Performance Partnering – need to knows

Kia ora koutou

2018 was a huge year for Unitec and it’s to everyone’s credit that amidst everything we maintained a strong focus on developing performance, as evidenced by 83% of our permanent staff having submitted ADEP Plans and participated in performance and development conversations.

Performance Partnering enables us to continue to strengthen our self-awareness and reflective practice, as well as our organisational consistency and alignment – all of which remain critically important to progress towards regaining Category 1 status. 

Let’s continue to build on this momentum by reflecting on the year that was by closing the loop with a Review of Achievements for 2018, and gearing up for 2019 with updated Team Diamonds and Action Plans, and individual ADEP Plans.

Here’s what you need to do:

Leadership teams

All leadership teams should be working to realign Team Diamonds and create Action Plans for 2019. While ordinarily these should have been signed off by the end of December, given the timing around changes to senior leadership we suggest that you work towards having Team Diamonds in place and communicated out to teams by the end of February to inform ADEP planning, with a view to having all ADEP Plans submitted by mid-March 2019 – although those areas with no leadership changes should still be able to meet the normal timeframes.

Note that the 2019 Unitec Diamond has been updated to reflect the Renewal Plan and priorities, and should be used as a key input along with any strategies/business plans for your area.  The Diamond is the key mechanism for alignment through the organisation – all teams should be able to demonstrate very clearly how their Team Diamond links to the Unitec Diamond. There is an updated template that helps to make this alignment very clear – see here for instructions.  Also note that this year we plan to make all Team Diamonds and associated Action Plans available across the organisation to facilitate alignment and partnering.

You should also decide how best to engage your team in developing and sharing your Team Diamond and any associated Team Action Plans.  Remember these will be a key input to the development of individual ADEP Plans so your team need to be part of the process.

Your HR Business Partner is happy to work with you on the realignment of your Team Diamonds and creation of your Action Plans, and will advise on the process for sharing these.

All permanent staff

All permanent staff need to complete a Review of Achievements for 2018 by the end of February 2019 so you should be preparing for this now - all the information and resources you need can be found on the Performance Partnering Portal. You are encouraged to gather feedback from the people you partnered with throughout the year – talk to your manager about who you could approach for feedback and get this underway. You should also be drafting up your review form using the template and scheduling your review conversation with your manager.

You also need to have your individual ADEP Plan agreed with your manager and submitted by mid-March 2019.  Please note there is an updated ADEP Plan template and some instructions that provide a bit more guidance on what’s required – in particular:

1. We’ve introduced some standard (or common) goals to the Achieve section that will apply depending on your role

2. We’ve introduced two Unitec-wide development priorities to the Develop section that apply to all staff – this reinforces our commitment to engaging in Treaty-Based Partnership and to the success of our priority group students.

3. We’ve also linked the Develop section much more clearly to our leadership, teaching and research competencies. 

Your development (the D of ADEP) is a key component of your ADEP plan.  It’s important that you think broadly about what your professional development might look like.  This year we are refocusing our PD approach with a stronger emphasis on competency-based development and applied learning.  This ensures the most effective use of your professional development leave allocation, balancing your individual needs with those of your team and the organisation as a whole.  It’s important that you’re aware of this – to learn more about our approach to Professional Development @ Unitec click here.

Teaching staff

Following on from last year where we introduced teaching competencies and digital credentials (“badging”) for professional development, the expectation for 2019 is that all teaching staff complete a teaching competency self-evaluation and at least two badges in 2019. This has been built into the new ADEP Plan template. Please contact Maura Kempin, Manager Te Puna Ako if you have any questions regarding this.

Throughout the year, we’ll be sending out regular Performance Partnering updates and reminders about what you need to do so keep an eye out for these, and don’t hesitate to contact your HR Business Partner if you have any questions or need any support around the process.

Ngā mihi
Mary Johnston
Executive Director – People and Infrastructure