Human Resources and Development
Contents
What is Professional Development Review? ................................................................................. 3
What will PDR achieve? ................................................................................................................. 3
Responsibility and commitment ..................................................................................................... 4
Overview of the PDR process ........................................................................................................ 5
Flowchart ........................................................................................................................................ 6
Objective setting............................................................................................................................. 7
Review of Objectives and Ratings ................................................................................................. 8
Career Development ...................................................................................................................... 8
Reporting ........................................................................................................................................ 8
Review cycle .................................................................................................................................. 9
Academic PDRs ............................................................................................................................. 9
Staff on HE2000 - Activity Plan .................................................................................................. 9
Academic Criteria .....................................................................................................................10
Academic Promotion and Award of Title process ....................................................................10
Bringing the PDR to life ................................................................................................................11
School / Service Learning and development plan ...................................................................11
1:1 meetings.............................................................................................................................11
Team meetings ........................................................................................................................11
Equality of Opportunity .................................................................................................................11
Confidentiality...............................................................................................................................11
What if the Professional Review process doesn’t work properly? ...............................................12
Process Review ...........................................................................................................................12
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What is Professional Development Review?
Professional Development Review, or PDR, is a process for establishing a shared understanding
of what is expected of employees and those who manage them. Through this process staff can be
developed and managed in ways to ensure individual and University strategic objectives are
achieved. The process is based on University/ School or Service and individual performance.
Discussions are collaborative and supportive and will allow staff members to develop as individuals
and contribute to the overall success of their team or group, School and ultimately the University.
Two main ideas underpin the process:
1. All individuals and teams have contributed to a shared understanding of what is expected of
them, how it links to the University strategic objectives and how it will be achieved (in line
with the University values and behaviours).
2. The capacity to meet the expectations is dependent on the level of support and
development provided by reviewers and the wider team.
The main constituents of the process are:
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Agreement and communication of University and department objectives to all staff
Individual PDR meetings (one full and one interim)
Completion and agreement of a Professional Development Review (PDR) form
Planned and regular interaction between reviewer and reviewee (1 to 1s)
Discussion regarding future career plans or promotion aspirations and development in the
context of the University objectives required
Constructive feedback from reviewee to reviewer and vice versa
Managers discuss with teams and individuals the University values; the behaviours which
underpin these and how people will be supported to embed the behaviours
What will PDR achieve?
The University’s Strategy 2020 underpins the PDR process. The process seeks commitment from
all staff to undertake the strategic objectives. Staff can identify how they will contribute to the
strategy via their achievement. Furthermore the process will also allow us to measure progress
against these objectives at all levels. To embrace the changes required, our knowledge and skills
base must expand in a planned way: this will only be achieved if everyone shares the same clarity
of purpose. To achieve the change it is necessary for everyone to understand what is required of
them, the values and behaviours expected of them and to be given the opportunities to make their
best contribution.
The benefits of PDR include:
 Clear, mutual understanding of key activities and the balance of work
 Setting SMART team and individual objectives aligned to the University strategy (to include
– business as usual, new projects / activities and business improvement). Examples of
SMART objectives can be found here
 Fair allocation of duties between staff, taking into account demands, control, support,
relationships, role and change in the post
 Enhancement of the quality of academic provision
 Greater recognition of the individual’s professional contribution towards team objectives
 Agreement of development needs to support achievement of the strategy and enhance the
individual’s competence and future career development
 Clarity for all team members of expected behaviours, in line with the University’s values
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Responsibility and commitment
The process will involve every member of staff irrespective of grade, post, or type of contract. It is
the responsibility of the University Leadership Team to communicate the vision and plans of the
University to everyone in a manner to which they can relate.
Responsibility lies with the Deans of Schools / Directors of Service to ensure that the University
objectives relate to their area. This can be communicated through a PDR reviewers meeting or as
part of the normal management team meetings. This can be achieved by ensuring:
 People are engaged in the annual planning process (e.g. using away days/ team meetings/
focus groups for this)
 Staff are involved in decision-making as appropriate, e.g. at away days/ meetings etc.
 There is a clear vision for the School /Service and it has been communicated to everyone
 There are KPIs for the School /Service and people know what these are and how they link
to what they do
 A budget is allocated for learning and development (L&D) for the School/ Service (and is
communicated appropriately).
