The Office of Human Resources

TAP stands for Talent Advancement Program. TAP is Brandeis’ commitment to fostering a culture of engagement and to supporting staff professional development and career growth at the university. It emphasizes a continuous and collaborative performance management process between managers and staff. A goal of TAP is to enable frequent and ongoing development conversations throughout the year about performance objectives, achieving career goals, and making sure duties and competencies are aligned to job descriptions.

TAP will be implemented in multiple phases, so that staff and managers can have sufficient time to learn about the new process. Phase 1 Mid-Year Performance Review launched in November 2022 and Phase 2 Annual Year-End Performance Review launched in March 2023 for employee self-assessment and will align to the merit increase process.

Mid-year and year-end reviews will be required for all staff. We strongly encourage staff to have an open dialogue with their managers throughout the year so that a mid-year review is an opportunity for managers to evaluate and discuss with staff about their half-year performance and progress of objectives for the year.

If either the employee or their manager is absent during the mid-year review period or year-end review period, if possible, the review should take place when the employee or manager returns to work. In some cases, however, when a supervisor is out on leave and the employee is being supervised by an interim manager, the review may be completed by the interim manager. Additionally, in other cases, when an employee is out of work and returns during a time when the review period is closed, it may be necessary to have the evaluation take place during the next review period. 

As a staff member, it is important you make sure to be in contact with both your Manager and your Senior HR Business Partner to ensure there is follow-up.

If you are a manager and doing the manager review, make sure to also contact the staff member(s) for whom you are doing the review.

Reach out to your department’s HR Business Partner

Liz Tierney
Suzanne Albright
Katharine Colanton
Leila Connolly
Lisa Vigliotta

No. Managers have the responsibility to complete their staff’s performance reviews in time and conduct regular performance discussions with their staff.

Starting in November 2022, Staff and managers will start entering and tracking their mid-year and annual performance reviews in Workday, Brandeis’ system of record for HR data.

Employees should request their own Job Profiles from their managers.

An employee can access their completed mid-year review from the performance section of their Workday profile. For step-by-step instructions on accessing your mid-year review, please refer to Locate Your Mid-Year Review in Workday (pdf).

The TAP Year-End/Annual Performance Review form for staff self-evaluations will be available in Workday on Wednesday March 22, 2023. The Year-End/Annual Performance Review cycle will close on May 19, 2023. This means that all managers must have their staff reviews completed and submitted in Workday on or before May 19, 2023. 

Last year was the first year that we built merit increases into Workday and individual managers were responsible for entering their staff member’s increases into Workday. These increases were ultimately approved by senior leadership. We learned through experience that last year’s merit timeframe was much too tight to provide meaningful reporting, analytics and guidance to managers and senior leaders as merit increases were determined. This year’s schedule intentionally builds in time for merit increase review by divisional managers and senior leaders. Additionally, a staff member’s performance in the Year-End/Annual Review process should inform the amount of their increase. This is why it is important to complete Year-End/Annual reviews earlier this year.  

Yes, we think that the move to an early May deadline will likely be permanent, but we are committed to reviewing the timelines for the 2023-2024 TAP program. The University will include staff and manager feedback into the process as we map out these timelines. 

Yes.  Staff must be hired before January 1, 2023 to be eligible to complete a Year-End/Annual Performance Review. If a staff member did not complete the Mid-Year review because they are a new staff member, but they have now worked at the University long enough to be eligible to complete a Year-End/Annual Review, a review form will automatically populate in their Workday Inbox.   Also, if you are a full or part-time regular staff member who did not receive a Mid-Year Review during the 2022 cycle, please contact your Manager or Human Resources for guidance. 

Six months is the minimum amount of time to meaningfully assess a staff member’s performance. That is consistent with past practice. However, based on both managers’ feedback and best practice, the merit eligibility date was moved to April 1 to give managers flexibility if appropriate.

No.  This year, unlike in prior years, the Year-End/Annual Performance Review is incorporated into Workday, as are merit increases. Because a staff member’s performance should inform any merit action, and because we need sufficient time to assist managers and senior leaders in assigning and approving merit increases, we cannot grant extensions for the completion of TAP Year-End/Annual Performance Reviews. 

