The OnTrack performance management system includes:

• A full position description which includes a competency or capability profile that an employee may be assessed against. PDs can be unique or generic (many employees assessed against the same profile).
• Performance plan and progress - includes Key Result Areas (KRAs or key performance indicators - whichever your organization uses), as well as key actions and measures for each KRA. The progress against each KRA can be tracked.
• Additional performance plans for special employees, eg, at risk components, or individual scorecards
• Development plan and progress.
• Assessment against KRAs and competencies/capabilities.
• Process feedback/evaluation submitted by the employee
• Feedback from peers and/or other managers
• Talent pool management
• Links to training booking system.

All of the above items are optional. Assessments can be done yearly and/or half yearly and next year's performance management activities can be commenced before the current year is complete. For example, plans for the next cycle can be entered before the previous cycle is signed-off. OnTrack is built around a generic performance management cycle which can be tailored to meet your specific organizational requirements.

Using your terms

OnTrack has been developed using a common set of performance management terms, but these can be tailored to meet your requirements.

Security

Each employee can use an existing login (such as a network or portal login) to access data or the system can accept a unique login. Optionally, at any time an employee or manager submits or authorizes a performance management component, the user is asked for validation. A manager can only view the data of employees that are part of his/her organization unit.

Historical archives

Every employee and their manager can see the employee's previous years' plans, comments and assessments by simply choosing the relevant year from a drop down list. An employee’s history travels with them irrespective of job, manager, organizational unit or location changes.and this means that historical records can be easily accessed. Once a manager completes a final assessment, a snapshot of the year's data is taken and stored in the database. Previous years' data cannot be edited. An employee's historical data stays with them.

Sitting beside your payroll/HRIS

OnTrack has been designed to use your existing employee data. In other words, you do not have to load into OnTrack any employee details such as name, number, organizational unit, position title, etc. Your system administrator can do an electronic upload from your payroll to OnTrack as and when you desire or this can be automated to happen on a daily basis. As long as your employee data is electronic and the information is maintained in your Payroll/HR system, OnTrack can interface with it.

Data can also be returned to your payroll, if required.

Optionally, employees can be manually entered into OnTrack by an administrator.

Business rules and emphasis

• KRAs and core competencies entered in a position description automatically populate the employee's performance plan (optional)
• Two half yearly formal reviews but can be customized
• Employee has access to all of own and manager's comments
• Employee does most of input - manager reviews and approves - or this can be reversed
• Manager can track status changes at any time
• One or more levels of review (eg, only manager and/or second level or next-up manager sign-off)
• A manager can see the data of all his/her direct and indirect employees, but cannot see the data of employees from other areas
• HR has access to all information and/or local administrators have access only to their assigned organizational unit.
• At all times when data is updated (by employee) or authorized (by manager) user validation is required (optional)
• Next year's performance and development plans can be prepared before the completion of this year's activities
• Employee completes feedback form after reviews are complete and manager can see these comments
• Multiple levels of sign-off can be accommodated.

Recording comments and assessments

Employees and managers can record unlimited comments on KRA progress, evidence of competency demonstration and development plan progress, as well as overall comments for the end of a cycle. In addition, employees can record their suggested ratings beside the manager's authorized rating.

Keeping track of activity status

Whenever an employee creates, updates or completes a component of their performance management activities, eg, performance plan for next year or recording competency evidence for the previous period, OnTrack automatically records and displays the last date that this component was committed to the database by the employee. Employees can then see what they have and have not done throughout the whole cycle for the current, previous or future years. By simply clicking on the component, the employee is taken to that screen.

What managers need to know

Managers can see who their direct reports are (and which of these employees also have direct reports). By clicking on the direct report's name they are immediately taken to this employee's performance management screens.

Managers can track who has and has not completed performance management components. Clicking on the number of employees who have not done something will display their names. Clicking on the employee number will take you directly to that employee's information.

A manager can access information on employees in their area that they don't manage directly, ie direct reports and indirect reports.

There is a web-based administrator module which tracks what is happening for the whole process, together with organization-wide reports of ratings, rating movements, training demand, and reporting relationships.. All reports have filters such as date ranges and organizational units and all reports can be exported as delimited files.