Performance and Development Review (PDR)A guide

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Contents Your PDR 2

What you should expect 4

How your performance is measured 16

Who does what 6

Overview of the PDR process 8

Extra resources 18

Step-by-step guide 10

1. Annual company priorities and business unit objectives 11

2. Setting performance objectives 12

3. Half-year review 13

4. Year-end review 14

Writing effective objectives 19

Development plans 20

Our five values 21

Behaviours: Examples of how to . . . 22

Frequently asked questions 26

1. Your PDR

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The Performance and Development Review (PDR) is the process we all use to set and review our personal objectives and development plan and to make sure we are focused on delivering our priorities.

We all benefit from knowing what’s expected of us. Having clear, ambitious objectives and honest conversations about our performance is at the heart of the PDR process.

For you

• A clear understanding of what’s expected of you and how this supports our priorities

• Regular conversations with your manager about how you’re getting on

• Helpful and regular feedback from others – especially your manager

• Opportunities for you to talk about your development and ambitions

• Recognition for the work you’ve delivered

What’s in it . . . .

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For Thames Water

• Employees with clear objectives which all add up to deliver effective company performance

• Engaged employees who know what’s expected and have the right development to help them deliver and progress

• A consistent and relevant way of rating employees’ performance

For your manager

• Clear objectives, with measurements, to deliver performance and continuous improvement

• Knowing what progress is being made and where there are any issues

• Keeping the team focused throughout the year and updated with changes

• Knowing the team – and supporting their development and ambitions

• Help in managing poor performance

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2. What you should expect

• Annual launch of company priorities and business unit objectives

• Ambitious, clear objective-setting that makes it really clear what’s expected of you

• Two formal reviews each year • Lots of regular conversations about

how you are progressing• Helpful and regular feedback – and

you should give the same to others• Opportunities for you to discuss your

development and ambitions

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• To be treated fairly and respectfully• To play your role in the process – by

preparing for conversations with your manager and being honest about performance, issues, concerns and your development

• Managers working together to make sure we’re consistent when setting objectives and reviewing performance (done through managers’ PDR peer reviews)

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3. Who does whatJob-specific objectivesWhere we have lots of people doing similar jobs, we provide job-specific objectives. These make sure people in these jobs have fair, consistent and relevant performance objectives and measurements.

Development planYou can use a simple template to record what development you need to help you do your job. An example can be found on the PDR portal pages (in the HR section).

You:

• Draft outline objectives based on your job and team’s priorities for the year. Use ‘Writing effective objectives’ on page 19 to help you. In some teams your manager will provide job-specific objectives

• Make sure you clearly understand what is expected of you – in terms of what you need to do and how to go about it

• Regularly discuss your progress with your manager – don’t leave it all to the formal reviews. You should reflect on your objectives and our values in assessing your own performance

• Prepare for reviews – gather evidence and feedback from others on how you’re doing

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• Think about and be honest in sharing your development needs and ambitions with your manager. It may be helpful to use a development plan to help you pull this together. You can see an example of a development plan on the PDR portal pages (in the HR section)

• Make sure your PDR information is up-to-date

Your manager:

• Discusses with you the business unit’s objectives and team’s priorities – helping you to make sure your own performance objectives support these

• Regularly discusses your progress with you and prepares for reviews

• Regularly reviews your performance objectives in line with priorities, and agrees with you any changes needed

• Provides helpful feedback throughout the year to help you keep on track and check you understand what’s expected of you

• Provides you with any job-specific objectives

• Carries out reviews in a fair, consistent and respectful way – in line with our values

• Rates your performance formally twice a year

• Helps you complete a development plan if needed. Where appropriate, your ambitions will be put forward through our Talking Talent process

• Makes sure your team’s PDR information is up-to-date and complete in SAP

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4. Overview of the PDR process

Step 3 Manager discusses your half-year performance rating and progress on your development plan

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Peer-review performance ratings

Preparation for PDR:

PDR process:

Step 4 Manager discusses your year-end performance rating and progress on your development plan

Step 2 Set your performance objectives and agree your development plan, booking any training you need

Throughout the year Regular conversations about how

you’re getting on and checking your objectives are still relevant

Step 1 Manager will discuss with you the business unit’s objectives and team’s priorities and share any job-specific objectives

Business unit objectives

Thames Water priorities

Peer-review performance ratings

Managers peer-review objectives

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5. Step-by-step guide

Step 1 2 3 4

Communication of company priorities and business unit objectives (March to May)

At the start of the year, the Executive team will agree the company priorities and business unit objectives.

These will then be communicated with everyone either at launch events or in team meetings.

Where we have lots of people doing similar jobs, their job-specific objectives will be reviewed and agreed ahead of each PDR year.

