2. Who Gets Covered Under This Process?

ConfirmationToolDescriptionJan2013/HRD

CONFIRMATION AUTOMATION PROCESS TUTORIAL
The Process Flow
Table of Contents
1. What is Employee Confirmation? 3
2. Who gets covered under this process? 3
3. Why is Confirmation necessary? 3
4. Benefits of Confirmation Automation 4
5. How is the Confirmation Period Determined? 4
6. What is the Probation Period? 4
7. Steps in Confirmation Process 5
8. At the Time of Joining 6
8.1 Setting Standards - Joint Discussion with Superior 6
8.2 Alignment of Goals and KRA entry in PMS 6
9. During the Confirmation Period 9
9.1 Why are review meetings necessary? 9
9.2 What is the objective ofReview Meetings? 9
10. At the Time of Confirmation 10
10.1 Self Rating of set Goals by Employee 10
10.2 Superior Rating of Employee 11
10.3 Reviewer Rating and Confirmation Review 13
10.4 Action of Confirmation / Probation Extension 14
11. What is Probation Extension? When does it apply? 15
12. What happens if the Confirmation Period Lapses? 15
12.1 What is Auto Probation Extension ? 15
12.2 Probation Extension Period Plan 15
13. Letter of Confirmation of Appointment/Extension 17
14. Responsibility Matrix 18
15. Salient Features Of Confirmation Automation Process 19

1.  What is Employee Confirmation?

New incumbents who join CavinKare are in probation period before they are confirmed in the organization. On joining, employees will take specific goals and KRA’s in discussion with their superior and enter the same under Goal Setting in the Performance Management portal.
They are expected to perform consistently during this probationary period. Periodic and informal reviews happen with the employee and the superior.
At the end of the probationary period, Confirmation Review is done and decision on confirmation is made by the superior and reviewer.

2.  Who gets covered under this process?

·  Applicable for all business units of CKPL from Band 6 to Band 4 ( TSO & equivalent grades )
·  Excluding following grades – Band 6 ( TSI ) Band 7 ( Trainees & Associates ) , Band 8 ( FTC’s ) and Band 9 ( Student Trainee )
·  Excludes Band 3 & above ( DGM & above ) as they get directly confirmed on Joining.

3.  Why is Confirmation necessary?

1.  To ensure that the probation process is undertaken for all new employees and is applied in a fair and consistent manner.
2.  To ensure that new employee’s performance is periodically reviewed and they receive appropriate supervision, support, training and guidance during the initial period of employment.
3.  Provide a platform to proactively deal with concerns over a new employees performance, set targets for improvement and provide appropriate support to enable an employee to improve.
4.  To provide a mechanism for the fair dismissal of employees who demonstrate continued unsatisfactory performance, after support, training and guidance have been given during the period of probation

4.  Benefits of Confirmation Automation

·  Avoids delay in confirmations
·  Feedback captured online for future use
·  On time issue of confirmation e-letters
·  Reduces paper work

5.  How is the Confirmation Period Determined?

·  All confirmations falling from 1st of the month to 15th of the month will be effected for confirmation on 1st of that month.
·  All confirmations falling from 16th of the month to 31st of the month will be effected for confirmation on 1st of next month.

6.  What is the Probation Period?

The length of the probation period will be stated in the terms and conditions of employment. Employees who join in Band 6, 5 and 4 undergo 6 months of probation. ( TSI’s undergo a probationary period of 1 year )Band 3 and above are confirmed on their day of joining. Management Trainees (Band 5 C) undergo a probationary period of 1 year.

