HR Update - FY 23 Issue 02

Issue Date: October 25, 2022

In This Issue

• State of Alaska Moving to Annual Performance Cycle
• Supervisor Toolkit: Resources for Performance Management
• Using the Exit Survey
• Successful Recruitment and Outreach Event at this Year's AFN Convention
• Start Your Career in HR Today!
• DOPLR Comings and Goings

State of Alaska Moving to Annual Performance Cycle

We are excited to announce that in 2023 we are moving to an Annual Performance Evaluation cycle for GGU, LTC, SU, CEA, and PX State of Alaska employees. This means that instead of having to complete performance evaluations based on the employee’s merit anniversary date, performance evaluations will be launched (performance task initiated in AspireAlaska) for most employees in a department at the same time each year and the review period for employees would be based on the yearly timing of evaluations for their department.

For example, if a department’s annual cycle is January to December, every January you know that a performance evaluation will need to be completed and a new performance plan will need to be set for next year. Every subsequent year the evaluations are due the same month, in this example it would be January.

Merit increases or pay increments are then granted throughout the year based on the annual evaluation rating of mid-acceptable or higher. This is part of the new contract language that requires a performance evaluation for both merit increases and pay increments. Please review the Performance FAQ for information on how this new cycle works with employee’s merit anniversary date and pay increment anniversary date.

Transition Performance Evaluations

Prior to a department transitioning to the Annual Performance Evaluation process, employees should be completing Performance Evaluations for any merit increases or pay increments that are due and could be required for the pay increase to be processed. This might mean that in 2023 an employee might end up with two performance evaluations getting completed as this is just part of the transition process to move the annual Performance Evaluation. Once the transition to the annual Performance Evaluation occurs this will not be needed in subsequent years.

Please confirm on the Performance Evaluation SharePoint or with your Department Human Resources Business Partner regarding when your department is moving to an Annual Performance Evaluation.

All Departments Moving to AspireAlaska

In conjunction with the transition to an Annual Performance Evaluation cycle in 2023, all departments will be moving to primarily using AspireAlaska for the Performance Evaluation process starting January 1, 2023. This means that employees that currently uses the Performance Management and Learning & Development pdf form will need to start entering Performance Evaluations in AspireAlaska starting in January. Exempt agencies that currently choose to use the PDF version of the form do not have to move to AspireAlaska. Please talk to your Department Human Resource Business Partner for any questions about the Performance Evaluation process for your agency.

AspireAlaska Performance Town Halls

To help with employee’s transitioning to AspireAlaska and the new Annual Performance Evaluation process the Division of Personnel and Labor Relations will be hosting a series of Demos/Town Halls. Signups in AspireAlaska are available for all employees now through the end of the year for the Performance Management – Annual Performance Town Hall.

Supervisor Toolkit: Effectively Utilizing a Supervisory File

Supervising today’s workforce means managing information generated from multiple communication channels and sources. Without an effective strategy to organize and compile information, this gets overwhelming quickly. Employee Relations (ER) is here to help! ER’s Supervisory File Guidelines are now available in the Resources for Supervisors (only available on a State network).

Supervisors often ask their ER consultant, is managing a supervisory file worth my time? Yes! An effective Supervisory File can be the difference between expending countless hours digging through material saved in different places versus finding what you need in one place, in a matter of minutes. Supervisors who keep an up-to-date Supervisory File track performance throughout the year more effectively, keep evaluations current, and identify performance-related patterns and trends more quickly and easily.

The Supervisory File Guidelines outline what should and should not be placed in the Supervisory File. It also includes a link to helpful performance management tracking resources, such as the Employee Documentation Tool and the Attendance and Leave Tracker. Use these resources to save time and increase effectiveness as a supervisor!

Using the Exit Survey

Exit interviews are just one of many tools management uses to seek out opportunities for improvement within the organization. Exit surveys are an opportunity to gain information on employment conditions within the state. By collecting this data, we can identify specific conditions or patterns of behavior which may have contributed to employees' decisions to leave. Are employees leaving state agencies for better training, or promotional opportunities, or better benefit packages? Without this information we are unable to detect trends in specific areas or understand why an employee is seeking a better opportunity with another state agency or employer. Survey responses are treated as confidential, and do not become part of a personnel file.

The exit survey is not just for individuals leaving state service and supervisors should strongly encourage anyone moving between positions to also complete the survey. The online exit survey requires utilizing State of Alaska credentials to log into Microsoft Online which helps prevent non-State of Alaska employees from filling out the exit survey, so this is typically completed on an employee’s final days as they are completing the rest of their paperwork. The exit survey is included as part of the Employee Form Packets under the Separation/Layoff and Transfer Out packets.

If an employee does not have state login credentials, or if they have already left state service and still want to complete the exit survey, there is a PDF version of the survey that can be returned directly to the Division of Personnel and Labor Relations, Employee Planning and Information Center (EPIC) for processing by email to EmployeeCallCenter@alaska.gov or by mail to PO Box 110201 Juneau, AK 99811.

Successful Recruitment and Outreach Event at this Year’s AFN Convention

Thousands of people from all over the state converged at this year’s convention of the Alaska Federation of Natives. The Division of Personnel & Labor Relations (DOPLR) in partnership with the Department of Corrections hosted a booth at conference at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage. DOPLR, representing all departments, also invited convention goers to meet one-on-one with human resource staff, who answered questions about employment with the state and helped set up their applicant profiles in Workplace Alaska.

Start Your Career in HR Today

The Division of Personnel and Labor Relations (DOPLR) offers exciting career paths with opportunities ongoing development. Now is an outstanding time to join DOPLR and be part of the positive developments underway in State HR. DOPLR offers a supportive, team-centered environment with a strong emphasis on training and development. Check out opportunities to join the State HR team on workplace Alaska (pro tip: check both the State Employee and All Applicant job boards and search “human resources”). The Careers in State HR website has a wealth of information about working in DOPLR.

DOPLR Comings and Goings

This is a new section on the HR Update where we are hoping to highlight some of the comings and goings within Division of Personnel and Labor Relations.

Goings

• Andrew Hoffman (Recruitment)
• Greg Fritz (ER)

Comings

• Chad Bolduc (LR)
• Ashley Laurin (ER)