Learning and Growth Tutorial for Employees

Learning and Growth reviews will always be more accurate, objective and meaningful when input and feedback are consistently anchored to job-specific expectations. That’s what Encompassing Visions (ENCV) does. Based on the role you are specifically responsible for, ENCV will enable your contributions to personal, team and organizational success to be measured in up to three (3) different ways;

Competency reviews look at the behaviours and the technical skills expected to be demonstrated in the job you do.

1.When logging into Encompassing Visions, you will be navigated directly to the Complete/Print Review screen. On that screen you will see your name, the review period and a due date. You are encouraged to start the review and enter supporting comments at any time during the review period. If you do, just be sure to save your input from each session, and have the entire review completed by the ‘Due Date’.

2.If you have been asked to provide review input for another person in the organization, you will also see their name on your list of reviews needing to be completed.

3.Select the review you wish to complete by moving the mouse over top of your selection and single clicking. Your selection will be bolded in black.

Note: The Competency Review questions you will be answering are automatically generated by the software and will be based on what is most important in your job, and to the organization.

For Competency Reviews, the screen will display the behaviours and skills that you need to review. You will notice there is a column headed ‘Sub-Review Status’. The Sub-Review Status column indicates the number of detailed questions related to the specific Competency and, at any point in time during the review period, how many you have already answered. If there is a dash in the column, that means there are no sub-review questions for that Competency.

Note: Only the most important Competencies in your job will have detailed questions.

You will notice that each Competency has a rating scale. Organizational management will have already determined whether it is a 1-5 or 1-10 scale. Regardless of which scale you are asked to respond to, the software will display the definition for that rating if you hold your mouse (cursor) over top of the rating button.

If you are unable to answer a question for any reason, select C/C (Cannot Comment) as your response.

The text field headed ‘Competency Notes’ is not typically a required component of the review process but is provided to enable you to enter any important general comments you want to make about that particular Competency. All comments you do enter will be included in the Learning and Growth Review Report.

Click the Save and Go button

to save your response(s) and comments and proceed to the next

You can also click Save and the Previous button

if you want to save your response(s) and comments and go back to the previous Competency.

IMPORTANT - click “Save”

to save your progress and leave the review details screen.

All competencies do NOT have to be reviewed at one time. Reviews in the Encompassing Visions

software system can be saved at any point, and you can return to finish the review sometime later. The review will stay open, even if every Competency has been reviewed, until the ‘Due Date’ has been reached.

The system may automatically prompt you to provide justification comments if your responses have resulted in a ‘high’ or ‘low’ rating for the related Competency. Note: The review will not be considered ‘Complete’ by the software until you have provided justification.

To facilitate the process of completing Learning and Growth Reviews, ENCV is now available as a Mobile App on your Android/iOS cell phone or tablet. If you do not have easy access to a computer, please contact your Administrator.

At the top of the Competency Review screen, you will notice an indicator that shows the review status and information about how many Competencies have been reviewed.

On some occasions it may be more convenient to print the learning and growth review on paper in order to complete it (i.e., when internet connectivity is limited or not possible). If that is the case, and you want to complete the review offline –

a.In the ‘Complete/Print Reviews’ module, select your name in the table with a single click of the mouse.

b.From the ‘View’ drop down list, select “Print Review-to-date” or “Print Blank Review”

Please remember that any responses and comments recorded on this paper copy will still need to be keyed into the software at a later date.

Note: The option ‘Print Review-to-Date’ displays a printable copy of the review that includes any responses and comments that were previously entered into the software by you for that specific review.

Once you have completed the Competency Review as ‘INCUMBENT’, you can print a summary of the information;

•Scroll over the Employees header in the navigation bar at the top of the screen.

a.	Click the icon in the actions box to “Print the Learning and Growth Report for Selected Employee’.

Note: The content of the printed report will only include review details of what you have said about yourself. It will not include any information about what other reviewers may have said. Only the Supervisor has the option to generate a report that includes that consolidated information.

a.Default Filter parameters will be displayed. Make sure the Review Completion Date range includes the correct time period for when you completed the review, and then click OK.

b.Ideally, before the ‘Due Date’ has been reached, you should ask to meet with your supervisor/manager to discuss perspectives regarding your competency learning and growth.

Competency ratings in ENCV are significantly influenced by two things: 1) the relative importance (from 1 out of 10 to 10 out of 10) of each competency in the job the incumbent is paid to do, and 2) how well job incumbents are demonstrating those job competencies. In this way, incumbents performing very important job competencies at a high level will likely realize a very good overall competency rating in ENCV, even if some lesser important job competencies are not performed at the same level of proficiency.

In the Employee Learning and Growth Report, the job competency ‘Importance Rating’ assigned to each listed competency is system-generated based on the Job Description and Job Evaluation process that determined the job level / compensation range for the job. Having this direct link (unique to ENCV) helps to ensure a clear and consistent understanding of expectations and deliverables between the incumbent and their supervisor. It also guarantees that Learning and Growth ratings are truly based on what the job incumbent is paid to do, not what the employee or supervisor thought the job required.