 There is an overarching L&D plan for the area which supports delivery of the strategy/
annual plan. (L&D plans should include: what; who; what the L&D will achieve at individual,
team, & ENU level; costs)
 Leaders / managers discuss team development needs at their team meetings
The reviewer will then have the responsibility, in conjunction with the individual, to ensure that the
staff member has an agreed set of SMART objectives/outputs which will contribute to these
objectives. Together the staff member and the reviewer will identify development needs linked to
the strategy which will assist the individual to achieve their objectives and enhance the individual’s
career.
The PDR reviewer is normally the employee’s line manager. Exceptionally within Schools, senior
academics may act as reviewers on behalf of some Subject Group Leaders i.e. in large Subject
Groups.
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Overview of the PDR process
January/
February
School / Service PDR planning meetings
During the meeting
 Senior management team agree team objectives and priorities as part of the
annual planning process; consider broadly which teams / individuals may be given
PDR objectives to carry out the actions relating to each objective.
 Learning and development budget and priorities are agreed, based on Plan
objectives.
 Communicate discussion to PDR reviewers through specific PDR Reviewer
meeting or normal School/ Service methodology
After the meeting
 Share operational School/Service plan and priorities with all reviewees (once
agreed)
 Brief reviewees on timescales for PDR meetings and completing preparation forms
February
- March
Other related activities
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School timetable agreed
Initial workload allocations agreed
Individual annual review meetings
April June
Before the meeting
 Individuals should review their last PDR form and reflect on what has been
achieved. They can complete the preparation form if they wish but it is not
essential and send to their reviewer in advance
During the meeting
 Individual and team / shared objectives are agreed for the forthcoming year linked
to the individual’s balance of duties and key School/Service objectives.
 Review the previous years’ achievements against the agreed objectives and how
the values and behaviours of the University have been demonstrated.
 Identify learning and development needs, resources required, team and reviewer
support and any other factors which may influence outcomes.
After the meeting
 Reviewee completes the PDR form, documenting the objectives discussed and the
link to the operational plan objectives, and agrees this with reviewer
 Pass documents to the reviewer to approve / sign off once agreed
 Reviewer to complete overall learning and development plan for all reviewees and
send to Dean of School/ Service.
 Line manager records actual meeting date into HR Connect and planned interim
review meeting date.
October - Individual interim review meetings
December During the meeting
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Review progress on objectives – what is going well and reasons for any lack
of progress.
 Plan how to address any issues affecting progress
 Review learning & development plan – identify support and assistance still
required
 Consider any changes in priorities, additions or amendments to objectives
set. Discuss and note any desired changes in the next academic year for
resource, succession planning and / or career development purposes that
may influence future workload allocation.
After the meeting
 Complete and agree the interim review comments column on the personal
action plan.
 Revise objectives in the personal action plan to reflect any changes to
priorities.
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Flowchart
Actions 1-5 are carried out by School/ Service Management Team involving all PDR reviewers
(and any other senior academics who allocate and review completion of work).
1. Communication of strategic & operational plans
2. Agreement of key objectives for the School/Service
3. Agreement of budget for L&D and other resources required
Communication sent from HR&D** to staff on start of
process / where to find forms
Reviewee completes preparation form (if initial PDR
meeting) and sends to reviewer before review. As
above
4. Summary L&D
plan sent to CL&D
once all PDRs in
area are
completed
Conduct the PDR/ Interim review meeting
Individual objectives and learning & development
agreed and completed in PDR form*
5. Update HR Connect with Actual meeting date and planned interim
Reviewer
supports
reviewee &
monitors
progress
through
1:1s
(frequency
agreed by
dept.)
Actions agreed in PDR carried out by reviewee
Interim review
Actions agreed in PDR carried out by reviewee
Final review
Modify objectives
if required
Steps 1-5
repeated i.e.
cascade of plans,
budget etc.
*PDR form – Professional Development form
**HR&D – Human Resources & Development
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Objective setting
Objectives should link directly to the four strategic objectives in the University Strategy 2020:
Building Success, therefore the PDR discussion is broken down as follows:
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To grow our academic reputation
To enhance and internationalise our work,
To build innovation, enterprise and active citizenship,
To deliver an excellent personalised student experience
Each leadership team should agree specific School / Service objectives as part of the planning
process and these should be cascaded to reviewers prior to the commencement of individual PDR
meetings. Leadership teams should ensure this includes objectives related to business as usual,
new projects/ activity and business improvement.
