accountable for their calling and 96 press on to achieve the vision and mission set out for them. They delegate responsibilities to other leaders and followers based on strengths and provide clarity regarding goals and performance expectations. They work alongside their teams, coaching and following-up along the way. For those who apply themselves well and achieve their goals there is celebration and recognition and for those who do not, there are consequences. These are bold and courageous leaders who are not afraid to hold themselves and others accountable, to confront behaviour or performance that is contrary to what will build up the body of Christ. This theological framework informed the development of the performance management program for my research project, not only in the design of the tools and the training of leaders, but also in the entire process of the research project implementation. In Chapter Four, I will outline the action research stages and describe in detail the research project program and tools, as well as review the realities of some of the project parameters. Each stage of that process endeavoured to work towards the goal laid out in Chapter One, ... we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” (Eph. 4:15-16, NLT) 97 CHAPTER 4: PROJECT RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, METHODS AND FINDINGS This chapter describes a participatory action research project designed to develop the effectiveness of performance management for staff at a private, Christian university in Canada. It begins with an overview of participatory action research (PAR) and a discussion of why this research method was chosen. It then outlines the project phases, based on the PAR cycles of planning, acting, and review; including literature search, the selection of project participants, the design and implementation of methods, data collection and analysis, reflection and adjustment, and follow-up. The participatory and collaborative nature of PAR calls for research methodology that renders primarily qualitative rather than quantitative findings. In his essay, Thick Description: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture, anthropologist, Clifford Geertz, stated that the benefit of participatory and collaborative research is to develop what he called, “thick description” of the culture (Geertz 2017, 15). Geertz holds that an ethnographer must present a thick description which is composed not only of a “thin description” of facts but also a commentary, interpretation, and interpretations of 98 those comments and interpretations in order to truly understand a culture. Culture here is defined as an organization's underlying beliefs, assumptions, values, and ways people and groups interact with each other, with customers, and with stakeholders (Geertz 2017, 6-7). Understanding an organization's culture will impact how one effectively leads, introduces change, manages performance, builds commitment, and produces results. The organizational culture under study for this research project is that of a private, Christian, Canadian university institution and its people. As outlined in Chapter Three, this university community of administration, faculty, staff and students could be considered the body of Christ which significantly impacts its culture. Following a discussion of the research methodology and methods, there is a review of ethical considerations related to the research project. The qualitative and quantitative research findings over the two-year span of the pilot project are then reported and discussed. The chapter concludes with project constraints, where issues that impacted the project timeline, process, and outcomes are discussed. Participatory Action Research When I decided to focus my leadership research project on performance management at the higher education institution where I was working, I searched for a research methodology that would allow me to be actively involved rather 99 than a distant clinical observer. Participatory Action Research (PAR) is distinct from other methodologies in that it fosters collaboration between the researcher and the research participants. PAR has been defined as research involving participation (life in society and democracy), action (engagement with experience and history), and research (soundness in thought and the growth of knowledge) (Chevalier and Buckles 2013). The role of researcher is more one of facilitator and communicator, which is the way I prefer to define my role as a human resource professional. In her article in the Canadian Journal of Action Research, Cathy MacDonald states that “the ultimate goal of PAR research is the radical transformation of social reality and improvement in the lives of the individuals involved; thus, community members are the primary beneficiaries of the research” (MacDonald 2012, 39). The research problem originates in the community itself and is defined, analyzed, and solved by the community, i.e., there is full and active participation of the community or research participants at all levels of the research process. In addition, PAR allows the researcher to be a committed participant, facilitator, and learner in the research process (MacDonald 2012, 45). This description of PAR resonated with me as I was developing the research project proposal for my doctoral program. The project was a change initiative, aimed at transforming not simply a human resource practice in a Christian higher education institution, but also the people management 100 competencies of the university's leadership, the performance management experience of over three hundred staff members, and ultimately the culture and organizational outcomes of the university. All these target areas could potentially benefit from the project. People managers would develop their understanding and skills in establishing and communicating goals, providing meaningful feedback, and managing performance outcomes, through both recognition and improvement plans. Staff members of the community would have greater clarity regarding their responsibilities and goal expectations, receive required development, and experience rewards and consequences based on performance results. The university would ultimately have a base of more engaged employees who are invested in the outcomes of the institution and the fulfillment of its mission. The research problem that presented in this university community was non-compliance with the performance appraisal system and reported lack of role clarity and feedback, as described in Chapter One. The research project would engage university leaders and staff in defining, analyzing, and solving this problem throughout all stages of the process. As a member of the community under study, I was able to use focus groups, participant observation and field notes, interviews and online survey questionnaires in order to generate research data. These will be outlined in more detail later in this chapter and samples can be found in the Appendices. 101 Finally, as a life-long learner, the researcher, and the Executive Director of Human Resources working closely in the community, I was able to be a committed participant, facilitator, and learner in the research process. The PAR methodology originated in part with Kurt Lewin who defined an action research cycle comprised of a pre-step that involved naming the objective, and three primary activities: planning, action and fact-finding (Lewin 1948, 205- 206). Over time Lewis' PAR model of pre-step, planning, action, and fact-finding has been adapted by various researchers based on their fields of study. Dr. Patricia Kelly developed a helpful model of PAR through her work in the public health sector, reported in her article, “Practical Suggestions for Community Interventions Using Participatory Action Research” (Kelly 2005). As outlined earlier, I determined that PAR was the most appropriate research methodology for this project and I found Dr. Kelly's application of the process very relevant to the work I was doing in a higher education institution despite the fact that her research addressed nursing professionals. Both research projects were change initiatives focused on addressing how people are managed, developed, rewarded and retained in the university, increasing our knowledge of performance management and the competency of university supervisors, and working towards increased commitment and job performance among community members. 102 Dr. Kelly's model involves initial steps before moving into the three major cycles of action research; planning, acting, and review. I will begin by explaining her model and then describe how I implemented it. The initial steps included conducting a community assessment that defined the problem, providing a framework for a plan and beginning to engage the community, finding a community partner, considering existing resources available to support the implementation of a PAR program, and obtaining ethical approval (Kelly 2005, 67-69). Following these initial steps, the first cycle is planning, which “involves a balance between presenting ideas developed from a formal community assessment and working with community groups on the creation of priorities or strategies” (Kelly 2005, 69). It is in this step of the process that the meticulous recording of discussions, interviews, and field notes assists in clarification of the program philosophy and the type(s) of programming required by the community, or in the case of this research project, the university. The goal of the acting cycle is “to create consciousness and social change by working together with the target community to address an agreed-upon goal” (Kelly 2005, 70). Although in Kelly's model, the acting cycle requires that all community members have an opportunity for input and the development of goals collectively agreed upon, she does not communicate how to balance the demands of the research process with the need for outcomes. Finally, during the review 103 cycle, the participants and researcher collaborate to assess the process of the research and any outcomes. Outcome evaluation documents are completed, and the group determines how to share the data (Kelly 2005, 73). I will now proceed to describe my research project using the Kelly model of participatory action research. Initial Steps Before engaging the community in assessment and development, it was important to conduct an extensive systematic search of academic, business and theological literature on performance management, performance review and appraisal, organizational culture, management and leadership training, development programs, and spiritual growth among employees. I was especially interested in writings that related to university institutions and Christian organizations, as well as secular organizations. This literature search stage also included a review of various types of organizational culture and employee surveys and interviewing human resource colleagues regarding practices in their organizations. The findings out of this research formed the basis of Chapters Two and Three and provided a framework and models not only for research methodology but also for understanding how the research findings might be applied beyond the university under study. My next step was to prepare a written proposal which discussed the current state of staff performance management and my passion and desire to 104 approach it as a research project for my Doctor of Ministries studies. I met with the university's executive leadership team as well the doctoral program director and both parties approved my proposal and committed their support. The project was launched. As outlined in Chapter One, the first six months in my new role as Executive Director of Human Resources at the university under study involved a review of all the people-related processes and programs. My investigation revealed that only 26 percent of the full-time and part-time staff employees received annual performance appraisals in the year prior to my arrival (see Appendix B). I also discovered that the number one recommendation for improvement by 22 exiting employees was to have more clarity of expectations and more feedback from their supervisors (see Appendix C). Conversations with staff teams during my first six-months discovery tours rendered similar comments from staff employees along with concerns that supervisors were not well trained to provide feedback. In addition, conversations with supervisors indicated they were averse to having performance discussions because there was no money available for salary increases. There was also a sense that it was impossible to release poor performers. When discussing these issues with the university's executive leadership team, they agreed that performance management did need to be a priority for the university. I emphasized the importance of beginning with clarification of the 105 organizational vision and the leadership competencies required to realize that vision, as the Model for Effective Performance Management presented in Chapter Two suggests. A clear vision and articulated leadership competencies enable more strategic recruitment and development of leadership at all levels, and the establishment of relevant and measurable goals for people managers. Before proceeding further, I worked with the executive leadership team of the time to articulate a set of competencies for university leaders (staff and faculty) at varying levels in the organization: from those just beginning their career through to those starting to supervise others, and those moving into senior leadership roles. We described this competency framework as the Leadership Pipeline Competency Matrix (see Figure 2, page 107). It became a regular agenda item for our weekly leadership team meetings until we had refined it into something that articulated what was needed to take the university into the future. The Pipeline was then introduced to several groups across campus where feedback was encouraged and received. These groups included the Staff Association, the Faculty Association, and business professors working in the field of human resources. While this process may have taken more time than expected, it not only provided a clear framework of expectations to the community, but also built a collective understanding of and shared buy-in to these critical competencies and the institution's focus on performance management. 106 Figure 2: Leadership Pipeline - Competency Matrix [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 2 details. ] 107 In addition to my liaison with senior leadership, I approached a small group of department leaders with whom I had gained trust, who represented diverse parts of the institution, and who had varying experiences of the performance review systems at the university. They became strong allies and partners in communicating the vision of the project, empowering others and short- term wins. This Advisory Group was critical in sustaining momentum and instituting organizational change as the executive leadership team experienced transition during the project, had time constraints, as well as competing priorities. While building these community partnerships, as Kelly would describe them, and with the competency pipeline in place to serve as a framework, I moved into the final step of obtaining ethical approval. This meant approval from the Research Ethics Board (REB) of the university under study. My application for approval involved a detailed outline of the project's purpose, proposed methodology and methods, selection of participants, risks and benefits for the participants, and the consent process. The project was granted approval on October 30, 2013 and subsequently was submitted and approved by the REB of Tyndale Seminary. An initial research project timeline was then developed (Appendix D) based on the requirements of the doctoral program and realities of the university calendar. This provided five months for the research phase of the project. 