The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) announced that it is about to conclude the second phase of the Performance Management System cycle for federal government employees for the current year. This phase is concerned with progress review of the personal objectives for the employee. It extends from the beginning of June to the end of July. The Authority indicated that the third and final phase, designated for the final performance appraisal, will be launched in November and shall continue up to the end of December.
The Authority has called upon all federal ministries and entities applying the performance management system for federal government employees to speed up the process of meeting the requirements of the second phase of the system in accordance with the terms and conditions stipulated in the system, taking into account proper and sound application of this pioneering system.
The Authority has also indicated that the progress review phase acquires a special significance as it represents a chance for face to face communication between the employee and his/her direct superior in order to have a first hand idea about the progress towards achieving the objectives set by the employee himself during the first phase of the cycle – deciding upon objectives and behavioral competencies- determining the difficulties that might hamper the achievement of objectives, the discussion of the pursued behavioral competencies and planning and amending the objectives for the remaining six months of the system’s cycle, if deemed necessary.
The Authority emphasized that the performance management system is considered as a zenith of the most refined experiences and practices applied worldwide in the field of employees’ performance management and appraisal. The Authority went on to point out that this system plays a pivotal role in maintaining and sustaining the achievements and gains made by the UAE in the field of government work and government efficiency, and enhances its global competitiveness in this aspect. This will eventually help in realizing the aspirations and orientations of the wise leadership of the state, led by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan "May God protect him", and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, "may Allah protect him."
FAHR described the system it launched officially at the level of the federal government in the year 2012 as one of the main pillars of federal government work and aims at setting performance rhythm. By launching the system, FAHR seeks to inculcate a new culture of government work and to develop the capabilities and increase productivity on the part of employees in federal ministries and entities by linking exceptional, financial and hierarchical promotions to the performance management system.
FAHR indicated that the coming period will witness the honoring of distinguished employees in the federal government during the year 2013 who scored appraisal results significantly exceeding the expectations according to the ranking classification of the performance management system of federal government employees (exceeds expectations significantly, exceeds expectations, meets expectations, needs to be improved).The authority declared that distinguished employees will be honored by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in a ceremony similar to the one organized in the middle of last year, where His Highness has honored nearly 650 distinguished federal employees in accordance with the terms and conditions of the management system performance.
The performance appraisal system is based upon 5 main principles: enhancing and prompting the culture of performance for individuals; engaging employees in planning and setting of objectives; encouraging superiors to provide feedback on their employees’ performance objectively; linking promotions, incentives, allowances, training and development with performance level and inculcating the values of fairness, equity, consistency and credibility by applying the system.
The performance management system is considered as a process by which the employee’s performance is assessed compared to the main objectives and indicators of performance. It is a practical mapping up of all phases of planning within the government entity and establishes the opportunities for fairness, transparency and equity between all employees. The system cycle goes through three different phases within the span of one calendar year; namely performance planning, progress review and performance appraisal.
The system seeks to link performance with rewarding distinguished accomplishments and results, improvement and increase of employees’ productivity, encouragement of individual achievements within the umbrella of teamwork, consolidation of the culture of continuous learning, boosting opportunities for professional development, empowerment of federal entities to identify and reward distinguished and competent employees and laying down clearly defined foundations for measuring the extent of realization of strategic objectives of the given entity.