Feedback objectivity is supported by ENCV as it enables one or multiple reviewers to provide learning and growth feedback for individuals on your team.

Objectivity is further supported with multiple detailed questions that are system prompted for every competency that has a high ‘Importance Rating’ (usually 7 or higher) in the job performed by the person being reviewed. Having detailed questions ensures measures are more consistent and reviews more thorough. Any competencies scored as ‘Cannot Comment’ are excluded from all calculations within ENCV. That ensures a person’s ‘Overall Competency Ratings’ is not inappropriately effected positively or negatively.

1.In the Employee Learning and Growth Report, each listed Competency has an ‘Importance Rating’ that is unique to the job the employee is assigned. As mentioned, this ‘Importance Rating’ comes directly from the Job Description and Job Evaluation process (i.e., it is tied directly to what the job incumbent is paid to do.)

2.The report will list the number of people (# of Reviewers) who completed a learning and growth review for the employee during the selected review period.

3.Any reviewers who couldn’t evaluate a competency will be counted under the ‘Cannot Comment’ column.

4.The ‘Response Average (max 5 or 10)’ reflects the rating scale that reviewers used (1-5, or 1-10) to respond to Competency review questions in the learning and growth review. The number in this column attached to each Competency is the specific response (if one question) or the average of all detailed responses calculated by ENCV to three (3) decimal places.

5.The numbers showing in the ‘Evaluated Points’ column are the result of multiplying ‘Importance Rating’ x ‘# of Reviews’ x ‘Response Average’ -

a.The total actual ‘Evaluated Points’ are calculated by the software by adding up the individual ‘Evaluated Points’ for each competency listed/reviewed;

b.The total potential ‘Evaluated Points’ are calculated by the software by adding up what the total number would have been if the incumbent had received a perfect rating (5/5 or 10/10) for every competency listed/reviewed;

c.Dividing the ‘total actual’ points by the ‘total potential’ points and multiplying the result by 5 (or 10, depending on the rating scale used) determines the Learning and Growth Rating to three (3) decimal places. This number is displayed under the column headed ‘Evaluated Rating’.

6.The resulting number is then mapped into the Competency Summary table displayed in the report to provide terminology and definition to the learning and growth rating calculated by the software.

For the purposes of this Employee Handbook both 2) Business Objectives ‘accomplished’ and 3) Personal Development Objectives ‘achieved’ will be described together. Both processes are very similar in creation, review and report generation.

Every year there may be new or recurring tasks or projects you will be responsible to ‘accomplish’ and/or contribute to. Each important task or project detail should be considered a Business Objective in ENCV, and each will have a specific completion date assigned to it (see ‘Creating SMART Objectives’ ). Over the course of the Review Period (typically 1 year in duration and usually associated with the organizations Fiscal cycle) there may be several Business Objectives you will be expected to accomplish. Whether there is one or several Business Objectives during the review period, they should collectively be included in one ‘Business Objective Work Plan’.

Every year there may be one or more specific personal development objective(s) you are asked to ‘achieve’. These objectives may be tied to an earlier learning and growth review where development of a particular Competency was identified as something important and beneficial to your learning and growth in your current job. It may also be tied to a particular behavior or technical skill that is important/required in another job the organization would like to consider you for in the future. Over the course of the Review Period (typically 1 year in duration and usually associated with the organizations Fiscal period) there may be one or several Personal Development Objectives you are expected to achieve. Regardless of the number of Personal Development Objectives you may have, they should be collectively included in one ‘Personal Development Objective Work Plan’ for the stated Review Period.

A Work Plan (either Business or Personal Development) becomes ‘Valid’ when every field associated with every listed ‘Objective’ is complete. The Percentage Weighting of all Objectives listed in a Work Plan needs to total 100% and have been approved by both you and your Supervisor.

It is important to discuss with your Supervisor / Manager who will create the first draft of your Work Plan Objectives for the coming year. If it is agreed that you will start the process, then -

•Select the type of Work Plan (Business Objectives’ or ‘Personal Development Objectives’) you want to create (or view).

The system will open up an input screen for the type of Work Plan you have selected. Only Work Plans related to yourself will be listed. If there is no detailed information showing under the report headings, that means there are no previous Work Plan(s) to display.

Note: If you are looking for a Work Plan more than 2 years old, click on the Filter icon in the ‘Actions:’ bar and change the ‘Period Date’ to an earlier time, then apply the filter to see a list of those older Work Plans.

The Work Plan Title Field is pre-populated with the "Fiscal Year". For consistency and ease of future reference, it is recommended you keep the system suggested Work Plan Title as pre-populated. It can however be changed if it is important or required to do so.

•Verify the Work Plan Title information and pre-populated ‘Period Dates’ that describe when the Objectives in the Work Plan are to be accomplished.

•Click on the ‘green arrow’ forward button to proceed with adding objectives now.