108 Planning Cycle In order to engage the community in the planning and acting cycles of the staff performance management project, I identified a variety of staff employees and managers from across the university and established what I called my Reference Group. Members of this group varied on many factors including level of responsibility, department, age, gender, ethnicity, years of service with the university, and their experience with performance appraisals in the past. Over the course of the project they were engaged individually through email questions and requests to review draft documents, as well as in focus group discussions. This group was in addition to the more formalized associations mentioned earlier (Staff Association, Faculty Association and senior leadership team) who continued to be updated and consulted for input throughout the project. They also were distinct from the Advisory Group I continued to use as a more informal and confidential guide and sounding board. Based on the literature search and my inaugural investigation, I worked with the Reference Group to evaluate the existing staff performance appraisal form (see Appendix E) and the performance review process and develop a method that would respond to current needs. The most frequent responses I received when asked why there had been such low compliance with the performance management program at the university were: lack of time, untrained supervisors who didn't appreciate the importance of feedback and were awkward in one-on- 109 one meetings, and managers who believed that since they had no salary increase to offer their employees, there was no point in scheduling performance review meetings. In addition, many found the form itself cumbersome, irrelevant to their type of work, and the rating system often got in the way of good conversation about performance and development needs. In developing a revised format and process for staff performance review it was important to consider the culture of this organization, which is an academic institution, not prone to embracing of major change easily or quickly. As found in Appendix F, we decided to maintain the set of ten performance criteria that supervisors and staff were familiar with and add an eleventh related to workplace environment and safety. The performance criteria descriptions however were updated. Input indicated that the inclusion of some form of scoring was still important so while each performance criteria was rated, the tallying of ratings into an ultimate score or ‘grade' was removed. Being an academic environment, this final score had become distracting and was not helpful to more meaningful discussions of areas of strength and areas for improvement. The new format began with a review of the employee's position description to ensure clarity of expectations and updating should those expectations and responsibilities have changed. This also laid a framework for the assessment of performance (based on expectations) in section two. The form itself was laid out to encourage conversation and included bridging questions between 110 the performance assessment section and the goal-setting and development sections, such as, “What is going to be particularly critical in this job in the next 12 months?” (for the manager), and “What are your career aspirations?” (for the employee). These questions were intentionally added to help supervisors share where their departments are going in the next year and how the individual employee's role could contribute to achieving those goals. In addition, supervisors could learn more about their staff members and their personal goals. Measurable work-related targets and employee development goals were two areas that had been very weak in previous performance appraisal discussions and usually left blank on forms. The revised form introduced these sections with conversational questions and more user-friendly formatting, distinguishing work- related targets from development goals and linking them to responsibilities in the employee's position description. As well, a separate section was provided to be completed for those who lead others. In all cases, not only the employee and supervisor were required to sign the completed form, but also the manager of the supervisor so that he or she was informed of the performance results, targets and development plans of employees within the department. Once we had finalized the revised form template, we had several staff in different departments pilot test it for understandability and ease of use, and made further revisions based on their feedback before developing a Supervisor's Guide (Appendix G) to explain each section of the performance review form and how to 111 conduct a review meeting. The Guide focused on the purpose of performance management as an ongoing management responsibility and encouraged setting aside the time required for each team member. Once the Guide was developed, a one-hour supervisor training session was created to prepare them for the use of the new process and form. A PowerPoint presentation with examples customized to the supervisor's department was provided and role-playing was incorporated as part of the training. Three pilot staff departments were chosen to work with the revised performance appraisal system and form and receive the supervisor training. These included two departments that had not been consistent in completing performance reviews in the past but whose department heads were supportive of the research project and encouraged supervisors in their departments to participate along with them. The third department had been a strong proponent of performance reviews and the leader was eager to try out the revised format. Interviews were conducted with the three department heads to ensure they understood the nature of a research pilot and the feedback that would be required post pilot. Word spread and other department heads learned that a revised performance review process was being launched. Three departments that were undergoing restructuring and personnel transitions at the time asked to be included in the pilot. We agreed that the new performance review format could facilitate helpful conversations between the managers and the employees, so in 112 the end six departments were involved in the pilot phase. Supervisors and leaders in these departments all received the supervisor training. Regarding participatory action research methodology, it should be noted that there was freedom for the department leaders to opt out of volunteering to participate in the pilot project, using the new form and process for staff performance review. Once a department leader had agreed to opt in, the team members did not have the freedom to opt out and not participate. Every staff employment contract at this university includes a clause indicating that there will be annual performance reviews. Participation in the university's annual review process is therefore one accountability of staff members. All participants in the research pilot however received an explanation that the online survey evaluating the pilot performance review form and process was part of a research project and they were given the freedom to opt out of completing the survey. Acting Cycle The implementation phase of the research project with the pilot departments ran from September 2012 through to May of 2013. Each department was scheduled to conduct all staff performance reviews at one time rather than on an employee's anniversary date of hire, as had previously been the practice in many departments. My initial investigation found that compliance and quality of feedback was higher when a specific performance review time was established with department leaders. Supervisors using the anniversary date system found that 113 being asked to complete performance reviews throughout the year felt more like an interruption and often was not timely based on work projects as well as individual and team performance cycles. When performance review dates were established at less busy times in their annual work schedules and the team knew it was review time, everyone could devote attention to completing the forms and having meaningful conversations. The first department to receive supervisor training and launch the revised performance review process in September 2012 was the University Communications department. See Figure 3 for a schematic of the Staff Performance Review process. Figure 3: Staff Performance Review Process [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Figure 3 details. ] 114 The content of the Supervisor training session and the steps used in introducing the revised performance review format and process are outlined below so that it may be understood, replicated or adjusted as desired in the future. Typical of action research, the responses of those involved helped to shape the performance management project as it unfolded and assisted in its evaluation. Anyone responsible for recruiting, supervising, coaching, or evaluating the performance of employees (including student employees) was required to attend the one-hour departmental supervisor training session. I began the session by providing a brief background on performance management at the university and their department, using employee and manager quotes and emphasizing the need for change. The department leader then expressed his or her support for the pilot, confirmation that it was a department priority, confirmation of the review timelines, and encouragement of everyone's full participation. This was followed by a walkthrough of the Supervisor's Guide (Appendix G) along with an explanation of the revised Staff Performance Review form (Appendix F) in an open forum format, entertaining questions as we proceeded. Supervisors were encouraged to carve out the time required for two meetings per employee. Employees were asked to complete their self-assessment prior to a first meeting, including comments to substantiate and explain their ratings and forward them on the electronic form to their supervisor. They were also to think creatively about development opportunities. Supervisors were to prepare for the first 115 meeting by reviewing the employee's input, completing their ratings and comments as well as targets for the next year and development suggestions. The first meeting began with a review and updating of the staff member's position description and talking through the similarities and differences in ratings but more importantly, the comments and examples the employee and supervisor had to explain their scores. The first meeting also addressed department goals for the next year and how the employee's role could contribute with measurable targets. A second meeting could then focus on the staff member's development plan and any areas for improvement in order to ensure success in achievement of performance targets and career aspirations. To assist supervisors in understanding the distinction between work-related target setting and building development plans, samples were provided in the Supervisor's Guide. In addition, we incorporated role playing into the training session. Supervisors were asked to develop targets and development goals for scenarios presented in the Guide and then have a mock conversation with a partner in the training session to practice feedback and coaching skills. As indicated earlier, the questions raised, and feedback received in these sessions helped to improve the Supervisor's Guide and training program as we proceeded with other pilot departments. Once we had completed the departmental supervisors training, we held an information session for all staff within the department. This meeting was generally only thirty minutes long and provided an opportunity to introduce staff 116 to the new performance review form and process, clarify expectations regarding their participation, i.e., self-assessment and completion of questions, inform them of timelines, and address any of their questions. As in the supervisor training session, the department leader spoke of his or her support for the pilot, confirmation that it was a department priority and that supervisors had received training, and anticipation of everyone's full participation. This was crucial in gaining buy-in for a process that either had not existed in some departments or had certainly not required two meetings in most. Immediately following this information session, the performance review documents were delivered to staff electronically with instructions on completion, a reminder of the process, and an invitation to a performance review meeting with their supervisor. Staff were then given approximately two weeks to complete their self-assessment and employee questions and submit their performance review form to their supervisor, prior to their scheduled review meeting. Departments were encouraged to provide work time for employees to complete their performance review forms. On receiving an employee's completed performance review form, a supervisor completed his or her sections of the form, including ratings and comments and examples to substantiate scores. Work targets for the next six to twelve months as well as development goals related to the employee's comments 117 about future career aspirations and opportunities in the department were drafted for discussion. Supervisors were coached to ensure they had no interruptions during their performance review meetings, i.e., mobile and desk phones were silenced, computer screens were out of sight and a “busy” or “no interruptions please” sign was posted on the meeting room door to discourage those who might be tempted to drop by with a quick question. In addition, supervisors were encouraged to create an inviting, informal environment for the meeting, that would foster conversation, such as ensuring they were not accepting any calls or checking their phones during the meetings, offering coffee or water, meeting at a campus location away from the supervisor's office, and ensuring they had some flexibility in their schedules should the meeting run overtime. In 4 of the 5 departments that completed the pilot project, supervisors reported that they completed sections one to three in the first performance review meeting, sent an updated copy of the Review Report including agreed upon ratings and combined comments to their employee, and then finalized sections four and five in a second meeting. This enabled the supervisors to focus their conversations on past performance and feedback in the first meeting and target and goal-setting for the future in the second meeting. Once a signed Report was prepared, it was reviewed and signed by the supervisor's manager, discussed with him or her, and then sent on to the HR department for final review and retention 118 in the employee's file. The HR review was primarily for quality control, to ensure effective and meaningful completion, but also to gain a sense of talent across the organization. Not only did we watch for significantly high rating scores but discrepancies between supervisor and employee ratings, supervisors' ability to provide quality comments on performance criteria, as well as clarity, depth, and creativity of work targets and development goals. Following the completion of the annual Staff Performance Review Report, supervisors were encouraged to incorporate discussion of work targets and development goals in their regular one-on-one meetings with each employee, tracking their progress and addressing any roadblocks or confusion as they arose. In addition, more formalized six-month check-ins were scheduled with each employee when the Staff Performance Review Report was revisited. Again, this check-in time was determined by the department leader, but the time commitment required is much less than the annual review and can usually be incorporated into regular one-on-one coaching meetings. In a dynamic environment such as this university with changing leadership and priorities, much could change in six months, so work targets were reviewed, assessed and revised to ensure year-end deadlines could be met. Similarly, progress with development goals was assessed and adjustments made as required. Updated targets and development goals were documented, both the supervisor and the employee retained copies, and ideally a 119 copy would be sent to HR. These targets and goals would be used for assessment purposes in the next annual performance review discussion. It is clear from the process just outlined that this major segment of what we call performance management is comprehensive and time-consuming for both the supervisor and the employee. However, with other segments in place (a clear mission, strategic organizational and departmental plans, and effective leadership development) my premise was that an engaging and consistent performance review program can contribute to organizational commitment and employee performance outcomes. Thus, the time spent on performance review would be well spent and beneficial to both employees and the organization. In addition, further enhancements such as quarterly check-ins, simplifying the review document and regular use would reduce time required. Review Cycle The review cycle provided an opportunity for me as the researcher to also serve as facilitator and communicator as I regularly checked in with the pilot departments during the implementation or Acting Cycle. I documented informal conversations and questions I received from supervisors and employees in pilot departments as they worked with the performance review methodology and Staff Performance Review Report. As Kelly states it: . once momentum is established it is often difficult to stop program activities for the purpose of 120 conducting a formal evaluation. Therefore, acting and evaluating proceed simultaneously in many projects” (Kelly 2005, 71). The methods used for assessing the performance review process and Staff Performance Review Report, as outlined below, were developed with input from the Reference Group, mentioned earlier in this chapter. Methods were field tested with sample research participants before inviting all those who took part in the pilot to provide their feedback through anonymous online surveys, one-on-one interviews and departmental team debrief meetings. An online post pilot survey (Appendix H) was designed and distributed to all employees in the pilot departments