There will be objectives set which are classed more as Business as Usual (BAU) and these are
likely to be more role specific. In addition, if an employee has leadership responsibility there may
be some specific objectives related to their role. This includes Line Managers, Professors,
Programme Leaders, Subject Group Leaders, Module Leaders.
Objectives must be SMART:
 Specific,
 Measureable,
 Achievable / Aligned,
 Realistic and
 Time-bound
The PDR discussion will help set and agree objectives for all staff within the four areas above
using the standard PDR scheme and documentation. PDR is important in helping to agree
workload, balance of duties and any support, resources or development time which may be
required. In line with the Staff Development Policy, all staff should receive five days (pro rata)
specific staff development time each year which should form part of the agreed PDR discussion.
Development should be linked to the strategic objectives, values and behaviours or any areas
requiring specific focus to enable the employee to achieve their role.
The quality of objective setting will be assured through the anonymous sampling of objectives of
staff grade 8 and above by HR&D. The Dean of School and Director of Service will also be
responsible for checking the quality of objective setting in their area.
An overarching L&D plan should be developed for the area once all PDRs in that area have been
completed which supports delivery of the strategy/ annual plan. (L&D plan includes - what; who;
what the L&D will achieve at individual, team, & ENU level; costs)
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Review of Objectives and Ratings
The aim of the PDR discussion is to recognise achievement and understand what behaviours
contributed to success. For clarity there is a standard rating key to describe the outcomes against
each objective, following a conversation between the reviewer and reviewee.
The purpose of this is to reinforce good practices that enhance achievement and discuss possible
development areas that may be hindering progress in order to support future development.
Objective Rating Key (refer to University KPIs where available):
EA: exceeded achievement – fully achieved stated objective and beyond standard
expected
A: achieved – fully achieved the stated objective within time and to standard expected
PA: partially achieved – achieved some but not all the stated objective or has achieved
objective but not within expected timescales or to standard expected
NA: not achieved – not achieved the objective within time or to the standard expected.
Action required.
Career Development
The PDR is also an opportunity to discuss future career aspirations (next three to five years),
options available and development that is required to achieve those aspirations. The expectation is
that these aspirations will be considered when allocating work within the team in order to ensure
that an appropriate level of stretch is built into objectives set.
Staff who are new, or have moved role and are out of synch with the current cycle must have a
PDR within their first three month induction period and then fall in with the normal cycle, even if
this requires an additional meeting.
Reporting
Achievement of the outcomes from the PDR discussion are the responsibility of the reviewee, with
necessary support from the reviewer. Once the review has taken place, the date of the PDR and
interim PDR discussion should be recorded in HR Connect, and completion rates will be reviewed
by ULT at the end of each PDR period (bi-annually). The University has a Key Performance
Indicator (KPI) for PDR completion rate of > 90%.
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Review cycle
There will be a set three-month review period for the Annual PDR review and a further three-month
Interim review. Human Resources & Development will communicate the start and finish of the PDR
Review cycle.
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The main PDR review meeting will take place between April and June.
Interim PDRs will take place between October and December.
The outcome of the first meeting should result in:
 Review of the achievement of previous objectives.
 An agreed plan of what the main objectives/outcomes for the next 12 months will be
 Agreement on priorities
 Agreement on the learning and development required to achieve the objectives
 Agreement on values and behaviours expected and how people will be supported to
embed the behaviours
When reviewing the achievement of individual objectives previously set the following should be
considered:
 How well the staff member has delivered against his/her objectives and how well s/he has
performed in delivering day to day tasks.
 Results achieved along with how the staff member achieved those results.
 Key details in the job description and role profile.
 The University values, how the staff member has demonstrated the values in the delivery of
their objectives.
 How the staff member has delivered against timescales.
Academic PDRs
Staff on HE2000 - Activity Plan
A core component of the HE2000 national contract for academic staff is activity planning. The
Professional Review (PDR) form will be completed as a record of the activity planning discussion.
