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EPIC Update September 2023

Hello Salt Lake County employees,

As mentioned in our June communication, we are on our way to building a new and more effective performance management system. We have some exciting updates to share and hope you will continue reading through to the end of this message.

As we began designing this new performance management system, we sought employee input to tailor it to meet the diverse needs of agencies across the county. We invited employees, supervisors, and county leadership to participate in both focus groups and surveys, and are pleased to report that nearly 700 participated in the survey and almost 100 participated in focus groups. Upon analyzing the feedback, we noted several themes which will further inform the new performance management system. These themes include:

Consistent and transparent evaluation process

Employees shared their desire for a system that has clear expectations and effective feedback mechanisms. They are looking for fairness in performance evaluation, supporting people with disabilities, and accountability.

Increased employee development, training, and learning opportunities

Employees shared consistently that they are seeking more training; at the supervisor/management level, and at the individual level. Topics included soft skills, on the job skills, and specific performance management skills.

Acknowledgment for performance

Employees advocated for ways to be able to recognize and acknowledge the work of others when they go above and beyond what is expected of them. It was noted that various departments have different ways, but there is a desire for a consistent, clear, and equitable way to recognize employees for their efforts and contributions.

Increased communication

There were some mixed reviews, but overall employees supported quarterly check-ins and appreciate the space to be able to have performance conversations. The call for greater communication looks like more ongoing guidance, check ins, and meaningful conversations around performance evaluations.

Overall, employees are hopeful that a new performance management system will ensure employees feel valued and recognized for their contributions. Fairness and consistency in this process is a crucial aspect in creating a new system.

The new performance management project will be branded EPIC which stands for Enhancing Performance, Improving Communication. Upon gathering input to better understand the County’s needs in a performance management system, many participants shared their hopes for better communication with managers. Improving communication is an important goal in a new performance management system because it ensures employees know how to succeed in their roles and supervisors understand how best to support their employees. So, while Enhancing Performance is what the performance management system will do, Improving Communication is what will help us reach that goal.

Along with this name, we are pleased to introduce the EPIC logo.

EPIC Logo

When creating a logo, we wanted to visually represent what this program means. Mountains symbolize a climb, or a journey to reach the summit. The peak of the mountain inspires people to continually improve to achieve their utmost potential, while the sunrise above the peak embodies the notion that there is always a brighter future ahead, fostering continual personal growth. Not only did we feel this logo embodies our goals with the EPIC program, but it embodies what it means to be a part of Salt Lake County.

As with any new program, it is important to keep in mind the goals we are working toward. The EPIC project’s 5 main goals below will help us create more consistent and fair evaluations across the County.

  1. Enhance Organizational Performance: The EPIC project will be a comprehensive performance management system that aligns employee performance with organizational goals, driving continuous improvement and increased efficiency.
  2. Improve Manager/Employee Collaboration and Development: The EPIC project will cultivate a culture of engagement and interaction between managers and employees, emphasizing supportive leadership, open communication, and continuous improvement. This approach empowers employees to grow in their roles and enables managers to effectively nurture their teams while addressing challenges within their agencies.
  3. Ensure Consistency and Fairness in Performance Evaluations: The EPIC project will be a consistent, equitable, and transparent performance evaluation system that accurately distinguishes between performance levels and promotes a sense of fairness across the organization.
  4. Strengthen Talent Retention and Attraction: The EPIC project will implement strategies that focus on recognizing high performers, fostering a positive work environment, and enhancing the employee value proposition to attract and retain top talent within the organization.
  5. Foster a High-Performance Culture: The EPIC project will create an environment that encourages collaboration, innovation, and ongoing learning, resulting in highly engaged and supported employees.

We will continue to provide additional updates as we reach key milestones each quarter—including our next communication which will include information regarding the pilot program. If you would like more information before the next update, please refer to the FAQ or contact Human Resources at HR-Questions@slco.org.

Sincerely,

Sharon Roux
Director of Human Resources

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EPIC Update June 2023

Hello Salt Lake County Employees,  

At the direction of the Salt Lake County Council, last year the Human Resources team began exploring a pay-for-performance program for SLCo. As initial steps in this process, we issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) and hired a consulting firm, NFP, to help design the program. We also formed a steering committee of county leadership to guide the process.   