in August 2013, provided their department had completed all first-round annual performance reviews. As will be reported in detail in Chapter Five, two of the seven pilot departments were not able to complete all their reviews so did not participate in the post pilot survey. Each supervisor and his or her manager who participated in the pilot project was interviewed one-on-one using an Interview Guide (Appendix I). In addition, the completed annual Staff Performance Review Reports received by the Human Resources office were recorded and assessed for quality of completion, comments, work targets, and development goals. Qualitative and quantitative results from the pilot departments' assessments were gathered into a report that also included a summary of learnings, conclusions, and recommendations for further implementation of the 121 university's staff performance management program. These findings, conclusions, and recommendations will be discussed in detail in Chapter Five. The report was generated through discussion of the results with each pilot department, incorporating their suggestions for improvement. It was then presented to the executive leadership team for review and approval to proceed. Ethical Considerations Approval was received from the Research Ethics Boards of both the university under study as well as Tyndale University College and Seminary. In his writing on practitioner action research, Richard Winter, a British academic outlined several ethical principles that researchers must consider when conducting PAR. First, the researcher must ensure that all relevant persons, committees, and authorities have been consulted, and the principles guiding the work are accepted prior to commencing the research. As reported earlier, the university's executive leadership team was fully aware of this research project. From the early stages of articulating what leadership competencies were important to the later review of pilot results and recommendations, they were invited to provide input and feedback. As the researcher but also a senior leader in the university under study, I wanted to be explicit about the nature of the research project from the beginning, including any personal biases and interests, while ensuring there was equal access to information about the project for all participants. You will note on the survey 122 questionnaire (see Appendix H), a disclosure that the anonymous findings of the survey results would be used for my doctoral studies. Assurances of anonymity in any research reporting was discussed at the outset of every one-on-one interview with supervisors and each department team meeting. Participants were informed that they were not only piloting a staff program for the university, but also contributing to a doctoral research project. A second ethical principle is that all participants must be allowed to influence the work, and the wishes of those who do not wish to participate must be respected. As outlined previously, participants in the pilot departments influenced the timing of the project in their department, the design and content of the performance review methods and the outcomes. While all staff employees in the pilot departments were required to complete an annual Staff Performance Review Report and participate in a performance review meeting, they could request that their responses on the confidential online feedback survey not be used for research purposes (see Appendix H), or they could choose not to complete it at all. Similarly, supervisors were given the option of indicating whether they wanted any parts of their interview comments not to be used in a research report. These reported requests and wishes were documented and respected when analyzing and reporting research results. Thirdly, Winter suggests that the development of the research project work must remain visible and open to suggestions from others throughout the research 123 process. The more that participants can have input and understand the research project goals and structure, the more likely they will be to embrace and engage with the research process. The researcher must also ensure that permission is obtained prior to making observations or examining documents produced for other purposes, as there is a shared ownership of the research. Descriptions of others' work and points of view must be negotiated with all those who participated in PAR before publishing any of the work. The administration of the post pilot survey and conducting of supervisor interviews was a collaborative process in that the survey and interview questions were developed with a Reference Group of representatives of staff employees and supervisors. Results of these research methods were debriefed with each department to ensure analysis and conclusions were developed within the context of that department and incorporated the perspective of the participants. Finally, the researcher must accept responsibility for maintaining confidentiality throughout the research process. The challenge in maintaining a collaborative, participative action research approach is to also ensure confidentiality and respect those who have chosen not to participate in research data. I stored all research data on a private password-protected drive available only on my desktop in the HR office and all hard copy research documents in a locked file in my office. Comments made in formal meetings, conversations and 124 correspondence do not reference individual participants (employees or supervisors) or identify the results of specific pilot departments. As described before, ethical considerations are critical in the planning cycle of a research project but equally critical throughout the acting and review cycles. This was especially true for this project that was launching a new way of assessing staff performance and having meaningful conversations about the institution and an individual's future. Research Project Findings Chapter One introduced the subject, scope and methodology of this research project. The purpose of this research project was to explore performance management in a private, Christian, Canadian, higher education institution and more specifically whether a staff performance review process and tool can impact employee performance and commitment to the organization. In addition, the project aimed to understand whether a Model for Effective Performance Management developed for a Christian higher education institution would be relevant and useful in churches and para-church organizations, and for HR professionals in various organizational environments. In Chapter Two, page 37 a Model for Effective Performance Management was presented that included the key components of effective performance management from the establishment of a compelling mission and measurable 125 departmental goals, to strategic leadership recruitment and development, providing consistent and clear position descriptions, through to the implementation of a fair and engaging performance review process. Chapter Three presented three theological themes: the body of Christ, Christian leadership and a Christ-oriented understanding of accountability. Each theme relates to performance management and contributed to the design and interpretation of this research project. Earlier in Chapter Four the research methodology used in this project was outlined. Rather than applying quantitative procedures such as experimentation and use of control groups, I worked through a participatory action research methodology beginning with initial steps that related in many ways to the first several building blocks of the Model for Effective Performance Management. Firstly, the mission or purpose of the university under study which did not change during this research project. Its centrality as the pre-eminent guide for all institutional decisions, curricula, programs and behavior however, did change. The university president who took office on an interim basis in the summer of 2013 and was then permanently appointed for a full term in March 2014, integrated the university's mission statement into every part of its culture. He referenced the mission statement in almost every verbal and written communication with internal and external constituents. As an alumnus, he had his own story about how the university had transformed his life and his passion for 126 the institution's mission or purpose, so it was not only an organizational statement but a personal one as well. It soon was highly visible on all university materials and social media. Employees began to engage with it and tell their own stories of what the mission meant to them. PricewaterhouseCoopers found: In data collected from 1,510 full and part-time employees and 502 leaders in 39 different industries in the USA, including publicly traded and privately-owned companies, partnerships, government/state-owned agencies, and non-profits, 73% of employees who say they work at a “purpose-driven” company are engaged, compared to just 23% of those who don't ... Employees most favor hearing about the impact of their company's products and services through client and customer stories, employee stories, and leadership messages . Personal delivery and the opportunity for dialogue is imperative (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2016, 9). This was especially true for millennials who are 5.3 times (versus 2.3 for non-millennials) more likely to stay with an organization when they have a strong connection to their employer's purpose (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2016, 11). This heightened awareness of the university's purpose or mission facilitated the incorporation of a mission statement as the pivotal starting point in an effective performance management system. It also laid the foundation for a new strategic map for the university that was highly collaborative in its development. While one of the executive leadership team members led the endeavour, leaders of all faculties and departments spent time in retreat settings over the course of almost two years (from November 2012 to September 2014) creating a plan that set out a way forward. The drafts out of these sessions were then shared in staff and faculty meetings for input and feedback. The resulting 127 document was not only a blueprint of strategic goals for the executive leadership team but also provided specific goals for faculties and departments which could then be translated into individual team member performance targets. Thus, this document provided a key piece in the research project's performance management framework. The next building block in the Model for Effective Performance Management created for this project involves leadership selection and development. Preparing supervisors for their performance management roles also served as one of the initial steps in this PAR project. As described earlier in Chapter Four, a Leadership Pipeline (Figure 2, page 107) was created with the executive leadership team in 2011 in order to articulate key competencies for recruitment and promotion into university leadership roles. This model continued to be refined as leadership changed but the key competencies remained the same and provided supervisors with a clear guide for identifying and developing leadership potential as well as a vocabulary for performance management conversations. This leads to the performance review or appraisal step in the Model for Effective Performance Management, which is the focus of the research project pilot. As described earlier, six university departments participated in the pilot to test a distinctly new method of performance review. Three departments were undergoing transition (identified as Transition Departments A, B, and C), two 128 departments had a history of completing performance reviews on time and effectively (identified as PR Departments A and B), and the sixth department had not conducted formalized performance reviews for some time, but the leader was enthusiastic to find an effective process (identified as Keen Department). A seventh department, Human Resources had a varied history of completing performance reviews. They participated in the pilot to model the way (identified as HR Department). The roll-out of the performance management pilot was presented earlier as Figure 2. Implementation timelines for the seven pilot departments are provided in Table 1. Table 1: Pilot Implementation Timeline [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table 1 details. ] As Table 1 demonstrates, the research project began with supervisory training for the pilot departments at different times between the Fall of 2012 and the following Summer of 2013 in order to optimize their workflow schedules. The 129 supervisors appreciated this flexibility, and this enhanced their ability to devote the time and attention the performance review process and their team members required. Once the process was in place and staff were engaged, things moved ahead in most departments. As a facilitator and colleague to the department leaders, as well as researcher, I was able to coach them along to maintain momentum and address any questions or problems. Table 1 also reveals that that not all the pilot departments completed the full implementation cycle. In two instances, Transition Department A and Keen Department were not able to complete performance reviews in all divisions of their departments. Despite full support of the project and intentionality on the part of both department leaders, their focus was diverted due to a reorganization of department divisions and resultant managerial transitions in one department, and the introduction of a new software program that had to be launched at the same time as the pilot in the other department. Both issues were unforeseen when the timeline was developed. Post-Pilot Employee Online Survey Results In April 2013 an online survey (Appendix H) was administered to all team members in the departments that had participated in the pilot project. Promotion of the survey ahead of its distribution included announcements in department staff meetings, emails from myself as HR Director and researcher assuring confidentiality and encouraging participation to improve the process, and 130 reminders on a daily online staff communication newsletter. The total number of staff employees (including supervisors) who were invited to complete the online survey was sixty-nine, and the total number of surveys completed was nineteen, rendering a disappointing 27.5 percent response rate. In following up with the department leaders regarding the low participation rate vacation schedules, academic year end priorities, and general aversion to completing feedback surveys, despite a commitment to anonymity were all cited as reasons for the lack of response. A detailed account of the results of the online survey is reported in Appendix J. Of the nineteen pilot participants who completed a survey 71.4 percent (13) reported that their annual performance review experience in the pilot was different from other reviews in the past. Two respondents commented on receiving “really valuable feedback” and six others reported on not ever having reviews before. Fifty-seven percent (11 respondents) believed their job performance had improved as well as their commitment to the university as a result of their most recent performance review (only a few months following their reviews). It was encouraging that 78.6 percent (15 out of 19) stated they would recommend the performance review process and form to others, some commenting they had already done so. There were helpful comments regarding strengths of the review process and the review form, as well as recommendations for improvement. Twenty-eight 131 percent reported no changes were needed in the performance review process while 36 percent recommended some aspect of improvement in supervisor training, including making the review meetings a priority, training in how to set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound) goals, and how to have difficult conversations. Other comments related to the length of the process and follow-up. Thirty-six percent (7 respondents) reported positive comments on the performance review form while 21.4 percent (4) recommended changes to the rating scale, either changing the numbering system or the definitions of the options. Other suggestions were to incorporate the Addendum for Leaders into the general rating section as it seemed to be redundant and would shorten the overall length of the form. Based on the low response rate on the online staff survey, I enlisted the assistance of my Advisory Group and the university Staff Association and asked that they solicit informal feedback from those who participated in the pilot project. The comments they received were consistent with what respondents had said in the online survey, so I had more confidence in moving forward with the process and form with some modifications. Post-Pilot Leader Interview Summary In addition to surveying the pilot participants anonymously for feedback on the performance review process and tool (form), the department leaders of the six pilot staff departments were interviewed post-pilot in one-on-one meetings 132 (see Appendix I for interview questions). A detailed account of the results of these interviews is reported in Appendix K. Most commented on their appreciation of the new focus on dialogue in the new performance review process, even though it may have required more time. They valued discovering more about the employee's performance, strengths and areas for improvement, goal setting, and development, rather than simply filling in rating scales. Others appreciated the flexibility in determining when their department review time would be during the year; the consistency of having all departments use the same process and form; and the inclusion of all employees in the process. The following table outlines the leaders' rank order of reasons for a performance review program (in descending order of importance to them). All six of the leaders interviewed agreed with the reasons presented for performance management and scored all the reasons as ‘Very Important' or ‘Important'. It is clear from Table 2 that these leaders were interested in giving and receiving feedback, encouraging, clarifying expectations through up-to-date job descriptions, and rating performance. While setting work targets and development plans were rated as important, they were described as being contingent on foundational discussions of performance feedback and job clarity. 