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2008 STAFF APPRAISAL EXERCISE
(1)
Reference period: 1 January to 31 December 2007
A draft
decision revising the General Implementing Provisions (GIP) of the
Article 43 and the Article 45 of the Staff Regulations will be adopted by
the Commission soon. It was initially foreseen that those revised GIPs
would be applied for the appraisal exercise for the period covering the
year 2007. However, in order to ensure that the implementation of the new
system takes place in the best possible conditions, it has been decided to
postpone this implementation for one year. The 2008 appraisal and
promotion exercises will therefore be conducted on the basis of the
Article 43 and 45 GIPs adopted by the Commission on 23 December 2004.
The appraisal exercise covering the 2007 calendar year will then be the
sixth one under the system introduced in April 2002.
Set out below is a reminder of the principles governing the appraisal and
a description of the different stages of the appraisal procedure.
REFERENTIEL DE FONCTIONS POUR LA PROCEDURE DE
CERTIFICATION
STATISTIQUES DES DERNIERS EXERCICES D’EVALUATION
ET DE PROMOTION
- GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Each year the Commission appraises the performance of its staff. An
individual report, known as the CDR (Career Development Review) report,
is created on the basis of this appraisal. The report is drawn up using
the Sysper2 computer application. You can see the layout of the report
form at:
http://www.cc.cec/pers_admin/appraisal/forms_en.html.
Who has to be appraised?
- All officials and members of the temporary staff who were in
active service or on secondment in the interests of the service for a
continuous period of at least one month in 2007 have to be appraised.
- Exceptions:
- A report does not have to be drafted for jobholders(2)
who left the Community institutions in 2007 or who are going to
leave in 2008, unless they expressly request one from their
reporting officer.
- Officials or temporary staff occupying a position as a
Director-General or equivalent, or Director or equivalent, are
assessed under different arrangements and are thus not covered by
this annual exercise.
What period does the new appraisal exercise cover?
The reference period runs from 1 January to 31 December 2007.
What does the appraisal relate to?
It covers three areas:
- Efficiency is marked out of ten. Individual objectives matched
against appraisal criteria have been set for all jobholders;
performance will be assessed according to how far the jobholder has
achieved the objectives in his/her work.
- Abilities (“Competencies”) are marked out of six. Commission-wide
standards have been established by DG ADMIN, with the help of the
Joint Appraisal and Promotion Monitoring Committee. All Commission
departments must use these standards. The standards can however be
supplemented to cover aspects specific to each DG. In the case of
jobholders in management roles, abilities in leadership, staff
management and financial resources management must also be appraised.
- Aspects of Conduct in the service is marked out of four. The
appraisal of conduct covers aspects such as the ability to work with
others, motivation and service culture. The appraisal must be carried
out using common standards applicable for all Commission departments,
with specific standards developed by individual DGs being added where
necessary.
If objectives could not be set for 2007 for all the tasks performed
by the jobholder, the jobholder’s performance will be evaluated by
reference to factors of which he/she is aware, such as job description
or existing planning.
Please note that the individual merit of officials who were promoted in
2007 is appraised against the merit of those in the grade to which they
were promoted. This can produce a situation where a performance level
identical to that recorded in 2006 can result in a different assessment
of merit in the higher grade.
What are the implementing rules?
The annual reports for 2007 are still governed by the general
provisions implementing Article 43 of the Staff Regulations
adopted by the Commission on 23 December 2004.
Specific provisions
are laid down for staff in the Commission's external
service, staff paid from the research part of the general budget and
staff on secondment as staff representatives.
- SUCCESSIVE STAGES OF THE APPRAISAL EXERCISE
In most DGs the appraisal exercise for 2007 will begin on 4th
February 2008. Generally speaking, the annual CDRs must be finalised by
the end of May 2008 at the latest. For staff employed in the external
service, there will be provision for a specific procedure and specific
deadlines.
The priority point quotas allocated to the DGs for the promotion
exercise will be calculated on the basis of the number of annual CDRs
declared closed by 25 June 2008.
Who acts as reporting officer, countersigning officer and appeal
assessor?
As a rule the reporting officer is the jobholder’s head of unit, the
countersigning officer the Director, and the appeal assessor the
Director-General.
The reporting officer will be the person who was the jobholder’s head of
unit on 31 December 2007. The duties of countersigning officer and
appeal assessor are performed by the Director and Director-General at
the time they are called upon to play a role in the procedure.
What are the stages in the appraisal procedure?
The appraisal procedure is managed by the Sysper2 computer application.
If jobholders are unable to access Sysper2 for an appreciable period,
other forms of written communication may be used.