•You will be directed by the software to an input screen where details about the first Objective can be entered. After entering the required information about Objective #1, click on the ‘green’ arrow forward button at the bottom of the screen to enter Objective #2, and so on until every objective for the ‘Fiscal year’ has been entered.

•You do not need to enter every objective or required detail at this time, but you will not be able to complete or approve the Work Plan until each required field is filled in.

•At a later time when you can return to this module, make sure the Work Plan Title (displayed in the top half of the screen) is highlighted. If it isn’t, simply single click the mouse on it.

•On the bottom half of the screen (headed ‘Work Plan Details’), click on the ‘Add’ icon.

•You do not need to enter every objective or required detail at this time, but you will not be able to complete or approve the Work Plan until each required field is filled in.

You and your “Lead” must agree on the results you are expected to deliver, the general

approach you’ll take to achieve them, and the resources and support that you’ll need to be successful.

2.Agree on the most important work-related priorities for the year ahead, and how they will support the priorities of your team, department and the Organization.

•The Valid column will remain blank until every required field for each listed Objective has been completed and saved. Note: The distributed Percentage Weighting across all Objectives described in the Work Plan must total 100%.

•Regardless of who created the Work Plan and its specific Objective details, the information should ALWAYS be based on agreement and shared understanding (i.e., you and your supervisor/manager) of expectations, deliverables and time-lines.

You may have Business Objective Work Plans that change very little from one year to the next. If that is the case, you may want to save yourself some time by using ENCV functionality to ‘copy’ your specific Work Plan from the previous year. To copy, single click on the Work Plan from the previous year. Next, click the

icon in the ‘Actions:’ bar at the top left of the screen.

You will notice that the ‘Employee’ field will be pre-populated with your name and a ‘New Work Plan Title’ will is requested. Verify the pre-populated ‘Period Dates’, change as necessary, and choose whether you want to also ‘Copy Resources Costs’ and/or ‘Memo Notes’ from the original Work Plan.

Next, click on the green arrow forward button at the bottom of the screen to begin reviewing and editing (as necessary) each copied Objective in the ‘new’ Work Plan. Note: All ‘Approvals’ and any ‘Confidential Comments’ in the original Work Plan are NOT included in the copied version.

Once the Objective details are proven Valid by ENCV, your Work Plan still requires your approval as well as your supervisor/manager (designated as the ‘Lead’ in the software) Please note that if a Work Plan is not ‘Approved’ by both you and your ‘Lead’ it will not be available for evaluation.

•On the top half of the screen, double click on the Work Plan you want to ‘Approve’.

oTick the Employee Approved box if you agree with the Work Plan objectives as detailed.

oAsk your supervisor/manager to log in and tick the Lead Approved box if they also agree with the Work Plan objectives as detailed. Your supervisor/manager can also approve the Work Plan on your computer monitor if they have their ENCV password (which is required for security purposes).

Once your Work Plan is approved, it cannot be edited. Should changes be required, it will first need to be UNAPPROVED by both you and your supervisor/manager. When the edits have been made to the plan, it must once again be re-approved by both of you. Unapproving a Work Plan will only be possible if the review has not yet been started.

When you first log into ENCV, the software should take you directly to the ‘Complete/Print Reviews’ module. Alternatively, you can move your mouse to the ‘Employees’ heading in the navigation bar at the top of the screen, and select the option labeled ‘Complete/Print Reviews’.

a.You will see your name on that list and be asked to do an ‘INCUMBENT’ review of your Work Plan (‘Business Objective’ and ‘Personal Development Objective’). If you have been previously asked to do a learning and growth review of someone else, you will also see that person’s name on the list, and your relationship to them potentially defined as either ‘PEER’, ‘CLIENT’ or ‘SUBORDINATE’.

•Double click on the specific Objective you want to review, complete and/or comment on:

c.Using the scroll bar down the right side of the screen, make sure to read the full description of the specific objective’s details and deliverables.

If you believe a specific objective should not or cannot be evaluated in the review (e.g., it is no longer applicable, required resources to accomplish it were not available, a change in priorities occurred, etc.) mark the objective as ‘C/C’ (i.e., ‘Cannot Comment’). Please complete the Comments section stating why the objective could not or should not be evaluated at this time.

•Scroll over the evaluation rating buttons (1-5 or 1-10) to display rating definitions. Select the one that is most appropriate.

ENCV measures what was done, what skills and behaviors were demonstrated in the process, and enables Learning and Growth feedback to come from single or multiple sources. Objectivity, Accountability and Respect are what the software is all about. It ensures -

• Learning and Growth reviews are always based on what you are paid to do - nothing more, nothing less;

• Learning and Growth ratings always reflect what you accomplished, and how effectively you applied your job-required technical skills and behavioral competencies in the process;

• Employee recognition programs, and training and development plans are always based on an accurate and objective understanding of how your contributions made a difference to team and organizational success; and

• Succession planning decisions are always based on the most accurate and objective information available about you and your capabilities – it’s not who you know, but what you have proven you can do.