133 Table 2: Reasons for Performance Reviews - Pilot Leaders [ Below is Table 2 taken outside of the table framework. Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table 2 details as it appears in this dissertation. ] 1 Provide the employee with some feedback and encouragement on his/her performance over the last year 2 Provide an opportunity for the employee to give feedback regarding his/her job and the work environment 3 Enable the organization/ supervisor to rate the performance of the employee against what is required in his/her job description 4 Review and update the employee's job description and ensure the employee understands expectations 5 Set up a development plan for the employee to close performance gaps and equip the employee for future roles 6 Set performance targets for the next year 7 Determine whether the employee's performance warrants a salary increase I was encouraged that all six leaders could provide evidence of the impact of the performance review process on an employee's commitment to his or her job, department and the university - even those who had not completed all their reviews. One employee told his manager at the conclusion of his review, “I didn't feel part of the community when I first came here. Now I feel I belong.” Other examples of organizational commitment included volunteering for weekend department events, participating on university committees and associations, as well as staff sports teams. One leader pointed out, evidence of commitment may be impacted by an employee's life circumstances, e.g., single mothers, elder care. The commitment is there and espoused but the employee is unable to follow through with their behaviour due to life's circumstances. 134 While the leaders were asked to report numbers or percentages, all were able to provide more than one example of employees whose performance had improved following their performance review. One leader said, “One of our employees was encouraged to learn new skills outside her comfort zone. She branched out and succeeded as she saw me as her champion.” Another commented, “This review process helped me to identify people's passions and where they would like to fit more effectively.” These were encouraging results and supported the link between effective performance management and performance outcomes. All leaders responded “yes” to feeling competent and comfortable in providing productive performance reviews for their staff team members as a result of the training they received as well as their past experience, recognizing there is always room for further development. Some reported a challenge with putting a numeric value to an employee's Christian character. They felt it was awkward to rate a fellow Christian's use of his or her spiritual gifts and expression of fruit of the Spirit. These leaders chose to leave the rating column blank and completed the Comments section with examples of the employee's demonstrated character. I would agree that rating an employee's Christian character or calling is not only difficult but not helpful or part of being a good steward leader, encourager or equipper. In the next chapter I have included a change to this part of the Review Report among other recommendations. 135 Suggestions for further improvement included providing the Supervisor's Manual in a course curriculum format, providing more training on the distinction between work-related targets and development goals, scheduling regular follow- up on performance targets and development goals throughout the year. There was strong appreciation expressed for the ongoing coaching and assistance HR provided throughout the pilot, from supervisor training to coaching on how to handle difficult conversations. Comments such as, “appreciated the one-on-one coaching” and “assistance in creating development plans and performance improvement targets was most helpful” were most encouraging for our HR team. All the leaders interviewed responded, “Yes,” when asked whether they would recommend the new performance review process and form to their colleagues who manage staff at the university. Some added they would encourage continuous refinement of both the process and the form. Additional helpful comments can be found in the detailed report (Appendix K). In addition to the more formalized survey and interviews I also collected input from the groups I had been consulting with: the Staff Association, the Reference Group and the Advisory Group. I asked that they listen for any feedback from pilot department participants, especially since we had a low response to the online survey. Comments were consistent with what we had been hearing, i.e., employees appreciated the supervisor training that was being provided and felt this was contributing to the reviews actually being done and 136 being conducted in a consistent manner. There were some complaints regarding the amount of time it took to complete the Form, especially for the first time, but there was strong appreciation for the opportunity to self-assess and have input into development plans. Finally, I had an opportunity to present preliminary findings of the pilot research project to a group of HR colleagues who are in senior roles at universities across western Canada. The membership group, HR Association of Universities in Western Canada (HRAUWC) meets twice a year for an educational conference and I was asked to speak on April 11, 2014 on the performance review process and tool we were testing. Twenty-eight HR leaders attended my presentation, primarily from non-Christian institutions, and they were able to fully engage with the process and tool. They questioned the Christian character competency and discussed how they might translate that into a discussion regarding the university's values statements. We discussed the implications of working in a unionized environment and how that might impact both the process and the tool. From their experience, working with union agreements and representatives would significantly lengthen the design and development phase based on the number of required inputs and reviews, and the form would likely be shorter and include fewer open-ended, conversational components such that it would be much less flexible. It was evident from our discussion that most institutions were struggling to find a solution to conducting 137 meaningful and effective performance reviews for staff employees, before even attempting to consider faculty employees. Many of the HRAUWC members represent universities much larger than the one where I was working, however five of my colleagues who attended my presentation did follow-up for more information and planned to use some components of the process and tools in their institutions. Table 3 on the next page lists all the data sets used in this research project, summarizing the last two sections of Chapter Four - the implementation and findings. The table includes two shaded data sets at the end which were administered in 2018 and are not part of the pilot project. I retired from the university under study in 2017 but for the purposes of completing this thesis, I followed up with the HR team there to inquire about the performance review system. Consequently, a staff online survey was made available for staff to complete through a link on the university e-newsletter. As reported in Table 3, the response rate was very low (3 percent or 12 employees). In addition, I interviewed 9 leaders who had participated in the 2012-13 performance review pilot. 138 Table 3: Data Sets Summary [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Table 3 details. ] 139 Project Constraints When choosing participatory action research (PAR) as my research methodology, I recognized there would be inherent limitations. It takes more effort to build relationships throughout the process, more time, and more educating community members to implement a project using PAR methodology (MacDonald 2012, 40-41). First, it was critical to build relationships and trust among the senior leadership team, gaining their support for and engaging them with the project. This was a team with differing priorities, none of which initially included the university's staff performance management system. There was also the larger community of participants - managers and staff members. Managers were stretched trying to fulfill growing demands with fewer people and financial resources, and university students' needs which change dynamically every year. Staff were disillusioned with a performance review process that few found useful, if they had experienced it at all in the past. I was the new HR person, from a different region, who had no previous experience working in a higher education environment. All these factors required intentional and specific relationship- building, patience and understanding if the project was going to proceed. Second, based on its participatory nature, the implementation of a PAR project takes time. Time is required for information gathering, data analysis, and providing and receiving feedback. Ensuring the community's participation in 140 defining, analyzing, and solving the problem extends timelines well beyond what a researcher-driven non-collaborative project would take. If community members are going to participate in a PAR project, they need to understand its purpose, key terms, the project plan and components, so they may be informed participants. Based on feedback from community members and the need to ensure participants understood project components, the existing performance review form was redesigned and enhanced rather than creating a different one that introduced entirely new terms and scoring system. A supervisor/assessor guide and training program was developed and delivered prior to roll out to staff employees to build supervisors' competency and comfort in understanding their role and how to implement the program aimed at improving team members' performance and enhancing their commitment to the university. Senior leadership hosted all-staff meetings to inform the community about the project and encourage participation at all stages - from completing online surveys, to completing self-assessments on performance review forms and meeting with their supervisors to discuss their past performance and future goals and development. In addition, HR team members attended department meetings to further educate staff employees in the benefits of participating in the performance management program and encouraging dialogue and collaboration. There was a regular reminder of the purpose of the program: to enable staff to live out their 141 calling and commitment to serve at this Christian, liberal arts university and achieve goals that will contribute to the university's mission. During the review cycle, when we were collecting and analyzing data, the project engaged participants through online surveys, one-on-one interviews, pilot testing teams, and feedback focus groups. As outlined earlier in this chapter, the project applied a PAR principle of pilot testing so three departments were invited to test out the proposed performance management program and Review Report, provide feedback and work with the researcher in revising it before it was implemented to all staff departments. Designing, delivering, evaluating, and summarizing all these participatory experiences was time-consuming, however this methodology enriched qualitative information in order to contribute to the goal of the project: improved individual performance outcomes and organizational commitment. A third constraint could be summarized as organizational transitions. As with any applied research project, real life events both in the life of the researcher and in the life of the organization impact the life of the research project. Most of my research on this project was conducted between 2010 and 2014. During that time, I reported to five different leaders, each of whom had varying interest in and understanding of the issues related to staff performance management at the university. 142 In addition, the leaders of two of the departments who agreed to pilot the project left the organization during the early acting cycle and a third left as the research results were being gathered. This required enlisting supervisors and managers in other departments to participate as pilots well into the project, thus limiting the time they had to work through the action research cycle. Based on the above transitions, the demands of my HR leadership role at the university, which was dynamically moving forward under a new president, and with the encouragement of my thesis adviser, I took a hiatus from conducting research on the performance management program in 2014. I was granted a four- year reprieve from my doctoral program and given an opportunity to re-apply and complete my thesis later. Organizational change, such as I experienced, is not uncommon in most dynamic organizations, institutions and churches today. It was helpful to not only have the proven PAR research methodology to follow through the planning, action, and review phases, but also to approach the project as a change initiative and use Kotter's change model as I progressed through. While we may not have completed all the steps, engaging a guiding coalition in my Advisory Group and Reference Group was critical, as was creating and communicating a vision for effective performance management. 143 Chapter Summary The purpose of this project was to implement an effective performance management system in a Christian, higher education organization that would positively impact individual performance outcomes and organizational commitment. In terms of research methodology, I chose to use participatory action research (PAR) which is comprised of initial steps, a planning cycle, acting cycle and review cycle. This collaborative, community-centred, transformative methodology was an exciting fit for the purposes of the research project. This chapter has described the initial steps and implementation of the three PAR cycles (planning, acting and review) as they pertain to a pilot launch of the staff performance review process and tool. Ethical considerations were also discussed. The findings of the research project were then presented followed by a discussion of project constraints. We are now ready to move on to Chapter Five for a discussion of the conclusions, recommendations, and implications for other organizations and professionals resulting from this research project. 