How to conduct a PDP review and assess progress

With an individual's PDP created, and loaded with targets and tasks, plus a number of formal review sessions scheduled, the individual gets to work, knowing that sometime soon a formal review of their progress will me made, perhaps with a line manager or a mentor. In this article, we'll show how to access and conduct formal PDP reviews.

1. Access the PDP and open the review

The review is typically conducted by the line manager or mentor, who, whilst sitting with or screen sharing with the individual, loads up the PDP. The line manager or mentor typically drives the process, formally recording the progress made by the individual so far leading up to this PDP review.

Line manager access

The line-manager accesses the PDP from home page > Groups you manage > select team > select individual > Development > click PDP title in table

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Mentor access

The mentor can also lead the review session: home page > personal menu > My Development > select PDP for individual wher user is mentor

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Individual access

The individual can also load up the PDP and can add any notes or comments in any of the targets and tasks, or in the more general Discusss PDP tab. This allows the individual to record their own view of the process and of their progress: home page > personal menu > My Development > select PDP from the table

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The individual's PDP is displayed, showing the PDP's targets and tasks, as well as tabs for scheduled review session.

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To formally switch to review mode for a scheduled review, click the review tab for the given date. A confirmation popup appears. Click Begin Review to formally start the review. From this point forward, any assessments and grades made during the review session will be recorded against this review and locked in time.

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2. Assess progress of tasks within a target

Navigate to the first target, then click to open the first task. Note how when in review mode the task now displays a completion slider, along with space to record notes or comments. Drag the slider to reflect the individual's progress at this point in time, perhaps supported by a comment or two.

Be sure to foster a healthy discussion with the individual and get their input. Celebrate successes and help motivate them to contiunue their efforts.

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Repeat the process for each of this target's tasks.

3. Grade progress of a target

With each of the target's tasks formally reviewed, next, based on the total task progress, grade the target:

• On target - if expected progress has been made at this point in the PDP cycle
• Accomplised - if all of the tasks are complete and you consider the target to have been achieved
• Concerns - if there are issues or insufficient progress at this point
• Stalled - if no progress has been made

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Use the target notes to record additional context, along with reasons why a grade has been given.

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4. Repeat task and target assessment for each target

Repeat steps 2 and 3 for any remaining targets.

5. Grade the review stage

Having graded each target, you'll now be in a good position to discuss and award an overall grade for this PDP at this moment in time. 

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That concludes the formal review. A stake has been put in the ground to record that at this moment in time, Molly has made sufficient progress in her PDP goals and tasks to have been awarded the grade On target. 

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Where the individual's targets and tasks are linked to company targets and company competancies, the review data will be reflected in the company wide dashboard progress metrics.

Where a task relating to a competency is completed, the reviewer is also given the option to award the behaviour, automatically updating the individual's competency level.

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6. Next steps

What next? The individual goes away and continues working towards acheiving their targets. At the appointed times (or whenever), the individual and/or line manager and mentor reconvene to conduct subsequent formal review meetings. At each point, a stake is put in the ground recording the individual's progress.

It may be that the individual had problems between review meetings and was not able to make the expected progress - as in Feb 6th review in the example below. Perhaps the PDP at that point would be marked as having concerns, and strategies discussed and recorded regarding how to bring the plan back on track.

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Good news. In this example, the remedial strategies obviously worked, as, of the Apr 3 review, the plan was back on track, and was fully accomplished by the target completion date of July 31!

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