The stages of the appraisal procedure are as follows:
- Statistics for the previous appraisal and promotions exercises
(see point IV below)
- Expected merit mark average per grade
In the light of earlier appraisal exercises, the expected merit mark
average per grade for each Directorate-General is fixed at 14.65 for
2007.
This expected average should not be seen as an instruction or a factor
diminishing the reporting officer's independence and discretion when
appraising a jobholder against the applicable standards.
- Definition of appraisal standards
The point of appraisal standards is to harmonise appraisals within a
DG, to facilitate dialogue between the reporting officer and the
official being appraised and to make it easier to compare the comments
made in the appraisal.
As mentioned above, DG ADMIN, with the help of the Joint Appraisal and
Promotion Monitoring Committee, has established
common standards for
appraising competencies and conduct. These common standards must be
used for the two relevant sections. The common standards may however
be supplemented by standards specific to each DG.
- Writing a self-assessment
When asked to do so by his/her reporting officer, the jobholder must
write a self-assessment within eight working days. It is strongly
recommended that the jobholder refer to the appraisal standards at
this crucial stage.
Jobholders must indicate in their self-assessment whether they have
been elected to represent the staff or appointed or delegated by a
staff committee or union. If so, they must divide their
self-assessment into two separate sections so that the reporting
officer can consult the ad hoc group only on the part relating to
activities carried out in the jobholder's capacity as elected,
appointed or delegated representative.
These rules do not apply to officials on full-time or half-time
secondment as staff representatives, for whom other arrangements are
made, in particular the drawing up of a CDR report in due form by the
ad hoc group.
- The formal dialogue
Not more than ten working days after submission of the
self-assessment, the reporting officer will hold a dialogue with the
jobholder to discuss his/her performance in 2007, set objectives and
agree the training map for 2008 and possibly later.
The self-assessment and the appraisal standards set for the
Directorate-General must be systematically discussed during the
dialogue.
The reporting officer must indicate the merit mark to be awarded to
the jobholder, to within one point.
The objectives established for 2008 must be consistent with the work
programme of the DG and the unit.
The reporting officer must consult the ad hoc group if the jobholder
has mentioned in his/her self-assessment any activities carried out in
his or her capacity as elected, appointed or delegated representative.
At the end of the dialogue, the reporting officer will draw up a draft
report taking into account the opinion of the ad hoc group where
appropriate.
- The two concertation phases
As mentioned above, once at least two thirds of the CDRs have been
drafted for a given grade in a Directorate, the countersigning officer
has to meet the reporting officers to compare relative merits and
harmonise the merit points proposed.
The Director-General also meets the countersigning officers to perform
a similar check at Directorate-General level.
- The career development review report is drawn up
After these concertations, the reporting officer and the
countersigning officer finalise the CDR. The report is then given to
the jobholder. The jobholder has five working days to accept the
report without comment, to accept it with the addition of comments or
to reject it, giving reasons for doing so.
- Appeal channels
If the jobholder refuses to accept the report, the countersigning
officer must hold a second dialogue with the jobholder within ten
working days. The jobholder may be accompanied at the dialogue by
another official. The jobholder, the reporting officer or the
countersigning officer may also request that the reporting officer be
present at the second dialogue. After this dialogue the countersigning
officer confirms the report or amends it within five working days. The
jobholder will be notified of the report and will have ten working
days in which to indicate whether he/she accepts it. If the jobholder
does not accept it he/she is required to give reasons.
Refusal to accept the report at this stage automatically means that it
will be referred to the Joint Evaluation Committee. The committee
considers appeals within ten working days. It does not replace either
the reporting officer or the countersigning officer but checks that
the procedure has been complied with and that the report has been
drawn up in accordance with the appraisal standards laid down for the
Directorate-General concerned. A list of members of the Joint
Evaluation Committees (JECs) will be made available in the next few
weeks.
The jobholder, the reporting officer, the countersigning officer and
the appeal assessor will be notified of the JEC's opinion. If the
opinion was adopted by a vote, the notification will state how many
votes were cast for and against. Within five working days the appeal
assessor has to confirm or amend the report. The appeal assessor must
give reasons for a decision that departs from the recommendations
contained in the JEC's opinion.
The report is then closed and the jobholder notified. If at this stage
of the procedure the jobholder still does not accept the report,
he/she can make a complaint to the appointing authority under Article
90 of the Staff Regulations.
- Special provisions for jobholders of the same grade as their
reporting officers
Where the unit head shares the same grade as the jobholder, the
countersigning officer will take part in the dialogue if the
jobholder, reporting officer or countersigning officer so requests.
The countersigning officer will add written comments in the section of
the report reserved for this purpose. The Joint Evaluation Committee
pays particular attention to appeals filed by a jobholder who is the
same grade as his/her reporting officer. If, following such an appeal,
the Joint Evaluation Committee fails to issue an opinion or to issue a
unanimous opinion, the appeal assessor must hold a dialogue with the
jobholder before confirming or amending the report.
