Support Staff and MaPS Performance Management

Managers should begin by familiarizing themselves with the new timeline, reinforcing the purpose of the change with their teams, focusing on goal setting for the transition period, and building the rest of the cycle into their work plans for the remainder of the year.

During the transition cycle, managers should focus on updating and extending current goals or setting new ones for the transition period.  They should also continue holding check-in conversations, supporting employee self-assessments, and leading streamlined performance discussions focused on goal progress, key achievements, and behaviours.

Yes. Performance outcomes from the 2026 transition period will be recognized and used as one of the key elements for 2027 compensation and increment decisions. Managers should approach the transition period as a meaningful and formal part of the overall performance process.

Managers can expect organizational and departmental goals to cascade from November through December with individual goal setting from January 15 to February 28.  They will be encouraged to do goal check-ins in May and September.  Managers will write final performance assessments in January and have one-on-one review meetings with their employees.

Employees who are in their probationary period should continue through the probationary review process. Employees hired after July 1 will not participate in the regular annual performance review cycle for that year. They will complete probationary reviews and then enter the regular performance cycle in the following year. Managers should ensure probationary conversations and documentation are completed as required, while helping employees understand when they will transition into the regular January to December cycle.

Managers and employees are encouraged to follow the annual review timelines communicated by People and Culture. We recognize that unique challenges may arise. If you are unable to meet the suggested timelines, please work with your employee to agree on alternative dates that support both of you. The annual review document will remain available after the performance year deadline and can be updated as needed until archived.

Above all, the most important part of the annual review process is connecting with your direct reports and having meaningful conversations.

A performance review is recommended for employees (not on probation) who have worked at least three months of the performance year. If the employee is away during the annual review period, a self-assessment is not required. In this case, the manager should complete their assessment and select "Share with Employee".

Depending on the situation, you may choose one of the following approaches:

• Option 1: Delay the review discussion until the employee returns
• Option 2: Override employee acknowledgement if the employee is away
• Option 3: Cancel the review if the employee was absent for more than half of the performance year

This approach ensures flexibility while still supporting a consistent and fair review process.

Support Staff: If an employee received their final probation review between November and March, an annual performance review is not required. A new annual performance review document will be created for the employee in the next performance cycle.

MaPS: If an annual performance review document is available, managers may use it to wrap up the probation period and support a discussion about the employee’s ongoing development. A new annual review document will be created in the next performance cycle.

If performance concerns arise, contact the assigned HR Partner of your Faculty or Unit.

The employee has not yet submitted their self-assessment or did not enter comments for that section. It is recommended to ask the employee to complete and submit their self-assessment, referring to this reference guide.

This will require the evaluation be re-opened. This will not delete comments or ratings that have been entered.

• Self-assessments: Managers can reopen self-assessments for employees if the performance document is in the Evaluation in Progress stage. Follow the steps in this reference guide to reopen an employee's self-assessment.
• Manager Assessments: When the manager assessment is submitted, it will be sent to the employee for acknowledgement. Contact UService for assistance in reopening the manager assessment. Additionally, it is important to follow up with the employee to review any changes to the manager assessment.

Only one manager can be assigned to a performance document in PeopleSoft. If an employee has a secondary reporting relationship, managers are encouraged to collaborate on the annual review. However, only the manager assigned to the document will have access to add comments directly.

This approach helps ensure input is considered while maintaining a clear and consistent review process.

This typically indicates that a performance document from the previous year has not been fully completed and still requires action from the manager or employee.

The document status will help identify what needs to be done:

• Pending Acknowledgement: The employee needs to open the document and select “Acknowledge.”
• All other statuses: These generally indicate that the prior year’s review is incomplete. The manager should either complete the review or request that it be cancelled.

If the issue cannot be resolved through these steps, please contact UService for support.

Identify which employees are missing and if they are MaPS or Support Staff.

When did this employee start?

• MaPS: New hires after April 1 of a given year will not participate in the upcoming annual review. They will participate in the next performance cycle, starting in July.
• Support Staff: New hires who join after October 1 of a given year will not participate in the upcoming annual reviews, given that they have not yet passed probation. They will participate in the next performance cycle, starting in April.

