Performance Development Review Guide

Our performance framework: 

Is for all employees, support, fee earners and salaried partners

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Helps your manager to be really clear about what is required of you

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Is underpinned by great conversations with your manager

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Provides support, development and honest feedback

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Offers a balanced assessment of what you deliver and how you demonstrate our DNA

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Creates opportunities to ask for support, improve performance and share ambitions

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Provides an opportunity to discuss progression and career growth

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Allows HP to identify and recognise people who have really gone the extra mile

Performance Development Review Guide

March to April 

Between March and April you are to meet with your manager to review the previous 12 months and complete the ‘End of Year Review’ part of the form

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Once you have reviewed the previous year, you should look forward and agree your objectives for the next 6/ 12 months and complete the ‘Objective Setting’ on a new form

October to November 

Between October and November you are to meet with your line manager to review your progress to date, updating your ‘Objective Setting’ form and completing the ‘Half-Year Review’ parts of the form

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Prior to each review meeting you should obtain feedback – please see page 8 for more information

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Once the meetings have taken place and you and your manager have updated the form, you must submit this to the People team by emailing a copy to peopleteam@howespercival.com

Performance Development Review Guide

Our performance development review process encourages you and your manager to have ongoing great conversations about your performance and development throughout the year.

You should plan your review meetings in advance and send invites to your line manager providing at least two weeks’ notice. Ideally, you would have completed the necessary forms within the PDR pack and sent a copy for your manager to review prior to your meeting.

Following your end of year review meeting, you are to agree with your line manager objectives for the following 6-month to 12-month period, as well as discussing your personal development. When setting your objectives, you should include both business and personal growth objectives and consider not only what you will achieve, but how you will achieve it.

Remember: When deciding your personal development objectives, we have the following learning and development support available to you: 

Career Development Frameworks

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LEAPS – Leadership Development Programme

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Mentoring Scheme

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LMS – Learning Management System

We also recommend using the SMART tool when setting objectives. This allows you to identify clear, specific goals, thus allowing you to stay focused when trying to reach an objective. 

Being clear and specific when outlining your objective

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Your objective should be measurable, which will allow you to determine how successful you have been in achieving your objectives

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Your objective should be attainable. Consider what resources and how much time you will need to dedicate to achieving this, and what support you will require

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Your objectives should be relevant. They should align your personal goals with the values of the Firm and overall business strategy

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Set realistic timelines for achieving your objectives

Performance Development Review Guide

After your meeting

During your meeting

Before your meeting

Employee 

Take some time to understand your team’s vision and objectives for the next 12 months, understanding how that may influence your own objectives

Manager 

Review the PDR Pack your employee has sent in advance of the meeting

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Contact the People Team if you have any queries or require further support

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Book in an ‘End of Year Review and Objective Setting’ meeting with your line manager

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Share your PDR pack with your manager at least two weeks’ prior to your meeting

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Attend the meeting with a clear understanding of your personal development and career aspirations

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Actively listen without judgement, making sure you aren’t forming assumptions and your opinions are based on fact

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Discuss both what you would like to achieve, as well as how you will do so

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Ask open questions to ensure you are understanding the objectives

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Discuss with your manager what support you will require from them to be successful

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Agree the next steps and discuss future objectives to work towards

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Agree the next steps and discuss future objectives to work towards

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Begin working on your objectives

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Collate ongoing feedback from colleagues and clients to support your Half-Year Review!

Informally check-in with your team regularly, understanding how they are finding things and if they require further support

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Share your employee’s PDR Pack with the people team by sending them to peopleteam@howespercival.com

Performance Development Review Guide

The half- year review is an opportunity for both you and your manager to discuss your progress so far. A two-way conversation should take place to review your whole job contribution and an overview should be captured by you and your manager using ‘Half-Year Review’ page in the PDR pack.

During this review, you should consider your career aspirations and discuss this with your line manager. This is only applicable to those who are looking for career progression. Your line manager will rate your performance to date and, where performance requires improvement, develop a plan to provide further support with guidance from the People Team.

After your meeting

During your meeting

Before your meeting

Employee 

Request feedback from colleagues or clients connected to your objectives

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Book a meeting with your manager, allowing at least two weeks’ notice

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Review your objectives and complete all necessary forms within the PDR pack, sending a copy to your manager to review prior to your meeting

Manager 

Record throughout the year instances when employees within your team have performed well and what they could do to improve their skills

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Review any PDR forms received in advance of the meeting

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Review the training on LMS on Giving Feedback

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Share any feedback you have received with your manager

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Provide feedback, ensuring it is factual, specific and constructive

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Discuss what you have achieved, as well as how it aligns with our DNA

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Agree the rating and discuss the next steps

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Discuss what you have learned during the previous six months and how you will benefit from this going forward

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Agree the rating and discuss your next steps

Discuss development opportunities and career aspiration and provide feedback if they are on track for their career goals and if not provide direction on what they need to work on in the future.

