Empowering Excellence
The new Managing Employee Work policy creates a clear, simple approach to how we work together, grow our skills, and serve the people of North Carolina.
Read the policy
Schedule Your First Check-In
Quarterly check-ins are recommended to ensure feedback meetings are occurring and documented between a supervisor and their employee. Check-ins can be initiated by either party.
Schedule a check-in today!
Agency Cycle Timelines
Under the Managing Employee Work policy, agencies have additional flexibilities to performance management cycle timelines to customize performance management based on their individual needs.
Find your agency's selectionsWhat Is Performance Management?
The State of North Carolina's performance management process helps employees contribute, grow, and succeed in serving North Carolinians with excellence. The process aims to ensure employee efforts are aligned with the goals of their division, agency, and the state, while also encouraging career growth and development.
What Is Your Role in Performance Management?
The Employee
- Understand core responsibilities and work towards your goals
- Communicate with your supervisor to clarify expectations and organizational needs
- Ask for help, training, or resources when needed
- Take an active role in your performance and career development
The Supervisor
- Ensure team members understand job expectations, agency values, and the skills they need to thrive
- Align employee goals with their responsibilities and agency priorities
- Have regular, timely conversations about performance that cover progress, concerns, opportunities, and accomplishments, and documenting these discussions
- Create an environment that supports growth by providing mentoring, addressing issues promptly, and encouraging long-term career development
The Agency
- Assign a Performance Management Coordinator to oversee this policy within the agency
- Set strategic priorities so employee work plans connect to the agency’s mission, and making sure communication and resources are in place for success
- Review and calibrate goals and ratings across the organization
- Build a culture of continuous feedback that promotes productivity, growth, and engagement through training and guidance
How Work Cycle Feedback Works
At the start of each year or change in position, you and your supervisor agree on three to five goals that connect your work to the agency’s mission. The goals should be challenging, but achievable. You and your supervisor also agree on how the agency’s values apply to the work.
At least quarterly, you and your supervisor will check in with each other. These check-ins help you stay on track, get support when you need it, and adjust goals if priorities change.
Simple Feedback Framework
Continue: What’s working well?
Start: What new approaches would help?
Stop: What’s not working?
Feedback can happen in many ways including email updates, virtual meetings, and in-person meetings. You are encouraged to give feedback about your supervisor’s contributions too.
At the end of the work cycle, you and your supervisor will meet to discuss how well the goals and values were met.
Supervisors assign one of the following ratings:
| Rating | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Outstanding Performer | The employee consistently performs above expectations on assigned goal(s) and values(s). |
| 2 | Successful Performer | The employee successfully accomplishes assigned goal(s) and values(s). |
| 1 | Needs Improvement | The employee needs to improve to successfully complete assigned goal(s) and values(s) |
| U | Unavailable to Evaluate | The employee is on LOA at time of the Annual Progress Review |
| T | Insufficient Time to Evaluate | The employee has been employed by the agency for less than 90 calendar days at the end of the annual work cycle |
Although the work cycle runs for a year, feedback is also about building your career beyond the work cycle. Talk with your supervisor to identify skills you want to build and opportunities you want to pursue.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Annual Employee Work Cycle is a 12-month period that starts with supervisors and employees meeting to collaboratively develop employee work plans and set expectations for the cycle and ending with an Annual Progress Review to evaluate progress and accomplishments. Agencies determine if they will participate in the cycle on a calendar year basis (January 1 to December 31) or on a fiscal year basis (July 1 to June 30).
The State of North Carolina's performance management process applies to permanent, probationary, and time-limited employees subject to the North Carolina Human Resources Act, as well as certain exempt positions. Temporary employees and contractors are not included.
Your agency determines whether the cycle runs calendar year (Jan 1-Dec 31) or fiscal year (Jul 1-Jun 30). To view your agency's selections, visit Agency Cycle Timelines and Rating Models.
You and your supervisor will define 3-5 goals together, including at least one development/growth goal. Visit the Goal-Setting Template for tips on creating strong, measurable goals.
Yes. Your work plan can be modified at any time.
Your agency selected 2-7 behavioral competencies, or values, from OSHR's Values Library. These become part of your work plan and performance rating.
A check-in is a new platform tool that allows either you OR your supervisor to request feedback conversations. Visit Performance Management Training for more information.
OSHR recommends at least quarterly feedback conversations for all employees and will work with agencies to implement approaches to creating a continuous feedback culture, following issuance of this policy. Agencies should tailor the frequency of feedback to individual employee needs.
Supervisors are required to:
- Hold and document at least quarterly feedback sessions for all new employees (including probationary, time-limited, or transfers),
- Hold and document at least one feedback session at the midpoint of the annual review cycle for all employees whose most recent annual performance rating was a Needs Improvement, or who have active performance-related disciplinary actions.
- Hold and document a feedback session for all employees who are separating or transferring and request feedback prior to their separation or transfer.
The Annual Progress Review is a one-on-one meeting between a supervisor and their employee that occurs at the end of the annual employee work cycle to review the employee’s work and discuss the employee’s activities and performance throughout the entire annual employee work cycle.
Prior to this meeting, employees are encouraged to evaluate their progress on their work plan and development over the preceding twelve (12) months and provide comments and documentation to support their self-assessment.
Agencies shall select one of two performance rating models for agency-wide use:
- Cumulative Rating Model: Supervisors provide one cumulative rating that encompasses performance on all goals and values.
- Individual Ratings Model: Supervisors rate every goal and value in the employee work plan, and these ratings are averaged into a single overall rating.
In both models, supervisors shall assign a rating and complete three (3) questions related to:
- How the employee performed against their goals.
- How the employee demonstrated the organization’s core values.
- How the employee can grow (or a question on general feedback, per agency preference).
The answers will provide insights and documentation on the employee’s work and the supervisor’s rationale for the performance rating. Documentation may include examples of employee work, information on work metrics, and/or feedback provided to the employee during the prior 12 months that supports the Annual Progress Review.
Supervisors shall assign one of the following ratings:
| Rating | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Outstanding Performer | The employee consistently performs above expectations on assigned goal(s) and values(s). |
| 2 | Successful Performer | The employee successfully accomplishes assigned goal(s) and values(s). |
| 1 | Needs Improvement | The employee needs to improve to successfully complete assigned goal(s) and values(s) |
| U | Unavailable to Evaluate | The employee is on LOA at time of the Annual Progress Review |
| T | Insufficient Time to Evaluate | The employee has been employed by the agency for less than 90 calendar days at the end of the annual work cycle |
Goal Calibration: Managers review goals across teams to ensure fairness.
Rating Calibration: Managers compare ratings to ensure consistent standards.
Your signature acknowledges receipt, not agreement. You can request a review through your agency's grievance process. Contact your agency's HR team for guidance.