- EVALUATION OF THE DEMONSTRATION OF THE POTENTIAL IN CONNECTION
WITH THE CERTIFICATION PROCEDURE
When completing their self-assessment, AST function group officials with
no career restriction (former B* officials) who wish to apply for this
procedure must ask their reporting officer to fill in the section marked
“Potential”.
Remember, the “potential” section in the CDR is only to be filled in if
the jobholder explicitly requests it in his/her self-assessment.
The reporting officer will now have to indicate, using a drop-down menu,
any duties usually performed by administrators that the jobholder has
performed during 2007 (see Annex I). He will be able, where appropriate,
to indicate any occasions on which the jobholder has shown the potential
to become an administrator through his or her efficiency, ability or
conduct in the service.
It will be up to the countersigning officer to decide, on the basis of
the reporting officer’s comments, whether or not the jobholder has shown
the potential to become an administrator.
Carryover and certification procedure: if a report is carried
over, the “Potential” section is also considered to have been carried
over as it appeared in the previous CDR. If the official was considered
to have the potential to carry out the duties of an administrator, he or
she will be assumed to have also demonstrated this potential during 2007
too; if he or she was not considered to have this potential, then
carrying over the previous report will imply that they have not been
able to demonstrate it in 2007.
- STATISTICS FOR THE MOST RECENT APPRAISAL AND PROMOTION EXERCISES
Detailed statistics on the 2007 appraisal and promotion exercises can be
consulted in the Annexes as follows:
- Annex II contains the promotion rates (number of officials
promoted compared with number of officials in the grade).
- Annex III sets out the distribution of merit marks by grade.
- Annex IV lists the distribution of DG priority points by
Directorate-General and by grade eligible for promotion.
- Annex V sets out details of seniority in grade, age and career
profile of promoted officials.
- Annex VI sets out the seniority and the standard deviation used
for each grade to define the career profiles
- Annex VII indicates the distribution, by Directorate-General, of
priority points awarded for activities in the interests of the
Institution.
Staff should note the following:
ANNEX I
LIST OF TASKS USUALLY PERFORMED BY ADMINISTRATORS
AD tasks (43)
- Strategic analysis
- Socio-economic analysis
- Policy analysis
- Economic assessment
- Policy development
- Staff policy planning
- Policy monitoring
- Policy coordination
- Producing legislation
- Managing legislation
- Legal analysis and advice
- Verification of legislation and infringement handling
- Inter-institutional relations
- Representation and negotiation
- External relations
- Planning and programming
- Programme management
- Project / process management
- Quality management and evaluation
- Management of IT services
- Technical analysis and advice
- Management and planning
- Management of unit staff
- People management
- Personnel administration supervision of procedures
relating to the management of teams (appraisal, promotion,
training, performance, missions, etc.) and career management
- Linguistic assistance, revision and support
- Translation
- Interpreting
- Internal co-ordination and consultation
- Interdepartmental co-ordination and consultation
- Horizontal coordination
- Information, communication, publication
- External communication
- Internal communication: production of information
reports and planning of information meetings (for members of the
unit, the hierarchy, the Commission, etc.)
- Contract management
- Budget and finance: supervision and monitoring of the
unit’s financial and budgetary transactions, of the internal
budget allocation for the unit and of productivity of expenditure
- Budget and finance: endorsement of requests for
payment, examination of annual reports and reports on closure of
measures
- Statistics
- Technical assistance
- Control and inspection.
- Internal audit
- External audit
- Laboratory and scientific work
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ANNEX II
2007 PROMOTION EXERCISE
PROMOTION RATES
ANNEX III
2007 EVALUATION EXERCISE
DISTRIBUTION OF MARKS IN THE ANNUAL REPORTS COVERING THE YEAR 2006
(OFFICIALS)
ANNEX IV
2007 PROMOTION EXERCISE
DISTRIBUTION OF DG PRIORITY POINTS
ANNEX V
2007 PROMOTION EXERCISE
SENIORITY IN GRADE, AGE AND CAREER PROFILE OF PROMOTED OFFICIALS
(Officials paid from the operating part of the general budget)
ANNEXE VI
2007 PROMOTION EXERCISE
DEFINITION OF THE CAREER PROFILES
ANNEX VII
2007 PROMOTION EXERCISE
DISTRIBUTION BY DIRECTORATE-GENERAL OF PRIORITY POINTS AWARDED FOR
ACTIVITIES IN THE INTERESTS OF THE INSTITUTION
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Footnotes
(1) Other than officials or
temporary staff occupying the positions of Director-General or equivalent,
or Director or equivalent.
(2) The term 'jobholder' covers
both officials and temporary members of staff.
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