Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon Portland Community College

Section 10: Performance Management

PCC encourages and expects an environment in which management and employees will work together to maximize performance. It is intended that supervisors will use performance management as an on-going process to provide coaching and guidance to their employees.

As outlined in Section 9, each employee creates an “assessment plan” in conjunction with their supervisor, and performance against standard job requirements and the plan are documented in a performance assessment.

Performance Standards

PCC has established the following performance standards for employees with the understanding that these standards are not all-inclusive and that the employee’s supervisor will communicate the individual job performance standards as the needs dictate. The College reserves the right to determine the standards by which employees will be evaluated and to determine when an employee’s performance does not meet those standards. Employees who do not meet these standards (either the ones listed below or the standards outlined by the supervisor) will be subject to remedial and/or disciplinary actions for unsatisfactory performance. In carrying out the duties to which they were assigned or while performing any other College-related business, College employees will conduct themselves in a professional and ethical manner.

  • College employees will refrain from actions that would result in unethical use of public funds or damage to PCC materials, equipment or property, or cause substantial harm to the College in any way.
  • Each employee will abide by the lawful rules and regulations of the College and authorities, including the College Board, the President, Executive Officers, Deans, Directors and other College supervisory personnel.
  • Employees are expected to abide by all State and Federal laws and regulations and not to perform acts that, if prosecuted, would substantially interfere with the performance of the College, would cause a loss of confidence by the citizens of the district or be disruptive to the College in any way.

Progressive Discipline

Supervisors are encouraged to identify and discuss performance problems early and to use the following Performance Management procedures. Measures listed in this section will generally be applied in progressive order but correlated with the severity of the problem. Whether an employee is given a warning and an opportunity to correct their behavior depends upon the severity of the problem.

When circumstances warrant, an employee may be placed on administrative leave in order to conduct an investigation. Such investigations will be conducted in a timely manner.

Employee Consultation

When the supervisor detects the need to meet with an employee regarding performance issues, the supervisor will arrange to meet with the employee informally to discuss the problem(s). The focus of this meeting is to arrive at a clear understanding of expectations and a plan for achieving them.

Written Warning

A written warning will be clearly labeled as such and will include the issues, performance expectations, prior assistance provided by the supervisor and/or others toward aiding the employee to achieve performance expectations, any further corrective actions to be taken, a time period in which improvement should occur and probable consequences should performance not improve. The written warning shall be signed by the supervisor and the employee; a copy given to the employee and a copy retained by the supervisor. In addition a copy shall be placed in the employees official employee file.

The employee may file a grievance as a result of the written warning within 30 days of the date on the document. (See Section 16, Grievance Procedure.)

Disciplinary Probation

If performance does not improve within the time specified in the written warning, the employee will be placed on Disciplinary Probation. The supervisor will provide a written document clearly labeled as “Notice of Disciplinary Probation”. This document will include the issues, a summary of previous actions taken to date, performance expectations, a time period in which improvement should occur and a statement that failure to successfully meet performance expectations will result in termination. The employee will also be advised that their total performance will be monitored and evaluated during the period of probation; the failure to make immediate and sustained improvement may result in the employee’s involuntary termination. Furthermore, if the employee is successful at meeting the terms of the probation but fails to sustain improved performance after the probation ends, they may be dismissed without further warning or probation. The Notice of Disciplinary Probation shall be signed by the supervisor and the employee; a copy given to the employee and a copy retained by the supervisor. In addition a copy shall be placed in the employee’s official employee file.

The employee may file a grievance as a result of the Notice of Disciplinary Probation within 30 days from the date on the document. (See Section 16.)

Dismissal

Notwithstanding any of the above, the Executive Officer or designee must meet with the employee, inform the employee of the intended action and possible mitigating circumstances before a Notice of Dismissal is issued. The notice must be signed by the President and must indicate the reason(s) for the dismissal and the effective date.

The Notice of Dismissal cannot be grieved.

When the supervisor, in consultation with Human Resources, determines that the employee has engaged in conduct that is unlawful, or is in violation of PCC rules and regulations or that poses a serious safety or health risk to the employee or others, the employee may be terminated immediately without the use of the preceding progressive discipline process.