Performance Management
Setting Workplace Expectations
Creating expectations for students is a very important aspect of the student employee experience. Discussing their performance and expectations is something that will continue after they leave UMKC and continue into full-time positions. It’s important for students to have this experience in their positions here, to prepare them for their future. As their supervisor, one of the first things you should do is have a conversation with your new student employees about your expectations of them. Expectations should then be reviewed regularly at one-on-one meetings with your student employees.
Expectations are important to provide a guide for student employees to know what they need to be doing daily. Having clear expectations is also helpful for managers when student employees are not meeting expectations. It provides support during the coaching or discipline process and can be used as a reference and guide for what behaviors and actions are expected of student employees.
Setting Employee Expectations (PDF)
Student Employee Guidelines
Student employees are responsible to their department supervisor and must abide by all departmental regulations about work assignments. Student employees must keep complete confidentiality concerning information related to their job and the office in which they work and satisfactorily perform whatever duties are assigned. Remember that although this is a part-time job, the expectations are the same as a full-time job and students will be held accountable to university guidelines and applicable policies.
Work Schedule
Each semester, supervisors and students should cooperate and make every effort to arrange working hours in view of the student’s class schedules. However, student employee’s work schedules may include exam week. Once a schedule is set up, the student handles working those hours. Student employees may not change work schedules without the approval of their supervisor. Students may not exceed their award limit for the period, usually work approximately 15 hours per week, and may not work more than 8 hours per day or 29 hours per week. The Work-Study Program was set up to provide part-time work to students.
Therefore, a student working 40 hours per week is not using the program as it was intended. A fifteen-minute break must be taken if a student works four or more consecutive hours in one day. If a student is working an 8-hour day, they should be allowed a half-hour lunch break during which they must clock-out.
Working during scheduled class time is prohibited. For work-study students, a compliance report will be run monthly, and a sampling of students will be extracted to have their class schedules compared with their timesheets. If there are any overlaps or discrepancies in working hours with class schedules, the student and supervisor will be notified and sent to the Work-Study Coordinator.
Federal Student Aid Handbook Vol6 Chapter2 “The Federal Work-Study Program”
“In general, students are not permitted to work in FWS positions during scheduled class times. Exceptions are permitted if an individual class is cancelled, if the instructor has excused the student from attending for a particular day, and if the student is receiving credit for employment in an internship, externship, or community work-study experience. Any such exemptions must be documented.”
Attendance
Student employees are required to work the hours they have agreed upon. Students should report to work on time and inform the supervisor whenever it is not possible to do so. Should illness prevent student employees from working, they handle informing their supervisor as early as possible. For other absences, students must notify their supervisor in writing in advance. On approval of the supervisor, the work hours are rescheduled or adapted.
Proper Attire
Student employees should dress appropriately.
- Work attire is decided by the supervisor’s department
- In general, clothes should be neat and clean
- No obscene or revealing clothing
Business Etiquette/Customer Service
Student employees will be trained as professionals and will be expected to conduct themselves in this manner. Every interaction a student employee of UMKC has should reflect the University’s commitment to customer service. Good customer service requires a positive attitude toward people. This includes being helpful, courteous and, as much as possible, leaving the customer feeling they have received satisfactory service and/or information.
Evaluating Performance
Providing a performance evaluation is a great benefit to students who are just beginning their work careers. Student employees should be given a written evaluation by their supervisor once a year or as needed.
- Performance evaluations are shared with the reviewed student employee at the time of the evaluation
- Written warning notices are shared with students detailing any complaint and setting the conditions desired to resolve the problems
- A written notice of dismissal is given when circumstances warrant, detailing reasons for dismissal
Recognition
Being able to use praise effectively is one of the most important jobs of a supervisor as employee morale is a vital part of performance management and can make the biggest difference in your department. Sincere and honest recognition lets employees know that you appreciate them and the work they do to keep the department running.
Guide to Recognizing Student Employees (PDF)
Discipline
The University of Missouri provides university students opportunities to gain valuable job experiences while pursuing their academic goals. There are times when a student employee may not meet expectations and corrective action may be necessary. Disciplinary actions will be handled in accordance with HR-130 Student Workers.
In all instances where you believe that formal disciplinary action may be appropriate, please contact your HR Business Partner for assistance. This process may not be appropriate in every situation. The level, nature, and seriousness of the situation will be reviewed by HR when the situation is initially discussed and during the review of the discipline documentation.
The objectives of the discipline process include notifying the student employee of unsatisfactory behavior or performance, clarifing expectations of satisfactory behavior or performance, instructing them on what action must be taken to correct the unsatisfactory behavior or performance, and informing them about the consequences if expectations are not met in the future. In the end, the general hope is that the student employee learns from the process and is inspired to perform better in the future.
The disciplinary process includes the following steps:
- Have an understanding of the facts and circumstances before assessing appropriate discipline.
- Discuss the situation with your HR Business Partner.
- Complete the Discipline Submission Form. Your HR Business Partner will draft the formal dicispline document for your review.
- Conduct a disciplinary conversation (PDF) with the student employee and present the formal discipline documentation provided by HR.
- Provide signed discipline document to your HR Business Parnter to be added to the student employee’s personnel file.
Generally, a student employee should not be surprised by disciplinary action. Supervisors should proactively communicate issues, rather than waiting until the performance problems reach a critical point. A coaching session is one way to communicate expecations to student employees.
A Coaching Session consists of having an intentional conversation with the student employee to point out what expectations are not being met and to reiterate what is expected of them. The coaching session (PDF) is typically a private conversation between the supervisor and student employee. During this conversation, it is important to make sure that they understand the expectations and to ask what you, as a supervisor, can do to help them meet expectations. Once the coaching session is completed, it is recommended for the supervisor to send a follow-up email (PDF) to the student employee summarizing the conversation.
Discipline Process
The discipline process used student employees may include a Verbal Warning, Written Warning, Suspension, or Termination as outlined in HR-601 Discipline Guidelines. Disciplinary action is handled on a case-by-case basis and may vary depending on the circumstances.
Verbal Warning
A student employee may be issued a verbal warning to bring a performance or behavior concern to their attention. They should be informed that the discussion is being conducted to issue a verbal warning. Written documentation summarizing the verbal warning, (e.g., email communications letter or discipline template form) should be placed in the student employee’s file within a reasonable time; this is meant as a best practice, not a strict requirement.
Written Warning
A student employee may be issued a written warning to document a performance or behavior concern. Written warnings provide a description of the specific problem or offense and outline expectations of them going forward.
Suspension
A student employee may be suspended without pay for a period of one or more full workdays.
Termination
A student employee may be terminated based on the seriousness or repeated performance or workplace behavior concerns. While employment may be terminated at any time without cause, examples of conduct that may result in termination without prior warnings (“Summary Termination”) include:
- Insubordination;
- Refusal to perform expectations of the position;
- Working under the influence;
- Unauthorized absences from work; or
- Demonstrating inappropriate behavior and acting in a manner inconsistent with the role.