144 CHAPTER 5: INTERPRETATIONS, CONCLUSIONS, FURTHER STUDY AND IMPLICATIONS This final chapter presents interpretations of the research findings of a participatory action research project at a private Canadian Christian university. The project involved the launch of a performance management system and the pilot of a staff performance review process and form. The findings reported in Chapter Four indicated an increase in performance review participation within the pilot staff departments and improvements in employee performance and employee commitment in the small sample of staff employees. These outcomes were impacted by factors such as organizational change, which is discussed in this chapter using Kotter's eight steps to leading change, initially introduced in Chapter Two. Change facilitated performance management in some instances and diverted attention and energy in others which impacted further development of the performance management program at the university. The conclusions section reflects on the purpose of performance management and performance reviews in particular, with comments regarding a 145 way forward for performance management in the context of the institution under study including further research that would be beneficial. Implications of this research extend well beyond the confines of the university being studied, into performance management in other Christian organizations as well as the role of HR professionals in facilitating performance management. These implications are discussed, and recommendations provided. Finally, the chapter provides reflections from the researcher on her personal growth through the experience of this research project, and how that will contribute to ministry in the future. Impact of Organizational Change Based on the quantitative results of the online survey and the leader interviews, as well as anecdotal input from campus groups such as my Advisory Group, the Staff Association, and the executive leadership team as well as conversations with individual staff and supervisors, there was support to proceed in introducing the new staff performance review process throughout the university with some minor revisions. Over the course of the next six months, we revised the Supervisors' Manual to provide clearer distinctions and guidance in setting work targets and development goals. We also recommended a timeline that incorporated the Probation Review (at the first three or six-month point) as well as subsequent check-ins every three months on work targets and development 146 goals established in the annual review. We also adjusted some of the performance rating scales in the performance review form. In early 2015 we were ready to introduce the new performance review process to the remaining university staff departments and began training supervisors and holding team information meetings. These leaders did not demonstrate the same enthusiasm and response rate as their pilot leader colleagues. Their behaviour demonstrated that of late majority skeptics or laggards in Rogers' terms (Rogers 2003, 284), as outlined in Chapter Two. The successful implementation of a new performance management system relied heavily on these leaders' time and commitment. Some department leaders said they simply did not have the time to learn a new process and would endeavour to at least conduct some version of an annual performance meeting using the old review form they were accustomed to. Their reasons for having no time included that their department had no down time to identify as their performance review time, they had too many staff to devote two performance review meetings to each one person, and the former process had worked for them and they did not see any reason to change. Despite trying to provide examples and responses to each of these arguments, without the support and modeling of the senior leader of these departments, I was unable to enforce compliance with the new performance review system. Others endeavoured to engage with the new process and attended training sessions (or parts thereof) but were unable to 147 follow-through and complete reviews with their team members due to emergency priorities that consumed their time or transitions in their departments which distracted their focus. These departments were included at a later date. At the same time, there was turnover of members in the executive leadership team and the performance review process as designed was not a high priority for them and consequently not communicated as important with their direct reports. In addition, my priorities as leader of HR shifted. Further, I was asked to focus on other projects rather than continuing to expend time and energy on performance management. It was suggested that this should be left up to the department leaders. In evaluating how effectively this research project was managed or led as a change initiative, I will refer back to Kotter's steps for leading effective change, introduced in Chapter Two. The first step is to establish an urgent need for change by collecting reliable and relevant data and identifying and discussing potential crises or major opportunities. Data regarding the low percentage of performance reviews being conducted in the university under study, and the need for more clarity and feedback on job expectations and performance expressed by exiting employees was gathered. This data was augmented by research reports and articles by experts who linked effective performance management with increased organizational commitment and performance outcomes among employees. I developed a case for improving performance management at the university, 148 beginning with clarifying departmental strategic goals emanating from the mission statement and placing more intentional focus on leadership development. Step two of Kotter's change process is to develop a guiding coalition of innovators and early adopters with enough power to lead the change effort. I was able to engage the university's executive leadership team at the time (in 2012) in understanding the importance of addressing the performance management gap and endorsing the research project to develop a new performance review process and tool. In addition, as described in Chapter Four, I was fortunate to be able to establish an Advisory Group of department leaders who became strong allies and partners in communicating the vision of the project, empowering others, sustaining momentum, and celebrating short-term wins. They were in relatively influential positions and were particularly helpful individually and as a group after the research project pilot, when we were experiencing transition and changing priorities among senior leadership. Kotter's third and fourth steps are to develop a change vision and use every vehicle to communicate it throughout the organization. The executive leadership team and my Advisory Group served as sounding boards in developing the change vision for this project. With hindsight, I now see that the vision for what performance management could be at this university generated out of HR and remained with HR to communicate and sustain. Kotter argues that for change to be effective, the guiding coalition needs to be teaching new behaviours by 149 example. I cannot report that all members of the executive leadership team spent the time to work through the performance management process we were asking of other university people leaders. They were not visible, verbal champions among their direct departments. They did not model the way by conducting reviews with their direct reports, check in to see how reviews were progressing in their departments, and provide designated work time as Review Days. Such lack of enthusiasm serves to reinforce existing behaviours of skeptics and late adopters to resist change. Less than successful achievement of steps three and four will impact the success of future steps in Kotter's model. Kotter's steps five and six are to encourage risk-taking and non-traditional ideas, activities, and actions, and to celebrate the short-term wins by recognizing and rewarding those involved in taking those risks and making improvements. Encouragement of this kind requires removing obstacles to change, including systems or structures that seriously undermine the change vision. I don't believe we experienced serious undermining of the overall performance management program. Fortunately, we were able to remove obstacles that early feedback identified as unhelpful. These included training supervisors in how to conduct a performance review, and re-designing performance reviews so they clarified expectations. A key improvement to the process was that it invited input and feedback from both the employee and the supervisor rather than focusing on 150 filling in numbers on a chart and automating the performance review form into a more user-friendly format. I was encouraged by the way that several of the pilot leaders embraced the implementation of effective performance management in their departments. One leader in particular who could be described as an innovator or early adopter was able to work with one of his managers who had been underperforming for a few years and affecting the performance, culture and reputation of his entire department. By implementing the performance review process and tools and with HR coaching, he risked stepping out of his comfort zone and very effectively developed a performance improvement plan with the manager. In the end the manager was not successful in achieving that plan, but he and the department leader knew expectations had been clear and every opportunity for success had been provided. Provisions were made for the manager to secure another position elsewhere before leaving his role with the university. This not only strengthened this leader's competencies as a change leader, but also sent a strong and positive message to the rest of his department and to colleagues who had experienced difficulty with this manager. Effective performance managers are committed to work with staff (at any level) who are demonstrating poor performance and an unwillingness to work as a team. However, if attempts to clarify expectations and provide support do not result in improved work performance or employee behaviour, there must be follow-through and action taken. Respect for the 151 individual and the organization must be maintained throughout the process. The leader mentioned earlier demonstrated leadership competencies of clearly identifying expectations, coaching for success, and also willingness and ability to have the difficult conversations when performance outcomes are not being met. In addition to recognizing leaders for walking through particularly difficult conversations and creating innovative modes of implementation of the performance review pilot, we took time to thank and celebrate each pilot department that agreed to participate in the pilot research project, including those who did not necessarily achieve full completion. The celebrations took on various forms to suit the personality of the individual department, from serving homemade morning muffins and coffee at a team meeting to providing copies of a favourite business book to all team members. It was a time to say thank you for their participation in testing out the new process and provide an update on the research project outcomes and next steps in revisions to the performance review form. Finally, steps seven and eight relate to sustainment. Kotter's titles are “Don't Let Up” and “Make Change Stick” (Kotter 1996, 21). He encourages change leaders to use increased credibility to change systems, structures and policies that don't fit the change vision. Hire, promote, and develop employees who can implement the vision and reinvigorate the process with new projects, 152 themes, and change agents. This includes developing the means to ensure leadership development and succession. (Kotter 1996, 21). While we continued to promote effective performance management at the university and refine the performance review process and form introduced in the research project pilot, it is my assessment that the change vision did not continue to be reinvigorated with new projects, themes and change agents. This was the result of a variety of factors. The vision of providing greater clarity of expectations, fair, consistent and honest performance feedback, fair and equitable remuneration and development, and an opportunity for input became an HR vision. Although most leaders in the university would state they firmly agree with this vision, they could not be described as champions of it. Following the pilot of the performance review process and tools, some of the foundational aspects of the Model for Effective Performance Management such as the leadership development program were suspended and much of my time was diverted to other projects such as the selection and installation of a new HR information system. As suggested earlier, it was difficult to convincingly communicate the connections between performance management behaviors we were looking for in our leaders and organizational success when our own senior leaders were not champions of those same behaviours. Although we continued to build aspects of the performance management program, I did not conduct follow-up research between 2014 and 2017 when I 153 retired from my full-time position at the university. In 2018 I re-entered the DMin program and began working with former colleagues at the university to complete my thesis. In the interim, my successor made changes to the performance review process and tools which would impact post-survey results. A survey of staff employees and managers asking about their performance review experience was administered by the HR department in the fall of 2018 but yielded a very low response rates (3 percent or 12 staff and 10 percent or 6 managers). This significantly impacted my ability to rely on quantitative data for the development of post-pilot research results and more long-term project conclusions. In November 2018, I interviewed nine university leaders from the university under study using a guide similar to the one used in 2014 (Appendix I). The same questions were asked with slight modifications given we were speaking four years post-pilot. Six of the nine leaders were the research project pilot leaders, two of whom had left the university and are working in secular organizations. It was encouraging to hear how all nine have continued to be strong proponents of the change vision introduced in 2012. They remain strong examples of leaders who demonstrate the importance of taking time to clarify expectations, conduct formal annual performance reviews, and have regular one-on-one weekly or bi-weekly meetings to check-in on performance targets and development goals. A resounding theme I heard was that there should be no surprises for an employee at annual review time because of the ongoing dialogue with his or her supervisor 154 throughout the year. It should be a time to celebrate accomplishments, learn more from the employee about aspirations, and plan for the next year. It was exciting to hear that despite my having left the university the passion for effective performance management was alive in the hearts and behaviour of several key leaders in the university and beyond. Conclusions This participatory action research project set out to explore the purpose of an effective staff performance management system in a Christian higher education institution and its impact on employees' organizational commitment and performance outcomes. I developed a comprehensive Model for Effective Performance Management (Figure 1) based on my personal leadership experience in Christian and secular, public, corporate and not-for-profit work environments, a literature search, feedback and empirical data gathered in my role as HR leader at the university under study. This model begins with clearly articulating and broadly communicating the organization's mission statement and subsequent departmental strategic goals, as well as strategically recruiting and developing leaders who are aligned with the organization's mission, values and culture. The university leadership's culture at the time of the research project launch embraced a performance management change vision aimed at engaging employees in 155 dialogue in order to clarify expectations, provide feedback (two-way), and establish performance targets for the future as well as development goals. The Model for Effective Performance Management describes an organizational means of consistently evaluating performance, providing feedback, inviting input, and rewarding and developing team members. The research project tested a new performance review process and tool that was introduced as an annual form to be completed and referenced throughout the year, updating performance targets and development plans as required. There continue to be calls for the abolition of performance reviews such Ryan's, “Performance Reviews Are Pointless & Insulting ... So Why Do They Still Exist?” found in the January 2018 issue of Forbes online magazine, introduced in Chapter One (Ryan 2018). Ryan outlines five reasons for such a move. She argues that they take up expensive staff hours for no observable gain. As the feedback from both the research project online survey and the leader interviews suggest, the inaugural round of learning how to use the new performance review format and process did require a dedicated amount of time. However, survey and interview results did not report that it was wasted time or resulted in no observable gain. I would therefore refute Ryan's claim that reviews take up expensive staff time for no gain. A maximum of an hour of preparation time on the part of employees and up to two hours per employee for supervisors is required, depending on the amount of input they seek out from others. Add to that 156 one or two one-hour review meetings plus documentation and supervisors are easily committing up to six hours per employee for their first round of performance reviews. Therefore, we arranged a review time with each individual department leader that best suited their work calendars. It is the plan that as leaders and employees become more familiar with the review process and tool, they can build on the previous ones, and time commitments will decrease. Secondly, Ryan suggests that the purpose of annual performance reviews is unclear and always has been. The author argues that, “anything you might want to accomplish through