Did this employee recently transfer to your team?

• If so, their performance document may need to be transferred from their previous manager. Contact UService for assistance. 

If the employee started before the dates listed and is not a recent addition to the team, their performance document was not automatically created by the system due to their employment type. Managers can request performance documents for their direct reports that do not have one using the Request a Performance Document webform.

If the employee now reports to another manager, the performance document will need to be transferred. Please contact UService for assistance with this process.

If the employee has left the university, their performance documents will be automatically cancelled after a short processing period in the system. If the document remains active more than 15 days after the employee’s termination, please contact UService for support. 

The performance document may still be assigned to a previous manager. In this case, the document will need to be transferred to the appropriate manager. Please contact UService for assistance with this process.

Beginning in 2027, UCalgary will move to a single, organization-wide performance management cycle for ELT, SLT, MaPS, and AUPE. The cycle will follow the calendar year, from January to December. 

This change is intended to better align performance management with organizational goal setting and to create a more consistent approach to goal setting, check-ins, performance reviews, and compensation planning across all employee groups.

The current performance timelines for ELT, SLT, MaPS, and AUPE do not align with each other or with the University’s broader planning and compensation timelines.  The new cycle is designed to improve alignment, consistency, fairness, and clarity for employees and leaders. 

The new calendar-year performance cycle begins in January 2027. To support this change, a transition performance period will take place in 2026.

A new annual cycle will begin each January with goal setting.  Goal check-ins will be encouraged in May and September. Employees will complete self-assessments starting in December, followed by discussions with their managers in January or February to close out the performance cycle.

During the 2026 transition period, employees and leaders will still complete core performance activities; however, they will be completed on a shortened timeline.  New goals will be set or previous period goals may be extended.  During this transition period, a check-in will be encouraged in September.  Employees will write their self-assessments starting in December.

If you are still in your probationary period, you will follow the probationary review process rather than the regular annual performance review cycle. Employees hired after July 1 will complete probationary reviews for that year and join the regular annual performance cycle the following year. The new regular cycle begins in 2027 and runs from January to December.

Please note that extensions are not available for the goals deadline.

A formal extension request is not required, as both self and manager assessments remain open for editing until the assessment period of the following performance year.

The annual review performance document must be in the Record Goals & Achievements status to add or edit goals. Please refer to the Add/Edit Goals Quick Reference Guide for step-by-step instructions.

If your document is in a different status, please contact UService for assistance with reopening the goals stage so updates can be made.

Goals cannot be edited or updated once the assessment phase has begun. To make changes, the Record Goals & Achievements stage must be reopened by contacting UService.

Please note that reopening this stage will remove any existing ratings and comments entered in both the self and manager assessments. Before proceeding, it is strongly recommended that both the manager and employee copy and save their entries in a separate document.

Reopening the goals stage should only be done with the manager’s agreement, as it will result in the loss of their inputs. In most cases, it is recommended to capture any goal updates as comments instead.

If the goals stage is reopened, the manager and/or employee can make the necessary updates. Once complete, the manager must select “Complete” to return the document to the assessment stage.

This is typically because the document is not yet in the Evaluation in Progress status. Self-assessments can only be edited once the document reaches this stage.

To move the document forward, your manager must select “Complete” in the Record Goals & Achievements stage. This will update the status to Evaluation in Progress and enable you to edit your self-assessment.

Managers can reopen an employee’s self-assessment as long as the performance document is still in the Evaluation in Progress status. For step-by-step instructions, please refer to the steps outlined in this reference guide.

Please contact UService for assistance in transferring your performance document to the correct reporting manager.

Performance documents do not become locked for editing during the performance year, so this issue is often resolved by clearing your web browser’s cache.

You should also confirm that your document is in the correct status for the type of edits you want to make:

• To edit goals, the document must be in the Record Goals & Achievements status
• To edit assessments, the document must be in the Evaluation in Progress status