September 13, 2016
Eight Local Units Will Pilot New Agent Performance Review
Submitted by Cindy Evans and Jim Lindquist
Eight local units will be involved in a pilot of a new agent performance review tool this fall. Agents will still complete action plans, impact reports and a professional development plan in the PEARS system. Board members will receive a Qualtrics survey to complete for each agent. Responses from all board members will be summarized and returned to the local unit/area director to use, along with the agent’s self-evaluation, in creating a narrative evaluation and to assign a performance rating. Directors will work with agents to set up to three performance goals for the coming year.
The pilot tool was created in response to a concern that the current agent performance review tool was too complex and time consuming for our volunteer board members. The development team hopes the tool will result in a higher number of board members involved in the evaluation process, and that it is simpler for everyone involved. Pilot counties will provide feedback about the usefulness of the tool and suggestions for improvement. Extension Administration will review the results of the pilot performance review process with the goal being to implement the new process for all local units in 2017.
We are not able to add any more units to the pilot at this time. Local units involved include: Douglas County, Frontier District, Marais des Cygnes District, Phillips-Rooks District, Riley County, River Valley District, Shawnee County and Wildcat District.