7.  Steps in Confirmation Process

7.1 At the Time of Joining
1.  Employee has to complete goal setting process in discussion with the Superior.
2.  Alignment of Goals and KRA entry under the Performance Management Tab in my.cavinkare.com portal within 20 days of joining.
3.  This link will automatically close at the end of 20th day from employee’s DOJ.
7.2 At the Time of Confirmation
1.  E- Confirmation Link will be opened in my.cavinkare.com one month prior to the confirmation due date.
2.  Employee has to complete Self Rating of completed KRA’s within the confirmation period.
3.  Superior Rating of Employee’s KRAs which fall within Confirmation period.
4.  Reviewer Rating and Confirmation Review discussion.
5.  Action of Confirmation / Probation Extension

8.  At the Time of Joining

8.1 Setting Standards - Joint Discussion with Superior

When a new employee joins the team, it is the responsibility of the immediate superior to ensure that prior to job allocation / commencement of work by the employee, expectations of the management and the employee are aligned.
The superior/reviewer should have a meeting with the new employee during their first week of employment. Standards and objectives should be discussed in detail to ensure that expectations regarding standards of work performance and conduct are clear on commencement and that appropriate support, training and guidance is in place.

8.2 Alignment of Goals and KRA entry in PMS

At the initial meeting the superior should clarify the roles and responsibilities of the new employee. This should include;
·  key aspects of the role
·  policies and procedures that must be followed
·  deadlines which need to be adhered to
·  working hours – including any flexitime arrangements/processes
·  training and development needs, including mentoring opportunities
2.  Discuss the KRA’s to be taken for the first six months with the employee. The employee should ensure entry of KRA’s applicable for the current period (H1/H2) in the Performance Management Portal.
For eg: If the employee joins on July 1st , he will enter his KRA’s for the applicable H1 period (from July 1st to September 15th ) under Goal Setting in the Performance Management portal.


Again, during the H2 period, (September 15th to March 15th ) he will enter his KRA’s under Goal Setting in the Performance Management portal.


Both employee and superior will be responsible for completion of KRA Setting Process.
3.  KRA’s should be explained, regarding how they will be monitored and measured. Timescales and the support that will be given need to be clearly defined during Goal Setting itself.
4.  Explain fully the probation procedures to be followed and agree dates for further review meetings (Formal/informal meetings)

9.  During the Confirmation Period

Throughout the probation period an employee’s performance must be assessed by the superior within a supportive and developmental context.
Regular and informal one-to-one meetings should be held to review the performance and to ensure that new hires are kept informed of their progress against the required standards; to advise them of any concerns and how these can be addressed and to clarify the queries they have about their work performance.

9.1 Why are review meetings necessary?

The purpose of the review meetings is to formally assess and document the standards of work performance and conduct of the employee against the targets set at the initial meeting and to identify any further support, training or guidance which is required.
Formal reviews should be set up in advance so that both parties have time to prepare for the meeting.

9.2 What is the objective ofReview Meetings?

As part of the formal review meeting managers should:
1.  Appreciate good performance and achievements made
2.  Discuss the employee’s performance against the KRA’s assigned to him.
3.  Discuss the improvement areas, if any, the employee has to follow / work on.
4.  Provide support to the team mate and guide him towards the achievement of goals.

10.  At the Time of Confirmation

10.1 Self Rating of set Goals by Employee

Employee Confirmation page will be opened one month prior to the date of confirmation. Mail triggers will go to the employee and to the superior intimating pending confirmation.
Employee should log into Goal Setting page under Performance Management and select KRA’s from both appraisal periods.

If the employee’s KRAs set for probation period falls under 2 Goal Setting periods, the employee is given the option of selecting the KRA’s that will be covered for confirmation.

On selection, the employee gives a self rating based on successful completion of KRAs. Employee should now self-rate against the selected KRAs.

Eg – X employee has joined on 1st July, and has entered 3 KRA’s for the I half of the year ( April – September ).
He has also entered his II half goals ( for the period Oct – March ). As he has joined on 1st July, his confirmation due date is 1st January. Employee Confirmation link will be opened for him by 1st December (One month prior to his confirmation due date).
In this case, this employee will select KRA’s falling within confirmation period, and complete self rating.
Additional comments for every KRA elaborating on how it was achieved or challenges faced is added and submitted to the superior.
If his KRA’s falls completely under one period (between April 15th & Sept 15th / Sept 16th & April 14th) employee selects all KRA’ s and gives his self-rating for the six month probation period.

