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PDR Overview
All staff of Birkbeck who are on a contract or have been in temporary employment for over one year will receive an annual Progress and Development Review (PDR), which will be conducted by their Manager or nominated Reviewer. The objective of the PDR is to create an opportunity for communication between the Reviewee and their manager, to review progress, to set and review objectives together, and to identify development needs.
Important points to remember
Role of the Directors
The role of the College Secretary and Directors is crucial in the PDR process. They are responsible for making every effort to ensure that:
- all the Reviewers have been appropriately trained to conduct the PDR,
- each member of their staff receives a fair, thorough and high quality PDR,
- alternative Reviewers are appointed if the appropriate Reviewer is not available (for reasons of absence, vacancies etc), or if the Reviewee requests an alternative Reviewer,
- links are created between the College's Corporate Plan, Departmental objectives and the Reviewee's individual objectives. (The Corporate Plan, which includes these, is available on the College Website)
The PDR Process
PDR Form
The PDR form should be completed within 10 working days of the meeting. It should summarise the content of the discussion and record the objectives that have been agreed. Any action that needs to be undertaken by the Line Manager or others in the Department to facilitate the successful completion of an objective should be noted and communicated to them by the Reviewer. Both Reviewer and Reviewee should sign the form as a record that the PDR has taken place and to indicate their agreement to it.
The Reviewer and Reviewee will keep a copy of the completed form: the Reviewer will forward the completed original to Staff Development for the Development Plan to be actioned, for quality control and for monitoring in accordance with the RRAA 2000.
To download a PDR form, please click here.
Confidentiality and Records
The PDR form is strictly confidential and must be stored securely by the Reviewer. The form should only be accessible to the Reviewer, the Reviewee and the Director (if required). The whole report must be available to the Reviewer and Reviewee for the individual’s next PDR. Completed forms (all parts) will be sent to Staff Development and forwarded to Human Resources for monitoring in accordance with the RRAA 2000 and storage. Completed PDR forms should be circulated in a sealed envelope marked Confidential.
When the Reviewee or relevant Reviewer leaves the employment of the College, the forms should be forwarded to the Human Resources Department to be stored with the employee's staff file or shredded if a duplicate exists.
Follow-up After the PDR
It is essential that follow-up action identified in the PDR is carried out. Reviewers should raise significant issues with their Director. Staff Development will send a summary of the broad issues that come out of the PDR’s to Directors for each of their areas. Reviewers are also encouraged to meet their Reviewees informally through the year to discuss progress against objectives and the outcome of development activity. An Interim Review form is available for this purpose. Completing the form is optional but it is strongly recommended as it consolidates the follow up reviews that have taken place. It is not required to send this form to Staff Development.
Monitoring of the Policy
It is the responsibility of College Secretary and Directors to ensure that this policy is implemented and the Human Resources Department will monitor the completion of the PDR. The Director of Human Resources will inform the Master, College Secretary or Director (as appropriate) in cases where PDR’s are not carried out in accordance with this procedure.
Links to Other Policies
If any member of the staff feels that their work allocation requires review they should raise the matter with their Line Manager, Director or the College Secretary.
Completion of Reports
Within one month of the PDR deadline dates Directors are required to notify the College Secretary that all the PDRs for which they are responsible have been completed.