performance reviews can be accomplished without them” (Ryan 2018, 1). There is no question that the purpose of clarifying expectations and providing performance and development feedback can be accomplished through means other than a designated performance review process. However, as referenced in Chapter One, Goler, Gale and Grantin state in their Harvard Business Review article, Let's Not Kill Performance Reviews Yet, “The reality is, even when companies get rid of performance evaluations, ratings still exist. Employees just can't see them. Ratings are done subjectively, behind the scenes, and without input from the people being evaluated” (Goler, Gale, and Grant 2016, 90). The three reasons they present for conducting performance reviews: fairness, transparency, and development are consistent with what I heard from university staff employees as needs, prior to launching this research project. They wanted to know that all staff employees would be measured using the same tools and that 157 supervisors would be trained in how to conduct performance reviews, so an individual's review was not dependent on what department he or she belonged to. They also valued honesty and clarity or transparency when supervisors were describing the future for the department and their roles in the department. With these areas addressed, I argue that performance reviews still hold a valuable purpose. Curiously, a third reason purported by Ryan for doing away with performance reviews is that they are unfair. According to Ryan the biggest challenge is that managers vary dramatically in their understanding and use of the rating scale and they carry many biases, whether that be recency, i.e., weighting more recent results more heavily, gender, ethnic or age biases to name a few. I would suggest that these biases will impact all manager-employee interactions and are not isolated to their performance reviews. They take us back to the importance of leader selection and development as key components of an overall performance management system. More specifically, Ryan's objection was addressed in our supervisors' training program that names such biases and equips leaders in how to check their language and assumptions. Fourthly, she argues that performance reviews are charged with being insulting. The author argues that when you hire someone to do a job, you can talk about the project and your relationship, let them know you are unhappy with something they do or don't do, but not tell them how to do their job or how to live 158 their lives. She provides the analogy of a manager in today's knowledge economy as an orchestra conductor who keeps the orchestra together but doesn't presume to tell musicians how to play their instruments. In refuting Ryan's point, I would first suggest that much of what she is referring to is determined by the culture of the organization and leadership style it has chosen to develop which should be consistent with the organization's mission, values and culture. A servant leadership style has been adopted by the university under study and there are times when a manager will come alongside an employee to show them how to do an aspect of their job or check in with them on a personal matter that is impacting their work. As presented in the Model for Effective Performance Management, strategic recruitment of leaders and leadership development are critical precursors to effective performance reviews, as is the Supervisor training program where case studies and role plays enable testing out of these skills and attitudes. On another note, having played flute in bands and orchestras since I was a teenager, I appreciate Ryan's analogy of a knowledge economy manager as an orchestra conductor interpreting the music score and keeping the orchestra together. However, I have experienced personally and observed many conductors comment to sections or individual musicians on what they need to do and how they need to play their instruments. Similarly, good conductors will praise sections and individual musicians for jobs well done. 159 Finally, Ryan suggests that performance reviews lack both a clear objective and a desired outcome, other than to remind employees who is the boss and who is not, and to maintain a tradition, because the organization has always done it that way. I have already commented on the issue of the reasons for or objectives of performance reviews. The desired outcomes for the organization, as found in the Model for Effective Performance Management, are employees who have increased organizational commitment and performance results, and a talent database of employees' competencies, experience and aspirations. For the employee the outcomes are clarity of job expectations, feedback on how their performance is being evaluated in the organization and input into that evaluation. Further the review provides an opportunity to create a development plan with their supervisor and provide input to their supervisor regarding the department. As the post-pilot interviews with leaders demonstrated, there was clear evidence of increased organizational commitment and performance outcomes in a very brief time for employees in their departments as a result of a focused performance review. In summary, I have confidence in the Model for Effective Performance Management as a guide for any organization in how to better value and develop their most critical resource: their human capital, their people. I also believe that this research project has confirmed the need for and importance of a performance review process as part of a performance management system. There are 160 improvements to be made to the process and to the tool (form) as outlined in the next section. However, knowing what I am being asked to do, getting feedback on how well I am doing, and having an opportunity to develop will remain important issues for all employees and these are addressed through the performance review process. Further Refinement and Study In follow-up to this research project there is much that could be done, not only at the university under study but in performance management systems elsewhere. I have summarized some suggestions for further refinement of this research as well as future research opportunities below. For the University Under Study The university that has been the subject of this research project has remained firm in articulating its mission at every opportunity. It is woven into every aspect of life in the institution's community. In order to create a culture conducive to effective performance management, I would encourage a re- commitment to strategic leadership recruitment and leadership development at all levels, modeled first by the senior executive team, including the adoption of a performance management process as laid out in this thesis. A new president has just begun a five-year term at the university and there are two other new members 161 on the five-person executive leadership team. I am not aware of where leadership development sits on their agenda so the culture may not sustain this focus. Some of the recommendations I would have made regarding the performance review form itself in response to feedback and further reading in preparing this thesis have been incorporated by my successor at the university into a 2018 version of what is now called the Employee Performance Development Review. Specifically, the five-point scale has been changed to a ten-point scale for questions requiring a numeric evaluation. The Christian character item has been changed from being a rated competency to being represented as central to all competencies, and a separate question asks about integration of faith and work. Employees are given an opportunity to establish individual objectives or goals for the next year that are clearly linked to organizational or departmental goals. These are submitted prior to the review meeting and rank ordered by the supervisor. There is room on the form for mid-year check-in comments for each objective as well as a year end assessment. The development plan has been expanded in order to identify the potential future for the employee from continuing in their current role to being ready for advancement to a senior role. I interviewed a small sample of leaders (9) in November 2018 in order to gather follow-up data for the thesis. I also was able to collaborate with the HR team on an online employee survey conducted in the summer of 2018 (which was only completed by 12 staff employees). Both of these small samples suggest that 162 other changes such as linking ratings to compensation scales have not been as well received. In a recent Forbes magazine article, titled, “Separating Performance Management from Compensation: New Trend for Thriving Organizations”, senior contributor, Kathy Caprino found that companies are now looking at innovative means of managing performance including continuous feedback (primarily through quarterly rather than annual reviews), ratingless reviews, and peer feedback. These methodologies are reported to give managers a more in-depth view of each employee's strengths and areas for improvement, enabling them to focus on coaching and more easily identify top performers. Most of these companies are also using very separate and creative reward and recognition strategies, from a distinct compensation conversation, incorporating peer review and mutually agreed-upon goals, to giving employees a budget they can use to award cash bonuses to others for a job well done. Of the 224 companies in this study, 89% did not see any overall changes in their budget by employing these performance management and compensation methods (Caprino 2016, 1). In the future, therefore I would endeavour to find ways to disconnect performance review and development discussions from compensation rating. I would also reduce the length of the form and the amount of time required to complete the document. The 2018 form is longer (six pages in large print is now eleven pages in much smaller print) and it is seen as more complex. The amount 163 of scoring required has increased and an overall final score is tallied at the end of the form, I believe for the purposes of compensation calculation. Interestingly, employee and manager feedback in 2014 indicated that they appreciated not having a final score since the focus would gravitate on that one grade rather than all the constructive conversation about competencies. In addition, there is no longer flexibility regarding the time of year when a department may do their reviews rather the timing is based on the fiscal and planning calendar for the university. Despite diligent efforts on the part of HR to inform and motivate employees and managers about the updated Employee Performance Development Reviews through workshops and online announcements, only 33 percent of staff review forms had been received by the due date in the fall of 2018. There have been major changes in the executive leadership team of the university. There is a new president, a new senior vice-president overseeing the HR function who has a passion for leadership development, and an HR Director who has prioritized other goals. I am hopeful there will be renewed appreciation and focus on effective performance management for the benefit of the university and its employees. For Performance Management in General There is much written on employee engagement these days. In fact, as the leader of HR at the university under study, I received more calls from companies selling consulting services and/or survey tools to assist in identifying and building 164 our employee engagement/commitment than any other service. As Vance so cogently states, "Employees who are engaged in their work and committed to their organizations give companies crucial competitive advantages - including higher productivity and lower employee turnover" (Vance 2006, 1). I would like to learn more about the link between performance management and organizational commitment, especially in Christian organizations. From my experience in working with Christian organizations, their employees and volunteers tend to be naturally connected and committed to the mission and values of the organization. On the other hand, they can behave at times as though they report to the higher calling of that mission or vision and disregard their supervisor's more practical requests or organizational guidelines. There could also be further study conducted on leadership selection and development (in paid and volunteer positions) as well as supervisory training that will create a culture for effective performance management and development and engagement of employees. Based on my experience as a paid leader, a volunteer Board member, and a consultant, I have found the biggest hurdle in Christian organizations is a reluctance to be honest under the guise of being loving and caring to a fellow believer. This works both ways: a supervisor being honest regarding expectations and performance of an employee and an employee being honest about lack of clarity and frustration with poor leadership or team behaviour. Additional study would include finding the technology to refine an 165 online tool that would engage multiple generations of employees and facilitate a performance review conversation. This would need to be a live document, accessible throughout the year for reference and updating. Finally, I would like to work with a colleague in a church to discover how the Model for Effective Performance Management could be adapted for use in evangelical churches and para-church organizations in Canada. Implications of This Research Project Christian Organizations Having worked in paid and volunteer leadership roles and as a consultant with several different Christian organizations of varying sizes across Canada, I see the Model for Effective Performance Management as relevant to Christian organizations, including the church. As the model suggests, the starting point is clarifying the mission statement of the organization and short-term department or program goals. For those who may be concerned that this type of exercise is too business-oriented and prefer to see scripture as their guide, if we study scripture, we see examples of leaders having very explicit plans for their call to ministry. Noah had a very detailed plan regarding the dimensions of the ark and what was going to be allowed on board when he responding to God's calling on his life to fulfill His plan (Genesis 6:13-22). As discussed in Chapter Three, Nehemiah's goal was divinely inspired, and a clear plan emerged. 166 Another primary step is defining leadership, strategically recruiting leaders and developing them. Lack of clarity and strategy is often a weakness in Christian organizations as boards either think they need to take what they can get, in terms of volunteer leaders, or they think they do not have salary budget so settle for mediocre candidates for paid positions. There is no question that God can use imperfect vessels as He did with Moses whose strong will, determination and availability made him a prime leader despite his inability to speak clearly (Exodus 3:4). When it comes to performance reviews, many Christian supervisors and I would suggest, especially pastors, prefer to avoid conflict and therefore, resist having those difficult conversations with an employee or key volunteer who has a performance problem. Consequently, problems fester and others are impacted and become discouraged, often leaving the ministry and leaving the problem behind. Jesus strategically recruited and developed His team by providing them with dynamic demonstrations and clear expectations of their future roles: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). He also did not avoid pointing out his disciples' shortcomings and expressing His disappointment: “Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him (Peter). “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31) and in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Why are you sleeping?” He asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Luke 22:46). 