The University announced reforms to PDPR and the launch of the new Appraisal and Development Conversations (ADC) in July 2019, with the main changes associated with ADC summarised below:

• ADC came into effect from August 2019
• There is no rating outcome associated with ADC
• ADC is delinked from Performance Related Reward (replaced by the new Nottingham Reward Scheme)
• The ADC cycle runs from August-July to coincide with the academic year
• Annual ADCs will take place between April-July (with the first annual ADCs taking place from April 2020)
• Regular conversations are encouraged throughout the year, supported by an end-of-year ADC
• There will be better alignment with the University’s strategic priorities via balanced framework templates
• ADC provides the opportunity to focus on development conversations in the short and longer term and to have broader conversations which incorporate wellbeing, work/life balance and workload management
• Conversations are encouraged about how work is achieved as well as what work is achieved (supported by the Building a Culture for Success Guide)
• New forms have been introduced, as well as simplified guidelines.

Between July and December, the HR team held briefing sessions across our UK campuses with more than 800 colleagues taking part. The sessions explained the rationale behind the move from PDPR to ADC, introduced the balanced framework templates and outlined the main elements of the appraisal conversations – as well as explaining the next steps within the cycle.

What happens next?

• Faculty/Professional Service Area/School and Departmental leadership teams are developing their balanced framework to support the annual ADCs in 2020
• The balanced frameworks will be available by April 2020 ahead of the first annual ADCs taking place
• Current year objectives can either be transferred onto the ADC forms, or where objectives have yet to be set, meetings should take place as soon as possible to discuss and agree objectives for the remainder of 19/20
• The annual ADCs will take place from the beginning of April until the end of July each year.

Support, guidance and training

To help people get their heads around ADC, the HR team have created a number of resources on the HR webpages; including ADC forms, ADC guidelines and ADC videos – as well as links to additional resources and learning materials.

In addition, a rolling training programme has been planned to run between January and March 2020.

Book your place on either the appraisee or the appraiser training courses (please note: there is no requirement for colleagues attending the appraiser training to also attend the appraisee training).

All appraisers should attend an appraiser training session and in most cases, this should take place prior to the annual ADCs taking place from April 2020.