It's a 2-way process, with leaders drafting their proposals before the PDR, and the line manager reviewing them as part of their meeting preparation.
The discussion should both supportive and challenging and focus on both the short and long-term. It should discuss, agree, and manage performance, and agree a Personal Development Plan (PDP) to support the achievement of goals and career aspirations.
Setting goals
Senior leaders will share their high-level goals within teams to make sure goals are connected and there's a line of sight to the council and department service plans. Goals should be 'SMART' – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
How we approach our goals is closely linked to the values of our organisation and how we behave to achieve them.
Career aspirations
A discussion about short and long-term career aspirations is included in the PDR meeting. This should agree the best summary description of these aspirations, which for many senior leaders will be about staying and developing in their current role.
It should explore opportunities for those who want to move sideways or upwards, and discuss and agree what timescales they would be ready for promotion.
Personal Development Plan (PDP)
Considering both goals and career aspirations, the development priorities should be agreed and captured in the PDP.
It's helpful to focus on one or two, and have a clear plan on how to develop in these areas.
There are many different ways to provide development opportunities. It’s not just about training courses or qualifications, it’s also about learning on the job or learning from others.
Development discussion guidance documents are attached to this page.
The PDR template
The offline template should be used to structure the PDR conversation for the start, mid and end of year reviews. It ensures everything is in one place to help prepare for the discussion.
After the PDR, the individual will update the document to reflect the discussion. A copy should be saved on EDRM.
Feedback
Feedback should be a part of everyday conversations for everyone in the organisation.
It is beneficial to have information for ourselves and about ourselves.
It’s important to capture any feedback received throughout the year, using this information to discuss and reflect with your line manager. It might be useful to gather feedback from key stakeholders and consider this as part of the PDR.
Feedback is a great way to recognise and acknowledge good performance as well as support individual development.
The PDR tool (for grade 14+ senior leaders)
The PDR tool should be used to structure the PDR conversation for the start, mid-, and end of year reviews.
It ensures everything is in one place to help prepare for the discussion. After the PDR, the senior leader will update the tool to reflect the discussion.
Access to the tool is for the senior leader, their line manager and the validating manager.
The PDR templates attached to this page should be used for all other colleagues who are part of the PDR approach.