Republican Gov. Bill HaslamWhat auditors found
Comptroller audit findings on implementation process for Gov. Bill Haslam’s pay-for-performance plan for state employees under his 2012 TEAM Act. › Human Resource Department needs to improve communication with state agencies, publish a training schedule, and adhere to its policies and procedures for tracking mandatory training. › Department faced challenges with the rollout of Get SMART.er (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Sensitive curriculum) in Performance Management training with providing enough facilitators and addressing difficult transition of changing culture to new performance management system. › Most agencies reported that raters lack proficiency in SMART-based goals and in completing qualitative evaluations. › A number of weaknesses in performance management model could affect objectiveness and fairness of new approach.
Timeline
State Human Resources Department officials say they pulled out every conceivable stop to ensure its Strategic Learning Solutions Division (SLS) provided sufficient training to 8,500 managers and supervisors to objectively and fairly implement Gov. Bill Haslam’s merit-pay plan with new evaluations under the 2012 TEAM Act: › March 2012: Department launches Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Sensitive (SMART) curriculum to teach supervisors to write new performance plans. › July 2012: All executive branch supervisors trained in SMART Performance Planning through a “train-the-trainer model.” › October 2012: External coaches hired to assist with auditing performance plans to ensure SMART criteria compliance. Internal audit finds many agencies still struggling to write SMART-level plans. › October 2012: External coaches hired to work with agencies to strengthen performance plans of their executives. › January 2013: External coaches retained to work with agencies to strengthen supervisors’ skills in writing SMART performance plans. › April 2013: SLS updates SMART curriculum with a pre/post-test to ensure supervisors retained course content. › July 2013: External coaches brought back to strengthen supervisors’ skills with SMART writing clinics, providing real-time feedback and critiques on employee performance plans. › August 2013: SLS launches Performance Coaching to teach supervisors how to coach and manage employee behavior for “culture of continuous feedback.” › October 2013: Human Resources launches Performance Management online learning to train supervisors on newly updated performance management process in state’s Edison computer system. Elements of SMART and performance coaching incorporated. › January 2014: Human Resources and Edison IT team launch webinars to navigate update online performance management system. › April 2014: SLS hires external coaches to continue teacher agency supervisors Performance Coachng. › March 2015: SLS pilots Get SMART.er curriculum three times to solidify most effective curriculum to meet needs of supervisors in various agencies. › April 2015: Human Resources launches Get SMART.er Coaching for Higher Performance program. Source: Comptroller’s audit
NASHVILLE – Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan to eliminate across-the-board pay raises for 40,000-plus executive-branch employees and replace them with a merit-pay system is now a reality.
But even as the state prepares to deliver the pay-for-performance raises this month, there is major disagreement between state auditors and top Human Resources Department officials about the new system.
A new performance audit by Comptroller Justin Wilson’s office questions whether enough managers and supervisors were adequately trained to ensure the new standards, employee performance plans and evaluations work objectively and fairly as promised.