Saturday, July 7, 2007

Govstooge's Handy Guide to Performance Rating in the Irish Civil Service

You may have come across the term "PMDS" in previous posts, and wondered, what does it all mean?

Well, wonder no more, for here it is, at last.

PMDS (Performance Management and Development System) is a mechanism by which all civil servants receive performance appraisals. It was introduced long before I became a civil servant, and only recently has it been linked to our pay awards.

It is an annual cycle, comprising three stages, all of which involve filling out forms and discussing them with your supervisor. It gives your supervisor something to do, apart from looking up porn or the latest deals on lastminute.com.

The stages are:
1. Role Profile Form - fancy name for job description for the year ahead. Gives a list of measurable objectives and critical success factors (ie, stuff to fall back on if you need to cover your arse). Training needs also identified (my request for piano lessons was, sadly, turned down last January).
2. Interim Review - Usually around June, just to discuss progress so far.
3. Annual Performance and Development Review (APDR) - This is the big one, usually around Christmas. Your supervisor will assign you a rating on a scale of one to five based on your performance in the past year. If you disagree with this, you can refer it up to the reviewer, usually your supervisor's supervisor.

Here is my cut out and keep guide to the ratings system (click to enlarge, if you really want to):

Oh go on. Click it, it likes to be touched.




And if you're wondering, I got a "3" in my last APDR. WooHoo!


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