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Continue to work proactively towards your objectives

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Collate ongoing feedback from colleagues and clients to support your next review!

If the rating is “Requires further support”, contact the People Team to create a development plan

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Share the completed PDR pack with the employee to get their feedback and then send over to the People Team.

Performance Development Review Guide

The end of year review is for you and your manager to look back over the last 12 months and reflect on what has been delivered (your performance against objectives) as well as how it has been delivered (your attitude, behaviours and demonstration of our values).

You should reflect on what has gone well and what you have learnt, as well as what you may do differently in the future.

This review offers the opportunity to: 

Provide developmental feedback to help you continue to improve

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Recognise and thank you for your contribution

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Where performance requires improvement, a plan to provide further support can be obtained with guidance from the People team.

Before your meeting

Employee 

Request feedback from colleagues or clients connected to your objectives



Book a meeting with your manager, allowing at least two weeks’ notice

During your meeting





Share any feedback you have received with your manager



Discuss what you have achieved, as well as how it aligns with our DNA



After your meeting

Review your objectives and complete all necessary forms within the PDR pack, sending a copy to your manager to review prior to your meeting

Discuss what you have learned during the previous six months and how you will benefit from this going forward

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Agree the rating for the PDR year

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Continue the meeting to discuss setting new objectives for the next 6/12 months.

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Collate ongoing feedback from colleagues and clients to support your next review!

Manager 

Record throughout the year instances when employees within your team have performed well and what they could do to improve their skills



Review any PDR forms received in advance of the meeting



Review the training on LMS on Giving Feedback

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Actively listen without judgement, make sure you aren’t making assumptions and your opinions are fact based.

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Provide feedback, ensuring it is factual, specific and constructive

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Agree the rating for the PDR year

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Continue the meeting and agree objectives for the new PDR year.

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Share the completed PDR pack with the employee to get their feedback and then send over to the People Team.

Performance Development Review Guide

Giving and receiving feedback is an important part of your development. Positive feedback helps you to recognise your successes and constructive feedback helps you to develop and grow.

You will be asked to share 360 feedback to support your review. The easiest way to do so is to request feedback as you complete key projects or objectives, to ensure it is timely and people have a clear memory of what has been achieved and how.

You should agree with your line manager who is best to obtain feedback from. When requesting feedback, you may want to consider offering the option of the feedback being given directly to your line manager, as the individual may not feel comfortable providing direct feedback.

Don’t forget…

360 feedback means from stakeholders who have different working relationships with you, including various levels in a hierarchy and both inside and outside the firm.

Performance Development Review Guide

Giving great feedback is a skill that we can all develop over time. Initially, giving feedback may feel uncomfortable, but it’s important to remember that somebody asking for feedback means they value your opinion and trust you as a colleague.

When giving feedback, there are a few simple principles to follow in order to ensure your feedback is constructive, valuable and specific. These are:     

Be respectful Use non-judgemental language Be clear Be empathetic Give examples

The AID model can also be adopted as a tool to structure your feedback. It is a great tool to use for both positive and constructive feedback.

Do

Action What is being done well or could be improved?

Impact The effects these actions are having

What can be done more effectively in the future?

Performance Development Review Guide

At each review, you will receive a rating of your performance against your objectives and within your role. There are three possible ratings you could receive:

Requires further support

You may receive this rating if you are not achieving the majority of your objectives and/ or you are underperforming in your role. This highlights to your line manager and the People Team that you may require additional support or training. If you do receive this rating, a member of the People Team will get in touch to see what support you require.

Good performance

If you receive this rating, you are working in exactly the way we are looking for. You are achieving your agreed objectives and you are successfully completing the key responsibilities in your role.

Exceptional performance

You will receive this rating if you significantly exceeded expectations in all agreed objectives with outstanding results achieved and you go above and beyond what is expected of you in your role.

These ratings are considered when reviewing promotions and recognition, such as the discretionary bonus scheme.

Whilst most people aspire to exceed expectations, it is very difficult to exceed expectations in all objectives. As a firm, we expect the majority of our people to achieve a ‘good performance’ rating. That means they have delivered a great performance in their day-today tasks and have achieved the majority of their objectives.

Below is an indication of the distribution we might expect to see:

5-10%

75-85%

10-15%

Requires further support

Good performance

Exceptional performance

Performance Development Review Guide

If you have any questions – please get in touch with the People Team