Mastering Calibration: Exploring Your Process Options

When it comes to using Calibration with Workday Performance, you have two primary options:

1. Launching a calibration program with the Performance Review process
2. Launching a calibration program independent of the Performance Review process

Clients will choose to launch calibration with their performance process because they have one review template for the process as a whole and all of the organizations in the hierarchy that is part of the performance review process will follow the same timeline. 

Clients will choose to launch their calibration program independently from the performance review process due to varying performance review templates, organizations may want to follow different timelines, or they do not use performance review ratings but still want to calibrate their employees.

No matter the reason, the following information will provide you with options to manage the scenario that best fits your organization’s needs.

Running a Calibration Program With a Performance Review Process

1. Once a manager submits their initial “Complete Manager Evaluation” step – or the pending steps are mass advanced – the performance process is put on hold.
2. The calibration event is processed and completed.
3. The hold step is mass advanced.
4. The manager can receive a task after calibration closes to update the original rating if the rating changes during calibration.
   NOTE: Workday will not dynamically update the rating in the performance review.
5. A condition can be placed on the “Update Performance Review Ratings” subprocess step ONLY if the rating is changed during calibration or to all managers.
6. During this step, the manager can update any of the content in the review before submitting it.
7. A  validation rule is configured on this subprocess to prevent the manager from submitting the step if the overall rating doesn’t match the calibrated rating.
8. The process then moves on to the remaining steps.

Let’s take a look at what the process above looks like:

Running a Calibration Program Independent of a Performance Review

You will use this method if you have multiple review templates (to avoid multiple calibration events) or if the timeline differs from that of Performance. Since the processes are run independently of each other, Workday will not know to update the in-progress performance review.

To make the original manager’s rating match the calibrated rating you have the following options:

1. Once the manager submits their initial “Complete Manager Evaluation” step, or the pending steps are mass advanced, the performance process is put on hold.
   1. The calibration event is processed and completed.
   2. The hold step is mass advanced.
   3. A  Review step routes to the manager to update the rating after calibration closes
      1. We cannot have a validation on this step to prevent the manager from submitting a rating that doesn’t match.
      2. Use embedded analytics on this step to show the manager what the original rating was and the calibrated rating.
   4. Managers submit the review step.
   5. Managers can then meet with the employee to discuss the review.
   6. Employees acknowledge their review.

2. Ratings are loaded on behalf of the manager after calibration is closed:
   1. The Overall rating is submitted by the manager.
   2. A hold step is assigned to an ISSG to prevent the tasks from routing to the Talent Admin*
   3. Calibration is completed.
   4. Capture completed calibrated ratings.
   5. Use the Update Review Rating EIB to override the original overall review rating (if changed).
   6. Mass advance the held step after new ratings are loaded.
   7. Managers can then meet with employees to discuss their reviews.
   8. Employees acknowledge their review.

3. Managers’ evaluation steps are left open:
   1. Put a date validation rule on the manager’s step to prevent the manager from submitting it.
      1. This allows you to give the managers time to work on review while calibration is running.
   2. An embedded analytic can provide the manager with calibration details and instructions on what to do in the review after calibration is finalized.
   3. Once calibration is finalized, an alert can go to the manager letting them know they can return to Workday to complete their task.
   4. An additional validation rule can be placed on this step to not allow the step to be submitted until the original rating matches the calibrated rating. This usually has a “1=0” rule on it so once calibration is completed, we remove the “1=0” condition so that the manager does not see this rule while the step is in their inbox.
   5. Managers submit their step.
   6. Managers can then meet with employees to discuss their reviews.
   7. Employees acknowledge their review.

This completes the outline of several options we have for managing calibration in performance reviews and should provide you with choices that give you the confidence required to enhance your organization’s processes in Workday. For more support with Calibration or otherwise, contact Kognitiv, Inc. today!