Anne Arundel Community College’s EXCELL Performance Coaching Conversation Model
has received one of CUPA-HR’s 2022 Innovation Awards.
For years, Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) used the same performance evaluation process to evaluate staff at the end of each fiscal year. It involved logging into an online performance management system and selecting numerical ratings for employee performance during the previous fiscal year based on 12 competencies. Although the process was well established, both employees and supervisors disliked the subjective ratings, the cumbersome online system, the once-a-year frequency, and the fact that growth, development and college values were missing from the equation.
When COVID-19 hit, the resulting disruption in processes gave HR the opportunity to brainstorm and develop innovative solutions for those that weren’t working, including the performance evaluation process. The outcome? A new coaching conversation model that has transformed the old process into a simpler, more engaging one that supervisors and employees have embraced enthusiastically.
Forward-Looking and Growth-Minded
The first step in developing the model was to determine what a forward-looking, growth-minded model for their performance management process would look like. Through discussion and brainstorming, they created the EXCELL performance coaching conversation model and a plan for piloting it. At the heart of the model was a simple one-page evaluation worksheet that would guide supervisors through a five-step coaching conversation to be held with each employee every 90 days:
- EXpress appreciation (strengths, projects and work)
- Constructive coaching (behavior, project or goal)
- Environment and Values (AACC values/dept. area values, team environment, dept goals)
- Learning and growth (professional development)
- Listen to employee, develop SMART goals together
Supervisors and employees would no longer have to learn how to navigate the online performance-management website. They would simply have a conversation, which the supervisor would briefly summarize on the worksheet and submit to HR through a Microsoft (MS) Form link. The new model would also provide flexibility for supervisors in the event a conversation needed to be conducted virtually for operational purposes.
In March 2021, the HR team presented the model to college leadership as an innovative solution to replace the outdated ratings-based performance evaluation process. Leadership loved the concept, and approved a 12-month pilot for staff.
By taking an inclusive and innovative approach to developing the EXCELL model, AACC has created a forward-looking, growth-based process that saves money, emphasizes institutional values, and helps employees and supervisors feel more engaged and appreciated.
Launching the Pilot
The EXCELL pilot was launched for staff in April 2021. To support the launch, the HR team:
- Held listening sessions with employees to share what the new process looked like and answer their questions
- Held a training session for supervisors to show them how to use the EXCELL worksheet, where to find conversation-starter tips, and how to submit their worksheets using the online MS Form
- Created training videos for supervisors to refer to as needed and to help bring new supervisors up to speed
To create ongoing opportunities for questions and feedback, a member of the HR team hosted open office hours on Zoom each week so that supervisors could stop in to ask questions. This also provided an opportunity to share effective coaching techniques and discuss how to give constructive, engaged feedback. Supervisors were instructed to conduct coaching conversations with their direct reports every 90 days, and HR followed up directly with supervisors whose forms were overdue.
Over the course of the pilot, HR also sent formal feedback surveys to employees and supervisors to get their thoughts on the process. The feedback they received included:
- Discussion items employees felt were missing from the conversation. This allowed employees to have a say in the creation of a model that worked for them.
- Concerns from supervisors as they adjusted to the frequency of the conversations and submitting the worksheet through an online MS Form. After the initial learning curve, however, supervisors preferred the new process over the old.
- Appreciation for the simple one-page format of the EXCELL conversation worksheet. Keeping it simple kept the focus on the conversation!
As the pilot concluded, HR sent a final feedback survey. The responses indicated that 81% of employees and supervisors wanted to keep the EXCELL model moving forward. Also, nearly 60% of respondents preferred holding the conversations every six months, rather than every 90 days — an adjustment that was easy to make.
A Change for the Better
In February 2022, the project team shared the results with college leadership, who approved the model as the permanent performance management model for staff. Because the model required only MS Forms, the college was able to cancel its contract with the online performance management company and save thousands of dollars each year.
Another benefit of the new coaching conversation model has been its emphasis on AACC’s values. In step three, supervisors discuss how the employee’s or team’s work has exemplified any of the five AACC values. Many of them have taken this opportunity to discuss AACC’s value of equity and inclusion, including ways the team’s work could help exemplify that goal.
By taking an inclusive and innovative approach to developing the EXCELL model, AACC has created a forward-looking, growth-based process that saves money, emphasizes institutional values, and helps employees and supervisors feel more engaged and appreciated. In recognition of this outstanding achievement, Anne Arundel Community College was selected to receive one of CUPA-HR’s 2022 HR Innovation Awards.
Tips for Piloting a Similar Model at Your Institution
- Gauge leadership receptiveness to this change and openness to a pilot. An innovative mindset is critical.
- Create a one-page conversation worksheet that fits your institution’s culture.
- Use an application such as MS Forms for supervisors to submit the completed conversation worksheets to a location where HR can review any time.
- Use listening sessions to communicate with employees about how the pilot will work.
- Train supervisors on effective coaching techniques.
- Survey employees and supervisors at the end of the pilot.
- Share results with leadership to make the change permanent.