167 Jesus does not ask us to do the will of His Father alone but as outlined in Chapter Three we can do all things in grace. In our weakness and vulnerability, the Spirit is sent to provide a way. As stated in the previous section, I would be very interested in working with a colleague to introduce the Model for Effective Performance Management to church staff and boards and encourage their development in these areas. HR Professionals As required by the Doctor of Ministry program, I presented my pilot research project results to a group of HR colleagues, primarily from secular universities in western Canada in April 2014. I was pleased that they found the performance review process and tool relevant to their environments. They had great questions, many of which formed the basis of the Model for Effective Performance Management that emerged four years later. As HR professionals we recognized that without those initial building blocks of a clear mission, and strategically selected leaders who are aligned with the organization's values and culture, no amount of effort developing state-of-the-art HR programs will be effective or sustainable. In subsequent presentations to HR colleagues on this research project and its link to organizational change, there was strong support for managing this type of project as a change initiative and working diligently through Kotter's steps of leading change, as discussed earlier in this chapter. I would encourage any HR 168 professional wanting to launch a performance management program to approach it using Kotter's helpful steps. The first two steps are especially critical: to establish a sense of urgency and develop a guiding coalition of committed people. Once these are established, it is crucial to nurture the coalition by keeping them informed and involved in decision-making regarding problem issues, talent management, celebration of small and major outcomes, and recommendations for improvement. The HR professional must resist pressure to take back full ownership for performance management in the organization but be available and knowledgeable as an expert coach and champion of the process. As well, the HR professional must resist the discouragement that is inevitable when implementing a change initiative. Naysayers will argue that performance reviews are a thing of the past. In their previous format they are, but in current models the essence of their purpose remains intact. As referenced in Chapter One, HR professionals today are required to be closer to the business, understanding how the organization fulfills its mission, what unique challenges various departments face and how each division contributes to organizational outcomes. This enables HR team members to bring their expertise to department leaders and contribute as consultants and advisors, moving HR's skills such as organization design, recruitment, and team building to a new level of capability (Schwartz, Bersin, and Pelster 2014, 4). In the context of the Model for Effective Performance Management, this means HR professionals working with the senior leadership to develop and communicate a meaningful mission statement, and to develop and execute a strategic leadership recruitment and development program. The opportunity also exists for HR professionals to facilitate the building of an organizational culture that supports the mission, engages strategic leaders and attracts talent who are committed to the mission, not only serving current customers and clients well but looking beyond for future opportunities. It is an exciting time for HR professionals. In her book on daring leadership, Brene Brown addresses building courage in teams and organizations which requires cultivation of a culture in which brave work, tough conversations, and whole hearts are the expectation, and armor is not necessary or rewarded (Brown 2018, 12). As HR leaders, we must be vigilant about creating cultures in which people feel safe, seen, heard, and respected. Personal Reflections As an HR professional I thought it was important to include an element of ‘humanness' in the final chapter regarding my experience as a thesis student. I began my Doctor of Ministry journey ten years ago in the fall of 2009. I was an unlikely candidate for the program, having no theological background. However, I and a few trusted theological friends including the Program Developer at the time and my pastor (now an instructor in the program) believed I was being called 170 to these studies. I was an independent HR consultant based in downtown Toronto in 2009 and one year later I was leading the HR department at a private, Christian, university in western Canada. The various twists and turns in my work and personal life in the last ten years have impacted the direction and completion of my doctoral research project and this thesis. God has continued to demonstrate His faithfulness during this time by surrounding me with talented and generous brothers and sisters in Christ. This includes colleagues and team members at the university where I served, encouraging long-time friends, and advisors and mentors at Tyndale University College and Seminary and others in both eastern and western Canada. In one of our early courses as a member of Cohort 1 Doctor of Ministry class at Tyndale, it was shocking to hear Dr. Earl Creps share that only approximately 10 percent of doctoral students at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary in the U.S.A. complete their Doctor of Ministry Program. I can now say that I relate to that statistic and am pleased to be part of a program that has a much better completion rate. What God has revealed to me so profoundly during this last phase of completing my thesis is that I am His beloved. All the striving I may want to do or think I should be doing is not what is important. In Nouwen's words, The question is not, “How am I to find God?” but “How am I to let myself be found by Him?”. 171 Not, “How am I to know God?”, but “How am I to let myself be known by God?”. Not, “How am I to love God?”, but “How am I to let myself be loved by God?”. God is looking into the distance for me, trying to find me, and longing to bring me home (Nouwen 2017, 16). These concepts, introduced in my thinking by Nouwen, have been challenging concepts for me to receive and truly internalize, especially letting myself be found and loved by God. I am the eldest of eight children who was regularly told I was setting an example for my siblings. There were countless times when I was ready to abandon my writing over the last nine months. I questioned why a retired non-academically inclined senior with varying outdoor and music interests was spending painful hours sitting in front of a computer or pouring over research papers. I am naturally a practitioner and would far rather spend my time building up my consulting practice now that I have re-located to Ontario. I long to put into practice the concepts about which I am writing. I have growing family commitments now that I live very close to a father in his nineties and these commitments all seem to invade my writing deadlines. Yet, each time I have been discouraged to the point of asking, “What's the point?”, God has brought me a scripture passage, a devotional reading, an encouraging email or phone call, or a ‘tough love' conversation with my thesis coach. My coach reminds me of my initial calling to this program and this research. Her chiding (in love) prompts me to re-focus on who has the master plan 172 and I realize I have no idea what He has in store for this thesis. My job is to keep plodding along and give it my best. Interesting, this ‘spurring on' to perseverance and faithfulness is how we coach our employees to enable their development and the organization's success. It is only when we know we are beloved by an unconditional, unlimited love that we can be free of fear, anger, and resentment and have a self-respect that allows us to persist and allows us to love others and spur them on to be all that God called them to be. I am excited about what God has planned for the future of this work. Early conversations with friends, colleagues and even relative strangers are encouraging and surprising. I have already used the Model for Effective Performance Management in working with another Christian university and had requests to explore adaptations for churches and Christian not-for-profit organizations. Managers of a charitable foundation have suggested there may be an application for them in discerning whether an organization is effective and healthy before they decide to provide support. HR colleagues working in non-Christian organizations have appreciated my focus on the change process as well as ways they might adapt the Model for Effective Management in their environments. I look forward to this next part of my journey in building up the body of Christ and empowering and equipping those called to be steward leaders. 173 Chapter Summary In Chapter One of this thesis, I opened with a verse that summarizes the essence of my research project, ... we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. (Eph. 4:15-16, NLT) In this concluding chapter I presented the results of a pilot project conducted in 2013 and 2014, aimed at clarifying to each part of the body his or her role, speaking truth in love to let all parts know how well they are contributing to the overall health and growth of the body and spurring them on so that the whole body is indeed growing and full of love. Overall the pilot participants, employees and managers were positive regarding the performance review process and the form they tested. Helpful feedback and recommendations were documented and over the subsequent years several have been incorporated. The importance of leading a change initiative such as this was discussed using Kotter's eight step process with comments on what worked well and what could be improved. Conclusions and further study opportunities were provided for the university under study, as well as performance management programs in general. In addition, the transferability of this research for other Christian organizations was suggested and implications for HR professionals were outlined. 174 Finally, personal reflections on this ten-year doctoral journey were shared with an emphasis on God's faithfulness, His love and His goodness. In closing, this song expresses my thankfulness for that faithfulness, and my spiritual growth during this research project. I look forward with hope to what lies ahead: I love You, Lord For Your mercy never failed me All my days, I've been held in Your hands From the moment that I wake up Until I lay my head Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God And all my life You have been faithful And all my life You have been so, so good With every breath that I am able Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God ... ‘Cause Your goodness is running after, it's running after me Your goodness is running after, it's running after me With my life laid down, I'm surrendered now I give You everything (adapted from Johnson, Jenn, Jason Ingram, Ben Fielding, Ed Cash, and Brian Johnson 2018 175 APPENDICES 176 Appendix A: Position Description Template 1. GENERAL INFORMATION: Position Title: Department: Date Last Reviewed: Compensation Grade: Reports to: Direct Reports: 2. POSITION PURPOSE 3. PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES 4. POSITION QUALIFICATIONS a) Education b) Experience c) Skills and Abilities d) Personal Characteristics e) Physical and Mental Demands Duties and responsibilities that do not constitute a major change may be added, deleted or changed at any time at the discretion of the supervisor either orally or in writing. 177 Appendix B: Staff Performance Appraisal Completion [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Appendix B details. ] 178 Appendix C SUMMARY of Exit Interviews conducted in 2010 1. Gender Female 64% 2. Age 18-25 (8) 36% 26-30 (7) 32% 3. Years of service 1-3 59% 4. Salary classification 6 (low - mid-range) 41% 5. Reason for leaving Another position 32% Other (mostly contract not renewed/cutbacks) 32% 6. Onboarding and training Expectations fully outlined 82% Received adequate training (11 people) 50% BUT 11 out of 22 said they didn't receive 50% adequate training 7. Dissatisfied with Salary (6) 27% Performance appraisals (6) 27% Clear instructions from supervisor (5) 23% 8. Open comments Summary Positives: The great community/work colleagues/students Work was fulfilling Supporting and loving environment Opportunities to worship, love for God Negatives: The policies of university Low salary Overworked (& underpaid) Supervisor's attitude, management style Communication (either no communication or overoptimistic about finances) 179 Appendix D: Original Research Project Timeline [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Appendix D details. ] 180 Appendix E: Existing Staff Performance Review Form [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Appendix E details. ] PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT - Working for the Lord at the University ought to be, and can be, a fulfilling activity that calls for and deserves the very best in people. Work can be and should be an activity that causes people to grow and develop personally and spiritually. To achieve the very best in people, the University's performance review is a participatory process between supervisor and staff member designed to maximize one's personal growth and contribution to the university's mission “to develop godly Christian leaders” Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people... Ephesians 6:7 TNIV 181 [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for table details of Appendix E ] 182 [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for table details of Appendix E ] JOB KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS COMMENTS: 183 [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for table details of Appendix E ] 184 [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for table details of Appendix E ] 185 [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for table details of Appendix E ] 186 Appendix F: Pilot Staff Performance Review Form [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for table details of Appendix F ] Employee Name Position Review Date Supervisor Name Department Review Period Section 1: Position Review 1. Review the Employee's Position Description to ensure it is up-to-date and reflects what is required in his/her role. Have the position responsibilities changed since the last performance review? If ‘Yes', how have they changed? employee: supervisor: | 2. What parts of your a) position description and b) overall work experience at TWU do you especially enjoy? employee: 3. What parts of your a) position description and b) overall work experience at TWU are not as enjoyable employee: Section 2: Rating Performance How well is this Employee performing in his/her role in the context of the following criteria? Rating Codes: 5 Consistently Exceeds Job Expectations 4 Occasionally Exceeds Job Expectations 3 Meets Job Expectations 2 Meets Scome Job Expectations 1 Does Not Meet Job Expectations 187 [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for table details of Appendix F ] 188 [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for table details of Appendix F ] Section 3: Q & A Time The Supervisor will facilitate this discussion which is intended to better understand the interests and motivations of the Employee and encourage feedback to the Supervisor. In preparation for this discussion complete the following: 1. Which position responsibilities will be particularly critical over the next 12- month period and why? supervisor: 2. What are your career aspirations? Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years? Will you be working in full-time employment? Doing what? For whom? Where? employee: 189 Section 4: Performance Goal-Setting and Development Planning [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for table details of Appendix F ] 1. Review the achievement of goals set for the previous annual performance cycle. a) What accomplishments are to be celebrated? employee: supervisor: b) What areas could be improved? employee: supervisor: c) What have you learned in working on these goals? employee: 2. In reviewing the priority responsibilities of this position for the next 12 months, identify approximately 3 measurable goals that should be achieved during the next review period in the table below. Measurable goals should be related to the position responsibilities, date specific, project specific, and performance specific. (How will you know you have succeeded?) [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for table details of Appendix F ] 190 [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for table details of Appendix F ] 3. Reviewing the results of the performance ratings, identify the areas of competency or character that could be further developed or improved over the next year. employee: supervisor: 4. List any notable obstacles you encounter in accomplishing your job responsibilities; particularly obstacles that may impact the achievement of the goals just set for the next year. employee: supervisor: 5. What can your Supervisor do to ensure you are successful in achieving your performance goals and in preparing for future opportunities? employee: 6. Prepare an Individual Development Plan in the table below that addresses areas identified for further development or improvement. Identify specific strategies that can realistically be accomplished in the next review period to further develop your strengths and improve weaker areas: [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for table details of Appendix F ] 191 Section 5: Additional Comments Additional Comments: employee: supervisor: Section 6: Sign-Off I agree with this Performance Review Report: If you cannot check “Agree”, please comment: Employee Signature Date Supervisor Signature Date Senior Leader's Review Signature Date 192 Addendum: Rating Performance of TWU Leaders These additional leadership criteria are to be rated for any TWU employee responsible for leading a team of people. [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Appendix F details. ] 193 Appendix G: STAFF PERFORMANCE REVIEW PROGRAM Supervisors' Guide Researcher's Note: The name of the subject university has been replaced with “XXX”. PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT Working at XXX University usually begins with a candidate's unique combination of talents, experience, and values matching a job posting aligned with a sense of calling in his/her own spiritual journey. As an employer we endeavour to provide meaningful and fulfilling work opportunities that attract talented and passionate people to diverse staff roles. As a Supervisor/Manager entrusted to guide the work of others, you are also called to encourage their contribution and their development - professionally, personally and spiritually. XXX University's performance evaluation and review program is designed as an interactive process that enables its employees to maximize their gifts, experience, time and energy in achieving XXX's mission, essence and ends. PROCESS 1. Employees' performance is reviewed after their 3 or 6-month probation period to ensure there is a good ‘fit' with the XXX community and they can fulfill their position responsibilities. At this time, initial performance goals are established for the remainder of the annual performance review cycle. 