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Step 1 2 3 4

Setting performance objectives for the year(March to May)

You:

• Draft performance objectives based on your job and team’s priorities for the year. Each objective needs a description as well as KPIs/measurements (e.g. specific metrics, manager feedback, etc.). Remember you’ll use these in your reviews so make sure they are relevant, realistic and timely. In some teams your manager will provide job-specific objectives

• Draft your development plan – considering your current job and any ambitions you have

Your manager:

• Arranges time to set performance objectives with you (this may be in the same meeting as the closedown of the PDR for the previous year)

• Prepares for the meeting, taking into account company priorities, business unit objectives, any job-specific objectives, your personal development and so on

• Makes sure your team’s PDR information is up-to-date and complete in SAP so that you are clear about what’s expected

You and your manager meet to discuss:

• What’s expected of you in your job, your draft performance objectives and KPIs/measurements

• How you do your job and any development required

• Your development plan – to agree it for the year ahead

• Your ambitions – what you want to do in the future

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Step 1 2 3 4

The half-year review(August to October)

Following this meeting, your manager will confirm your half-year

PDR rating. Your rating will be a combination of what you have done

as well as how you have done it

Before meeting your manager, honestly assess your own performance and gather feedback from others so that you are prepared

Meet your manager to:

• Discuss what you’ve been doing: review your progress against what’s expected of you in your job and your performance objectives in a more formal way, making any changes needed. Get feedback and coaching on your performance to date, with any guidance for the rest of the year

• Discuss how you’ve been doing: how have you gone about delivering your job and are there any areas you need or want to develop in? Use the example behaviour statements on pages 22-23 to help you

• Discuss progress against your development plan and what further support you may need

• Discuss your ambitions – what you want to do in the future

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Step 1 2 3 4

The year-end review (March to May)

Before meeting your manager, honestly assess your own performance, and gather feedback from others so that you are prepared

Meet your manager to:

• Discuss what you’ve done: review your progress against what’s expected of you in your job and your objectives in a more formal way

• Discuss how you’ve done: review your behaviour both in terms of what you’ve done and what’s expected in the future. Use the example behaviour statements on pages 22-23 to help you

• Discuss progress against your development plan and what support you may need going forward

• Discuss what you may include in your objectives for next year

• Discuss your ambitions – what you want to do in the future

Following this meeting, your manager will confirm your year-end

PDR rating. Your rating will be a combination of what you have done

as well as how you have done it

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6. How your performance is measured

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Your performance is not just rated on what you’ve delivered against your objectives, it includes what’s expected of you as a Thames Water employee, the requirements of your job and how you go about it.

Below Expectations (BE)

What this looks like:

• You are not doing what’s expected of you

AND / OR• You have made little

or no progress against your objectives

AND / OR• You’ve delivered it in

a way that does not reflect our values or has negatively impacted on others

Approaching Expectations (AE)

What this looks like:

• You are mostly doing what’s expected of you

AND / OR• You’ve made progress on

your objectives, but not all have been met

AND / OR• You’ve mostly (but not

always) delivered it in a way that reflects our values and has positively impacted on others

Meeting Expectations(ME)

What this looks like:

• You are delivering everything that’s expected of you

AND• You’ve met all your

objectives AND• You’ve delivered it in a

way that consistently reflects our values and has positively impacted on others

Exceeding Expectations(EE)

What this looks like:

• You are exceeding what’s expected of you

AND• You’ve met all your

objectives and done much more

AND• You’ve delivered it in a way

that consistently reflects our values, has positively impacted and sets an example for others

THE WHATProgress against expectations and performance objectives

THE HOWHow you have delivered (your behaviours)

Your performance rating

Your performance is rated using a four point scale.

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7. Extra resources

If you can’t find an answer to your question . . .

• check out the supporting materials on the PDR portal pages (in the HR section), or

• call 0845 026 2497 and select option 3 for PDR queries

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Writing effective objectives

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You’ve probably heard of and are using the S.M.A.R.T. approach.

And where you are using this, and it’s working, then keep going.

What’s true is that this approach doesn’t suit everyone’s style. Sometimes, before you know it, you find yourself squeezing words and actions together to fit this structure.

Here’s another way you could do it and still get a robust objective…

Firstly, write the description…

WHAT is it you’re wanting to do? Think of the ‘task’ and what you want to do with it. It might be ‘create…’ or ‘start…’ or ‘review…’ or ‘action…’ or ‘deliver…’.

WHY is it important to do it? Who or what does it impact? For example, ‘to inform annual business planning’ or ‘improve customer satisfaction’ or ‘make sure a key performance indicator ‘x’ is delivered’.

