Sample Performance Standards - General Performance Standards

The following performance standards can apply to any Administrative and Managerial, Professional, Supervisory, and Confidential position and/or key duty. The standards are written to support specific desirable behaviors.

Accountability:

• The employee demonstrates a sense of responsibility for completing tasks.
• The employee recognizes how her performance affects overall goals and objectives.
• The employee works independently under broad or limited supervision.
• The employee establishes priorities appropriately, demonstrating an understanding of the urgency of tasks and the impact of tasks on the unit/department/university.
• The employee plans effectively, anticipating issues, taking the initiative to address issues, and developing innovative approaches to resolving issues.

Ethical Behavior:

• The employee demonstrates integrity, honesty, a sense of responsibility, and loyalty in the performance of all tasks.

Teamwork:

• The employee demonstrates commitment to her co-workers' success by sharing information and offering assistance across unit and department as appropriate.
• The employee will display a team-based approach to work
• The employee will openly share relevant information to teammates and supervisors(s).
• The employee will maintain a high level of respect for the diversity of each client and co-worker, and treat each person as an individual.
• The employee will take responsibility for his or her team assignments.
• The employee will not “undercut” colleagues’ efforts. She or he will work as a team member to resolve issues without blame when problems arise or concerns develop that involve other units/departments.
• The employee will actively seek the opinions and feedback from others and in turn, provide feedback in a respectful manner to others.
• The employee will be willing to pitch-in to help others to get a job done.
• The employee’s presence positively enhances the work of a team.

Effective Communication:

• The employee conveys information, as appropriate, to all individuals, including her supervisor and co-workers.
• The employee uses clear, concise language to provide timely and accurate written and oral communication.

Effective Time Management:

• The employee completes work on schedule.
• The employee accurately estimates the time required to complete a task and sequences tasks appropriately in order to meet assigned deadlines.
• The employee will consistently display timeliness in the management of projects.
• The employee will report to work on time as designated by his or her supervisor. When unable, the employee will contact his/her supervisor to inform him/her of the reason for lateness.
• The employee will establish and meet deadlines for each project he/she is responsible for.
• The employee will be punctual by attending meetings and programs at their scheduled time.
• The employee will respond quickly to client and co-workers needs. He or she will return all phone calls and emails from clients within twenty-four hours (if answer cannot be provided apprise client and supervisor of progress being made).
• The employee will set personal priorities in relation to the department’s goals.

Effective Problem Solving:

• The employee demonstrates the ability to identify problems, present alternatives and creative solutions, and assess consequences.
• The employee demonstrates flexibility by being open to new and alternate ideas.

Excellence in Service:

• The employee demonstrates customer service skills by anticipating, understanding, and addressing stakeholder needs.
• The employee fulfills stakeholder requests in a timely manner and achieves stakeholder satisfaction.
• The employee demonstrates professionalism by exercising sound judgment and creativity and by representing the department in a positive manner
• The employee initiates and/or leads projects and develops ideas that advance departmental mission and vision.
• The employee seeks out opportunities to benchmark products and services in an effort to improve all unit services.
• The employee will provide quality customer service to all internal and external university constituencies.
• The employee will be flexible and adaptable in responding to client and co-worker’s needs.
• The employee will be solution-oriented, by focusing on possible resolution to problems and issues before alerting co-workers and/or supervisor(s).
• The employee will be knowledgeable and informed about university issues and messages. She or he will share relevant information with co-workers and supervisors(s).
• The employee will be accessible to clients and co-workers.
• The employee will be informed about new communication strategies.
• The employee will be friendly, responsive, and welcoming to constituents and co-workers that s/he serves.
• The employee will develop clear, concise, and targeted creative communication strategies, materials, and programs.
• The employee will be available for his/her employees to assist in problem resolution. (Supervisor)

Focus on Outcomes:

• The employee participates fully in achieving annual unit and divisional goals.
• The employee completes projects according to established timelines and requirements.

Professionalism:

• The employee will handle himself or herself in a manner that demonstrates expertise, integrity, and commitment to university goals.
• The employee will demonstrate knowledge of unit functions and can identify resources for further research/information.
• The employee will conduct himself or herself with honesty and integrity in communications with others, within and outside the Rutgers community.
• The employee will provide accurate information to meet client needs.
• The employee will earn the trust of colleagues and clients.
• The employee will demonstrate flexibility in response to changing demands.
• The employee will seek clarity from supervisor(s) about the levels of review and approval required for projects; plans and executes work accordingly.
• The employee will use interviewing techniques that focus on identifying desirable behaviors in the selection of staff. (Supervisor)

Serving as an Information Source:

• The employee will be a trusted source of clear and accurate information to the university community and beyond.
• The employee can identify and articulate the university’s mission and critical messages.
• The employee will exhibit outstanding and consistent verbal and written communication skills.
• The employee will act appropriately to ensure the accuracy and reliability of information.
• The employee will orient his/her employees to the department’s programs, services, and resources. (Supervisor)

Creativity

• The employee will provide creative solutions to complex problems. In an effort to deal with the problem(s), the employee will offer various solutions on how to deal with the presenting issues.
• The employee will be actively involved in a collaborative creation process with the client to better meet the needs of the client.
• The employee will meet with the client and engage in an exploration process that will uncover the client’s needs, organizational culture and desired outcomes.
• The employee will meet several times with the client during the creation of materials to ensure the client’s needs are being met before the product is produced.
• The employee is open to client feedback about the product and can integrate client feedback into the final product.
• The employee will find ways to use existing resources to meet client needs.
• The employee should actively be involved as a team member in generating ideas for creative media and problem solving (brainstorming, idea generating seminars, etc.).
• The employee will look to maximize current resources in developing solutions.
• The employee will look to create new resources in solving issues.
• The employee will keep abreast of industry standards and new approaches.