2. The sample provided below suggests an annual performance review cycle starting in May/June each year (rather than according to an employee's anniversary date). In addition to regular one-on-one meetings, a six-month check-in meeting would be conducted in October/ November. The following May/June performance is evaluated, and the previous year's goals are reviewed; and the cycle begins again. The start dates of the cycle may differ depending on the workflow of each department/faculty. [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Appendix G details. ] 194 The XXX ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW FORM The XXX Annual Performance Review form is comprised of four sections: Section I: Position Review Section II: Rating Performance Section III: Q & A Time Section IV: Performance Goal-Setting and Development Planning Additional Comments Prayer: It is important to commit the performance review process to prayer as you introduce it to your team and prepare your comments and ratings. Begin your review meetings in prayer. Section I: Position Review The intent of this section is to review the job responsibilities the Employee is accountable for in his/her role. You begin this by ensuring that the position description is up-to-date and reflects your expectations of the role. If there are significant changes in responsibilities contact HR and have the position re- evaluated. Questions 2 and 3 in this section ask the Employee to articulate what parts of a) their job description, and b) their overall job they enjoy and don't enjoy. In order to encourage open, honest dialogue in your performance review discussion, we suggest that you as a Supervisor also share what is particularly enjoyable and not so enjoyable about your job, as you feel comfortable. Section II: Rating Performance The intent of this section is to hear the Employee's quantitative evaluation of his/her performance over the past year and to provide the Employee with your quantitative assessment of that performance - using prescribed criteria and a 5-point rating scale. It is intended that the full 5 points should be used in your evaluation, avoid the temptation to rate someone down the middle with all ‘3's. This is not helpful in communicating areas of strength and areas for further development. Note that you are evaluating the individual's performance against what is required in his/her position description (job expectations), not various duties others have conjured up. If there are additional performance criteria specific to the employee's job that you think are important to rate, add these in the blank rows and invite the Employee to rate themselves in these areas as well. Take the time to include your comments for each criterion that provide examples or explanations for the rating you chose. This will help you in communicating clearly with the Employee and be useful for later reference. 195 The criteria are listed alphabetically, not in order of priority. Note: when evaluating employees who are in supervisory/ management/leadership positions, please also rate the additional criteria listed at the end of the form as an ‘Addendum'. Section III: Q & A Time The intent of this section is to engage Employees in dialogue that will help you transition to the next section: setting goals and establishing a development plan. The first question in this section asks you to articulate what specific areas of the job you see as top priorities over the next 12 months. The second question encourages the Employee to share their hopes for the future, which may not necessarily be long-term - but can give you an idea of whether they aspire to move into other areas of XXX, move further in your dept., further with their education etc. Listed below are additional questions that may facilitate getting to know your Employee better and understanding how he/she might best meet the roles and responsibilities of the position in ways that will also be fulfilling and developmental for them. A. Setting a Godly example and demonstrating resourceful stewardship - Share with the Employee when you have seen him/her demonstrating Christian character, then ask, “When do you find it most challenging to set a Godly example?” “Do you still sense a calling to this role?” - Are there challenges that you face in your role or you think we're facing as a department to be responsible stewards of our resources (people and finances, property and equipment)? B. Circumstances and Conditions in which the Employee works best - What is most important in your work setting for you to do your best work? C. Motivation, Skills and Experience - How do you set goals for yourself? - How do you generally respond to set-backs? - How do you best feel rewarded of a job well done? D. Values and Accomplishments - Tell me about the most challenging or satisfying project that you have worked on during your career; over the last year. What made it ‘satisfying' for you? E. Temperament - How do you learn new things? - How would I know if you were stressed? - How do you normally plan or organize your work? - What sort of people do you get along with best in a work environment? - What do you do for fun? Alternate: An on-line ‘Employee Experience' feedback survey is available for your Employee to complete. Results will be compiled by HR and prepared for you to discuss with the Employee. 196 Section IV: Performance Planning and Development This section focuses on action planning to clarify expectations for the next review period. 1. Begin with an assessment of the results of the Employee's past annual performance goals. Answer the questions provided using as many clear examples and measurable outcomes as possible. 2. Referring to the priority responsibilities of this role over the next 12 months (section III, question 1), and where you see this Employee's strengths, establish 3 measurable job-related goals that you expect to be accomplished during the next 12-month review period. Using the chart provided, be as specific as possible to clarify how you and the Employee will both know that the goal has been accomplished (target date, quality of product, people involved etc.). Also be sure to agree on what resources will be required for the Employee to be successful in achieving each goal. SAMPLE: [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Appendix G details. ] 3. Moving on from performance goals to development, identify areas of competency or character that could be further developed or improved. These areas may not necessarily be areas of poor ratings, but areas that will require more development for the Employee to be successful in his/her role and achieving the goals you have set for the next 12 months. These could include developing a competency (e.g. improve Excel skills, report writing skills or public speaking skills) or addressing a character issue (e.g. demonstrate more compassion for students, manage anger more effectively, improve tardiness). 197 4. Then identify what could get in the way of the Employee accomplishing his/her job responsibilities and/or achieving the 3 performance goals. Listen carefully to what the Employee has written in this section and endeavour to move the discussion away from ‘excuse-giving' to creative problem-solving so that you can overcome any obstacles to success. 5. Engage the Employee in clarifying what he/she needs from you as a Supervisor in addressing the obstacles identified and being a good coach in helping the Employee to be the best they can be in their current role and perhaps future roles at XXX. We encourage you to have a career planning discussion with each Employee to understand their hopes and dreams for the future. If appropriate, please refer them to HR for exploration of further possibilities. 6. Based on your discussion of areas for further development and ways that you (and others) could facilitate the Employee's development, establish an Individual Development Plan outlining the specific area for development, steps and strategies for development, and resources required. This plan could extend beyond the 12-month evaluation period but should address development areas that have been identified through the evaluation process. SAMPLE: [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Appendix G details. ] 198 [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Appendix G details. ] ADDITIONAL COMMENTS & CONCLUSION An ‘Additional Comments' section is provided should you have anything that should be on record and you have not had an opportunity to report it elsewhere on the form, e.g. special awards the Employee has received or significant performance concerns. Please ensure the Evaluation form is completed, signed and dated by both the Supervisor and Employee, and then reviewed and signed by the dept. senior leader. The original should then be forwarded to HR to be filed in the Employee's personnel file. We encourage all Supervisors to conclude their evaluation discussions with prayer - for the Employee's call to XXX, for his/her ability to accomplish what has been agreed to, and for you as Supervisor to be an effective guide and coach. 199 Appendix H: Staff Performance Review Online Employee Survey (2013) This is a facsimile of an online survey distributed anonymously (using ‘FluidSurveys' software) to employees whose departments participated in the pilot XXX staff performance review process and whose performance review reports have been returned to the HR office as completed. Note to Readers: References that would identify the university under study have been removed. Introduction Last year we introduced a new process and form for conducting annual staff performance reviews at the university. This involved supervisory training and encouragement to make the process a more conversational one and an opportunity to provide two-way feedback. Thank you for taking 15-20 minutes of your time to share your thoughts on your experience in using the new Performance Review form and meeting with your supervisor. The survey answers and comments will not only help us in improving staff performance reviews at the university but personally, I will be using the results as part of my thesis research. I am currently working on my DMin with a focus on leadership and my thesis project is to determine whether the performance review process can in fact impact individual performance and/or the culture of a department. As you do not need to identify yourself, all your responses and comments will be confidential. The data collected for this research will be kept securely in the HR office for approximately 7 years as with most of our program data. If you have any questions or desire further information with respect to this study, you may contact me at Janis.Ryder@twu.ca or x3055. If you have any concerns about your treatment or rights as a research participant, you may contact Ms. Sue Funk in the Office of Research, at 604-513-2142 or sue.funk@twu.ca. Thank you so much! Please try to complete the survey by Friday, April 26. Your participation will move us forward in this important area of people development at XXX! Janis Ryder, Executive Director, Human Resources, and Doctoral Candidate 200 Terms and Conditions By clicking “Continue” below, you are indicating that you consent to participate in this survey and the study that Janis Ryder is conducting for her thesis. You understand that your responses may be put in an anonymous form and kept for further use after completion of this study. You may print this page if you want a copy of your consent for your records. Thank you. 1. Please identify the department you work in at the university: Admissions/Financial Aid Alumni/Office of Comm. Engagement Finance Human Resources Development Information Technology Student Life University Communications 2. Have you participated in a performance review over the last year using the new XXX Performance Review form? Yes No a. If you answered ‘No', are you scheduled to use the new form later this year? Yes No Don't know (Please proceed to Question 3) b. If you answered ‘Yes': i. Was this experience of your annual performance review different from other reviews you have had in the past? Yes No Please Comment 201 ii. Do you believe your job performance has improved or will improve as a result of your most recent performance review? Yes No Please Comment iii. Do you believe your commitment to the university has been impacted by your performance review discussions with your supervisor? Yes No Please Comment iv. How could the performance review process be further improved at the university? v. How could the new Performance Review Form be further improved? vi. Would you recommend the new Performance Review process and form to others? Yes No Please Comment 3. Why do we have annual performance reviews? In the following table you will find reasons why organizations develop and promote performance review programs for their employees. Please provide your input by telling us: 1. How important each of these reasons is to you 2. How you would rate the university in meeting these objectives (based on your experience) Rating Scales: How Important is it to Me? 1 = Not at all important 2 = Not very important 3 = Somewhat important 4 = Important 5 = Very important How Well is the University Meeting the Objective? 1 = Not at all 2 = Not very well 3 = Somewhat 4 = Very Well 5 = Completely 202 [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Appendix H details. ] 4. Do you believe your supervisor is competent and comfortable with providing productive performance reviews? Yes No Comment: 5. Employees at the university trust the performance review system. Agree Disagree Comment: 203 6. Who are the biggest champions of the performance review program at the university? Senior Administration Human Resources Our Department Head Middle Managers in our Dept. My Direct Supervisor Don't Know 7. Additional Comments: Thank you for your feedback! 204 Appendix I: Interview Questions for Performance Review Pilot Department Managers/Supervisors 1. How would you describe your experience with conducting annual performance reviews in the past? 2. Please rank order the following reasons for providing a performance appraisal system. 1. Firstly, how important is each of these reasons is to you? 2. Secondly, how you would rate the university in meeting these objectives? Rating Scales: How Important is it to Me? 1 = Not at all important 2 = Not very important 3 = Somewhat important 4 = Important 5 = Very important How Well is the University Meeting the Objective? 1 = Not at all 2 = Not very well 3 = Somewhat 4 = Very Well 5 = Completely [ Please contact repository@tyndale.ca for Appendix I details. ] 205 3. Was your experience of conducting performance reviews different using the new Staff Performance Review Form this year from previous experiences? Please expand on your response. 4. If we define organizational commitment as evidenced in employees who engage in activities that are not demanded in formal position descriptions or recognized in official reward systems, but are beneficial to the organization .. Have you observed any evidence that this year's performance review process has impacted the organizational commitment to the University among any of your team members? Please provide examples. 5. Have you observed marked improvements in performance among any of your team members as a result of your performance review discussions? Please provide examples. 6. Do you feel competent and comfortable in providing productive performance reviews for your staff team members? 7. Please comment on how we could further improve: i) the Supervisor's Manual ii) the Supervisor's training and/or coaching iii) the performance review process iv) the Performance Review form 8. Would you recommend the new Performance Review process and form to your colleagues who manage staff at the University? 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