Then write the KPIs/Measurements you’ll use…

WHEN will you know you’ve done it?What do you need to produce to complete this objective? It may be a briefing, a report, or a more detailed piece of work. Or, it may be an ongoing achievement of standards relating to the job.

WHAT will tell you you’ve done it well?Here’s where you’ll decide the quality standards that go with the objective. It may be ‘report produced without errors’ or ‘presentation/briefing delivered with minor questions being asked’.

Lastly, do you have the competence and confidence to deliver this? Use your development plan to log what’s needed.

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Development plans

Development plans are about your competence and confidence to do your job.

They’re also really helpful when planning your future career. If you know there’s a job or area in the company you want to work towards then it may be useful to learn some new things first.

One approach is to consider:

1. What must I know for this job? Things here will include H&S; regulatory and equipment-specific training, and qualifications essential for your job

2. What do I need to know? Here you’ll scope out industry/Thames Water-specific requirements. Your job may involve presenting information regularly so your confidence and ability to do this is ‘needed’. You may ‘need’ to know how the money flows through Thames or how project management works

3. What’s nice to know? You’ll have a good sense of what these areas are. These are the ones we select if there is time and budget available as they enhance what we do rather than being essential

You can see an example of a development plan on the PDR portal pages (in the HR section)

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How you go about your objectives is as important as achieving them. We use our values to describe how we go about our jobs. You can use the example behaviour statements on the next few pages to help you understand them.

Committed

Totally involved and connected with what you are doing as well as the team.Willing to do that bit more because you want to do the best you possibly can for your customers – internal or external.

Supportive

Helping others feel comfortable and confident about sharing their opinions and ideas.Listening to other people’s views and considering the impact on others of what you do. Being there for colleagues when they need help.

Purposeful

Making sure that everything you do leads to improved customer service and has a positive impact on the company.Making decisions based on good reasoning and judgement.

Challenging

Looking at other ways of working and helpfully questioning others to see if things can be improved or done differently.Demonstrating this in a positive and supportive way.

Reliable

Saying what you’ll do and then doing it. Being trustworthy and consistently delivering for the company and our customers. Taking on new challenges with energy and enthusiasm.

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Our five values

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I do the right thing for Thames Water, our customers and my colleagues.

I go the extra mile for my customers, my colleagues and the community.

I take responsibility for my performance and work as part of a team.

I do quality work and get great feedback for getting it right first time.

I make clear commitments, keeping promises and keeping customers informed.

I understand what is expected of me in order to achieve my potential.

I get positive feedback from my colleagues, customers and stakeholders.

I actively promote Thames Water whenever I can.

I go out of my way to take on additional tasks and responsibilities.

I continually stretch myself to improve my personal performance.

I am fully involved with the engagement of the team.

I am passionate about customer service and I encourage my colleagues to deliver the best possible customer experience.

I am supportive because…

I listen to and take on board the views of other people.

I treat people as they want to be treated.

I work collaboratively with colleagues and suppliers to deliver our goals.

I create an engaging environment where everyone’s opinions count.

I am a good neighbour within the community and the environment.

I actively engage my colleagues in matters that affect them personally.

I coach / mentor other people in the organisation.

I show genuine appreciation of others and say thank you or well done where appropriate.

I understand how my behaviour impacts on those around me.

I consider the consequences of my actions on those around me.

I volunteer to help others who need it.

I support and challenge my colleagues with their development.

Behaviours:Examples of how to . . .

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I am purposeful because…

I am passionate about improving my performance and have a can-do approach.

I agree clear, measurable objectives and deliver quality work.

I keep myself and my colleagues safe, every day.

I understand and consider the impact of what I do on the company, our customers and my colleagues.

I am transparent about all aspects of our performance – good and not so good.

I communicate company performance.

I take on extra responsibility using my initiative.

I am tenacious when following through on issues.

I share what I learn and strive for continuous improvement.

I clearly understand regulatory drivers for my own area.

I am self-motivated and show pride in my work.

I make sure that I am knowledgeable and skilled.

I am effective at planning my workload.

I am challenging because…

I find ways to make things better and overcome difficulties, every day.

I always appropriately challenge other people’s inappropriate actions and behaviours.

I regularly ask for and provide honest feedback and act on the feedback I receive.

I role model the behaviours I expect to see in others.

I am proactive in my approach to anticipating customer issues and requirements.

I help drive financial efficiency goals within my team.

I plan and take appropriate action to do things better.

I present solutions rather than problems.

I challenge the status quo and am not afraid to constructively speak my mind.

I do not accept my own poor performance or that of others.

I bust myths and help overturn company taboos through changes to policies or processes.

I challenge when I see things that need improving to add value to the company.

I am reliable because…

I keep my promises.

I can be trusted to do what I say.

I do everything I can to deliver excellent performance and quality work.