The PDR form will be reviewed at the interim review meeting and should be updated and reviewed
if any aspect of the plan varies over the agreed period. Any proposal for amendment to the plan
will require reasonable notice of the proposed amendment.
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Academic Criteria
As part of Strategy 2020: Building success an academic criteria was approved by the University
Leadership Team. It is highly recommended that academic staff discuss the academic pathways
and criteria and its four pathways with your line manager during the PDR process to identify a
preferred pathway. Individual development should then be linked to the preferred pathway:
 Research
 Learning and Teaching
 Enterprise
 Professional Practice
The criteria for each of the routes are defined in terms of:
 Esteem
Academic Profile - recognition of national and international reputation.
Public Engagement - press and media, events and exhibitions and public liaison.
 Innovation and Impact
Contribution to Knowledge - publication, presentation and performance or exhibitions.
Impact - demonstrable influence on practice, performance, knowledge, products or public
policy
 Contribution
Income Generation - sustained grants, external funding and business growth.
Institutional Citizenship - collaboration with colleagues, active contribution to the successful
operation of the University, committee and working group engagement.
 Academic Leadership
Leadership - building formal and informal teams and communities of practice within the
University.
Successful Management - managing teams, projects and resources.
Capacity Building - mentoring staff, postgraduate research supervision, diversification of
University activity.
Further to the criteria, the Panel constitution provides additional requirements regarding the
nomination of external academic referees.
Academic Promotion and Award of Title process
When applying for promotion, successful applicants must demonstrate clear evidence of sustained
achievement at the appropriate level, together with an expectation of a continued achievement and
academic leadership.
You will be required to provide a copy of your recently completed PDR, when making an
application for Promotion or Award of title.
Where the applicant meets the criteria and is promoted they should have a PDR with their line
manager to outline objectives at their new level.
Where the applicant does not meet the criteria written feedback will be provided to the employee
and their line manager. This will form the basis of a PDR conversation, and during this review a
development plan should be discussed, agreed and documented.
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Bringing the PDR to life
School / Service Learning and development plan
The reviewer is expected to provide an annual learning and development plan for their reviewees
to the Dean of School/ Director of Service who will then be responsible for ensuring that a School /
Service annual learning & development plan is generated using the information from individual
plans. This should be forwarded to the Corporate Learning & Development team so that corporate
development needs can be incorporated into central learning and development provision.
1:1 meetings
These should have the objectives as headline topics for discussion with all related activities and
tasks contributing to an understanding of how progress is being made against the objectives. This
should also be the same for the objectives in the learning and development plan.
Team meetings
Should be used to discuss progress against team objectives, and provide a continuous review and
update of progress against the strategic objectives.
Equality of Opportunity
The University's Equality and Diversity Statement outlines our commitment to ensuring that
equality of opportunity is available to all staff irrespective of not just their gender, race, religious
affiliation or sexual orientation but also of age or any other irrelevant factor. In particular, reviewers
should guard against making unjustifiable assumptions about staff based on any of these factors.
Full details of the statement are available at:
http://www.napier.ac.uk/policies/equality-diversity/Pages/home.aspx
Confidentiality
An important feature of PDR is that all discussions are confidential. Following the first meeting a
PDR plan will be produced. These are signed off once agreed by the reviewer and reviewee. The
reviewer’s manager will complete checks of this paperwork to ensure the quality of the SMART
objectives against the University’s and School / Service objectives. In addition, the relevant HR
Client Partner for the area may review anonymised paperwork to ensure that the action plans are
robust and the objectives are SMART and support their priority areas for work.
The reviewer will retain a copy of the plans, which can be attached onto the employee’s HR
Connect record and used as the basis of further discussions at the interim meeting and during any
other relevant discussions. The reviewee should also retain copies for ongoing reference and use
as working documents.
You will be required to provide a copy of your recently completed PDR, when making an
application for Promotion or Award of title.
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What if the Professional Review process doesn’t work
properly?
The University Leadership Team are accountable to ensure PDR works effectively in their areas of
responsibility – Schools /Professional Service department. If an employee has not had a PDR and
interim PDR, they should discuss this in the first instance with their line manager’s manager.
Process Review
The new process will be reviewed following its first full cycle and any recommendations for
change will be made to the University leadership team.
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