No, not at this time.  However, managers will be required to complete the annual performance reviews for their staff.  Their unit leader will be receiving status reports during the review period and be expected to reinforce this message in cases of noncompliance.

This year, the ratings will not be “hardwired” to increase percentages. However, a staff member’s rating should inform their merit increase. HR will provide general guidelines on pay increase allocations by rating. 

The University believes strongly in continuous performance management and the opportunity for every staff member to develop their skills and competencies. Mid-year reviews are an opportunity for managers and staff to communicate with each other on the progress of their objectives for the year. These mid-year reviews will help inform managers and staff if they are on track to meet expectations for their annual review period.

Mid-year reviews will open on November 14th and close on January 13, 2023

All Brandeis University non-Union staff (with the exception of the Library), who have been hired on or before 8/16/2022. 

Review your job description with your manager. Ensure your objectives or goals align with your job description as well as with the strategic initiatives of the university. Reviewing your job description ensures your annual review evaluation is tied to the responsibilities of your job description and position. Complete a self-evaluation to see how you are aligning with the goals you’ve previously set (or to determine new goals).

Yes! Work with your manager to set attainable objectives that can enhance your career development and fulfil your job description. For guidance on setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-Bound) Goals, please refer to the TAP SMART Goals Worksheet (pdf). 

Achieving or making progress towards the objectives you’ve set will be part of your annual performance review, so it’s important that you’re creating realistic objectives. Your goals or objectives should align with your job description but also provide an opportunity for you to grow in your position and learn a new skill.

Your mid-year review will be part of your annual review as it will help your manager determine if you are meeting the expectations of your job.

No. Managers have the responsibility to complete their staff’s performance reviews in time and conduct regular performance discussions with their staff.

No. Mid-year reviews can have an impact on your annual review, though, which does tie to your merit increase going forward.

The merit processing schedule is below:

• Merit functionality opens in Workday on May 10.
• During the May 10 - May 24 period, Managers, Faculty Administrators/Deans/Chairs, or Salary Planners* input merit increases. 
• Between May 24 – June 5, HR prepares analytics for division managers (VPs, School Deans, etc.); division managers finalize increase recommendations.
• Between June 6 and June 16, HR prepares analytics for final EVP review. EVPs finalize and approve merit recommendations by June 16.
• June 19: Managers are notified by HR to communicate increases to their staff.
• June 21: Staff are notified by HR to print pay increase notification worksheets.
• July, 2023: Increases are reflected in the first pay in July (July 7^th for hourly staff and July 14^th for salaried staff).

* Salary Planners are designated individuals who enter salary increases on behalf of faculty, deans or department heads. The following units have Salary Planners in 2023: All Schools, Campus Planning & Ops, Cohen Center, Crown Center, Hadassah Brandeis Institute, Schusterman Center. Please contact your Dean/VP/Center or Institute Head regarding questions.

The pool has not yet been finalized. Once final and approved, we will communicate this to the community as soon as possible.

Yes, staff hired before April 1, 2023 may be eligible to receive a merit increase (but are not required to) for July 1, 2023. HR will provide general guidelines on pay increase allocations for staff hired between January 1 - March 31.

Yes, HR will provide a brief New Hire Salary Increase Form for this purpose. The form should state the rationale for the increase and substantiate that the staff member’s performance is “on track” in relation to expectations during this limited time period. This process will be handled outside Workday. Forms should be returned to HR/Compensation (echin@brandeis.edu).

No, not at this time.  However, managers will be required to complete the annual performance reviews for their staff.  Their unit leader will be receiving status reports during the review period and be expected to reinforce this message in cases of noncompliance.

Six months is the minimum amount of time to meaningfully assess a staff member’s performance. That is consistent with past practice. However, based on both managers’ feedback and best practice, the merit eligibility date was moved to April 1 to give managers flexibility if appropriate.

This year, the ratings will not be “hardwired” to increase percentages. However, a staff member’s rating should inform their merit increase. HR will provide general guidelines on pay increase allocations by rating.