I will agree timeframes and deliver to them.

I make sure that customers never have to contact us more than once on the same issue.

I prepare for meetings.

I am punctual.

I actively seek and receive positive feedback from my peers.

I deliver on my promises even when this is challenging.

I organise myself well so I work most effectively.

I manage changing priorities and uncertainty well.

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Behaviours:Examples of how not to . . .

I am not supportive because…

I ignore others when they ask me for help.

I change things but don’t let anyone else know.

I am always cynical and see things in a negative light.

I am not a team player.

I don’t engage with Thames or my colleagues.

I abdicate my responsibilities.

I stick to my own timescales and therefore miss deadlines.

I look out for myself.

I am not respectful towards other people.

I view customers as a barrier to getting my job done.

I view Health & Safety as a hindrance.

I don’t have 1:1s with my team / manager.

I never adjust my behaviour in differing situations.

I am dismissive of others.

I am not committed because…

I do not take responsibility – “it’s not my job”.

I do not contribute in meetings.

I am not trying to improve my attendance record.

I do not believe that it is down to me to improve the quality of our work.

I am not really enjoying my job.

I accept failure as being the norm.

I am not flexible in my approach.

I don’t relate my role with the end customer.

I don’t see how it is my fault when something goes wrong.

I don’t manage my time effectively.

It’s all about me.

I disregard / neglect my own safety and that of others around me.

I don’t care about company assets.

I show no respect for my customers or my colleagues.

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I am not purposeful because…

I accept failure as being the norm.

I don’t accept responsibility and blame other people.

I am complacent about my own safety.

I don’t use my time effectively.

I don’t use good judgement when making decisions.

I don’t communicate in a way that others understand.

I am negative in the way I think.

I don’t do anything to improve my performance.

I don’t deliver my objectives.

I don’t consider the impact of what I do on others.

I don’t seek to take on extra responsibility.

I don’t listen.

I don’t take on board information given at meetings & briefings.

I am not challenging because…

I am critical of new ideas without offering reasons or alternative situations.

My behaviour is inappropriate (rude or abusive).

I do not listen to others’ points of view.

I will challenge just for the sake of it.

I display negative / hostile body language.

I don’t contribute at meetings that I go to.

I am confrontational.

I answer others in an obstructive way.

I influence my colleagues in a negative way.

I do not think about the consequences of any changes I make.

I don’t / won’t find ways to make things better and overcome difficulties.

I rarely ask for feedback or act on feedback that I am given.

I am not proactive in my approach to anticipating customer issues.

I am not impacted by the drive for financial efficiencies within my team.

I am not reliable because…

I let people down.

I consistently miss deadlines / meetings / appointments.

I do not organise myself effectively.

I turn a blind eye to health & safety issues.

I demonstrate a tendency to over commit and then fail to deliver.

I am not trustworthy.

I can betray confidences.

I do not consider my customers even when they have to contact me more than once on the same issue.

I am not punctual.

I don’t react well to changing priorities.

I don’t follow through on outstanding / current issues.

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Q. I’m new to Thames Water – do I get a performance rating?

A. Every Thames Water employee who has been at work and has been contributing to the company for more than three calendar months should be given a performance rating. Even employees with less than three months’ service should be having regular conversations as part of our probation period procedure.

Q. What do I do if I haven’t been set any objectives?

A. It is important that everyone knows what is expected of them and the performance required. If you have not been set any objectives, you should speak to your manager and prepare your thoughts on objectives to discuss with them. If this does not result in clear agreed objectives, you should raise this with their manager to support you.

Q. What happens if my objectives or manager change part way through the year?

A. If your objectives need to change, you and your manager should review and agree new ones at one of your regular meetings. You should make a record of any achievements to date, and if required, add additional objectives to your PDR in SAP. If your manager or job changes through the year, your PDR should be a key document to discuss in the handover, and you should review this with your new manager and agree any changes required.

Frequently asked questions

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Q. What happens if I am on maternity leave, a career break, long term sick, etc, during the year?

A. You and your manager will need to take a pro-rata approach and consider your performance based on the time you were able to contribute during the year. This may affect your performance rating as you won’t have contributed to company performance for the whole year. For all employees who have completed three consecutive calendar months in a PDR year, a performance rating is required. If three full months have not been completed, the relevant ‘rating’ of ‘maternity leave’, ‘career break’, ‘long-term sickness’ or ‘less than 3 months’ must be recorded in SAP by your manager.

Q. How do I know my performance rating is consistent with others?

A. Peer reviews take place to allow managers to work together and make sure they’re always consistent when setting objectives and reviewing performance.

Q. What if I am unhappy with my overall performance rating?

A. You should discuss the matter with your manager.

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Your notes

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