While gathering information early on, we identified compensation practices that need to be updated before considering how a pay-for-performance program could be implemented at SLCo. While our compensation team is busy with this work, we are focusing on designing a more effective performance management system. The new performance management system will provide managers with additional tools to lead their teams and will create opportunities for stronger communication and collaboration between supervisors and their employees. It will also help us achieve consistency and equity in evaluations across the County.  

As we design and refine the new performance management system, we will seek input from employees, supervisors, and leadership through focus groups and surveys. This input will be important as we tailor the system to best meet all of our needs.   

We look forward to providing additional updates as we reach key milestones.  

For more information, please refer to the FAQ's. 

Sincerely,  

Sharon Roux  

Director of Human Resources   

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have a question that isn’t currently covered in these FAQs? If so, please submit your question.  

The new performance management project will be branded EPIC which stands for Enhancing Performance, Improving Communication.

A performance management system tracks the performance of employees in a manner that is consistent and measurable to effectively and fairly provide employees with feedback to improve performance. This type of system ensures employees and supervisors work collaboratively to set expectations and fosters success by providing managers with tools to effectively lead their teams.   

At the direction of the Salt Lake County Council, last year the Human Resources team began exploring a pay-for-performance program for SLCo.  During the information gathering phase to develop the pay-for-performance program, we identified compensation practices that need to be updated before considering how a program could be implemented at SLCo. While our compensation team is busy with this work, we are focusing on designing a more effective performance management system, as this is a key component of any pay-for-performance program.   

Throughout the process of creating a new performance management system, we will seek input from employees, supervisors, and leadership through focus groups and surveys. This input will be important as we tailor the system to best meet all of our needs. 

The focus of this project is to improve the performance management system. Until the new system is developed and implemented, the current system will remain in place. It will not be tied to pay at this time.  

The new performance management system will include training and tools to help supervisors develop goals with their employees and evaluate performance in a more consistent manner within each agency and across the county.

There is not yet a start date to launch a new performance management system. We are developing the plan to create the new system and will establish a timeline from there. The FAQs will be updated with more information once the plan is finalized.  

As with the current performance management system, all merit-based employees—with the exception of sworn personnel—will participate in the new performance management program. 

NFP is a global organization with an expertise in optimizing the employee experience. They have extensive experience working with government agencies, including working with those at a county level. The consulting team working on this project has a combined 36 years of experience developing innovative programs to improve employee performance and engagement. 

1. Enhance Organizational Performance:

The EPIC project will be a comprehensive performance management system that aligns employee performance with organizational goals, driving continuous improvement and increased efficiency.

2. Improve Manager/Employee Collaboration and Development:

The EPIC project will cultivate a culture of engagement and interaction between managers and employees, emphasizing supportive leadership, open communication, and continuous improvement. This approach empowers employees to grow in their roles and enables managers to effectively nurture their teams while addressing challenges within their agencies.

3. Ensure Consistency and Fairness in Performance Evaluations:

The EPIC project will be a consistent, equitable, and transparent performance evaluation system that accurately distinguishes between performance levels and promotes a sense of fairness across the organization.

4. Strengthen Talent Retention and Attraction:

The EPIC project will implement strategies that focus on recognizing high performers, fostering a positive work environment, and enhancing the employee value proposition to attract and retain top talent within the organization.

5. Foster a High-Performance Culture:

The EPIC project will create an environment that encourages collaboration, innovation, and ongoing learning, resulting in highly engaged and supported employees.

Consistent and transparent evaluation process

Employees shared their desire for a system that has clear expectations and effective feedback mechanisms. They are looking for fairness in performance evaluation, supporting people with disabilities, and accountability. Increased employee development, training, and learning opportunities Employees shared consistently that they are seeking more training; at the supervisor/management level, and at the individual level. Topics included soft skills, on the job skills, and specific performance management skills.

Acknowledgment for performance

Employees advocated for ways to be able to recognize and acknowledge the work of others when they go above and beyond what is expected of them. It was noted that various departments have different ways, but there is a desire for a consistent, clear, and equitable way to recognize employees for their efforts and contributions.

Increased Communication

There were some mixed reviews, but overall employees supported quarterly check-ins and appreciate the space to be able to have performance conversations. The call for greater communication looks like more ongoing guidance, check ins, and meaningful conversations around performance evaluations.