10.2 Superior Rating of Employee

Once employee submits his Self rating, the superior can log into the Confirmation portal and give the ratings corresponding to the Self-Rating of the employee.

In case the superior finds that certain KRAs that must be included for review have not been chosen for review by the employee, Superior is given an option of choosing to rate employees against those KRAs (Even though self rating has not been done).

Superior is required to provide comments against all KRAs without which the form cannot be submitted. Superior gives his recommendation (Confirmation / Extension) and submits the form.

10.3 Reviewer Rating and Confirmation Review

On superior completing the rating, the reviewer can log into the Confirmation Page in my.cavinkare and gives his overall comments. Reviewer can Disagree with the Superior’s decision on Confirmation/Extension and Submit the form.
In case of disagreement, the form is sent back to the superior asking him to rethink on ratings provided. ( Off line discussion happens between Superior & Reviewer ). After consensus, final action of Probation/Confirmation is carried out.

10.4 Action of Confirmation / Probation Extension

When both the Superior & Reviewer agree on a common action (Confirmation / Extension), the form is sent to HR. HR adds overall comments and submits the form for generation of e-confirmation letter.
HR plays a vital role in Employee Confirmation. HR has a discussion with employee and superior to understand / emphasis the process of confirmation, and to ensure fair dismissal of the process.

11.  What is Probation Extension? When does it apply?

If the superior wishes to extend the probation for the employee, the reasons for the same is validated by the HR and a consensus is agreed upon.
Probation can be extended only once, at the maximum – 3 months per extension – after which the employees have to be either confirmed or terminated.
Where the probation period is extended, the following must be discussed between the manager and the employee;
1.  reasons for the extension
2.  any assistance/guidance/training to be given during the extension
3.  any areas of improvement that are required and how these will be monitored
A new set of KRA’s are then entered in the Confirmation Portal by the superior. These will be reviewed at the end of the Probation Extension Period.
If performance is deemed to be satisfactory after the extension period, the services of the employee are confirmed.
Where an employee has not reached the required standards of performance/conduct/attendance during their probation, despite efforts to address this, then it results in non-confirmation of appointment.

12.  What happens if the Confirmation Period Lapses?

12.1 What is Auto Probation Extension ?

On lapse of confirmation period i.e, action of Confirmation/ Probation Extension is not taken within the confirmation end period, ( Eg – cases where the form might be pending with the Employee / Superior / Reviewer or HR), the employee probation period gets automatically Extended. Superiors and Employees must exercise caution and ensure timely completion of the Confirmation Process in order to avoid this.

12.2 Probation Extension Period Plan

Employees, whose performance is extremely poor, are considered for Performance Improvement Plan for their probation extension period.
The employee is counselled by superior and HR and gaps in performance along with areas of improvement are highlighted.
During the probation Extension Period KRA’s are set for the employees and accessed continuously. If the employee shows improvement during this period, they will be confirmed. But even after clear guidance and support the employee doesn’t show progress, the employee will be terminated from the services.
Before the Goals are aligned for the 3 month period, a formal discussion between the Employee, Superior/Reviewer and HR is scheduled with the following agenda:
1.  Difficulties are clarified in detail – specifying where and how their performance or conduct was below acceptable
2.  Where possible evidence/examples of the problem/issues are discussed
3.  Concerns of the employee are discussed and addressed
Goals are set specifying in detail what standards of performance are required to reach an acceptable level
4.  Target dates are set very clearly with concurrence from the employee
5.  Consequences if the standards/targets are not met are explained in detail – that continuous bad performance could result in the employee not being confirmed in their post.
In the Confirmation page of the superior, superior sets the employees KRA after alignment with the employee & reviewer. The superior can either choose to extend existing KRAs or assign new KRAs for the Probation Period.

13.  Letter of Confirmation of Appointment/Extension