YOURPEPOBSERVER SelectyourPEPobserverscarefully.Theyshouldbecredibleobservers;thatis,folksthatarefamiliar withsomeaspectofyourworkthroughregularprofessionalorbusinessinteraction.Theyshouldalso besomeonewhoyoubelievewillbecapableofprovidinghonestand(toarealisticdegree)unbiased feedbackregardingyourhabitsandperformance.Ideally,inmyopinion,theyshouldbesomeonewho dependsonyou,insomeway,andforwhomyouconsistentlydeliver. ThiscouldbeamanagerotherthanyourPEPsupervisor,ajuniorstafferforwhomyouhavethe responsibilityofmentoring,oracolleaguewithwhomyoushareprojectdeliveryresponsibilities. Whoeveritis,youwantthispersontobeasatisfiedclient,ofonesortoranother,inwhosemindyou simplycandonowrong;basedonhowwellyouvetakencareoftheirneeds,throughouttheyear. YOURPEPOBSERVERSOPINIONS Fromtheperspectiveofthosewhoobserveyou(i.e.reportbackonyourperformance,atPEPtime),PEP is(supposedtobe)allaboutGOALS.ConsiderarecentevaluationfromaPEPobserverofanemployee namedDarin,forinstance G(rowth)Darinsgoalsseemedconsistentwithhisprofessionaldevelopmentneeds.

needs. O(utcome)WhileIcannotclaimtobeknowledgeableregardingDarin'ssuccessinsomegoal areas,Icanstatefirsthandthat(onthoseprojectsforwhichIvebeentaskedtoworkwithhim) hisprojectdeliveryskillshavebeengood.Darinhasworkeddiligentlytomeetinternalproject deliverydeadlineswithintheconstraintsoftheprovided(andsometimesunrealistic)design schedule,andoftenwithonlyamodicumofrequiredcooperationandinformationfrom subcontractors.Hecommunicatesclearly,andworkshardtoachievesuccess. A(ccountability)Darintakesresponsibilityforperforminghisassignedworkonthoseprojects forwhichheistasked.Darinappearstohaveaverysolidbasicknowledgeofconstruction methodologiesandtechniques,andagenerallygoodunderstandingofhowbuilding constructionprojectsshouldcometogether. L(inked)Darinsgoalsappeartoalignsuitablywiththeoverallstrategicmarketingvaluesof ourlocalgroup,andthebusinessgroupasawhole. S(trive)SofarasIcantellbyhisactions,Darinisworkinghardtosucceedatthegoalshehas establishedforthiscalendaryear.IwouldcharacterizeDarinspresentlevelofeffort,inasmuch asIamfamiliarwithit,asverygood. YOUGOALS Thereisadelicatedancebetweenestablishingmeasurablegoalsforyourself,andnothamstringing yourselfwithalaundrylistoftodosbeforethenextPEPcycle.Yourgoalsshouldbeachievable,andin proportionwiththetimeyouhaveavailabletodemonstratepositive,measurableperformance. Remember:ifyoucommittoit,youhavetoshowprogress.Otherwise,youhaveastringofunachieved goalshangingoutthere;whichisworsethannothavingstatedthem,inthefirstplace. Youshouldincludethebasics,forsure...likeHSSE,forinstance:

InadditiontopracticinggoodHSSEhabits,for2012itwillbemygoaltorecognizeand mitigateidentifiable,potentiallyhazardoussituationsbyusingstrategiesprovidedbyCH2M HILL,andtoremaincurrentonallofmyHSSEtraining.

Itsclear,concise,andmostimportantlyitsmeasurable.IfyougoonlineandmakesureallofyourHSSE trainingisuptodate,throughouttheyear,youhavesomethingtoringyourownbellabout,comePEP time. Anothergoodone,dependingonyourlevelintheindustry,mightbe: In2012Iwillsupportthedevelopmentandimplementationofimprovementstomy departmentsstructuraldesignanddetailingstandards. Thiscouldjustaswellhavebeenoperationalstandards,orqualitycontrolprocesses.Thepoint being,again,itsclear,conciseandmeasurable.Ifyoumakedocumentable(i.e.email,written,etc.) observationstoyoursupervisor,orothersinpositionsofresponsibilityexceedingyourown,fromtime totimeregardingimprovementsthatcouldbemadetoagivenprocessorprocedure,orpropose somethingtofillanobviousbutasyetunaddressedneedforthedepartment,youhavejustfulfilledthe spiritofthisgoal.Ifyourmanagementdeterminesthatyourideameritsfurtheraction,andyouwork withthemtothatend,thenyouvejustexecutedthefullpotentialofthisachievementforthisgoal. Eitherway,youhavesomethingtoringyourownbellabout,comePEPtime. Communityserviceisanotherareawheremeasurablegoalscanbefound.Consider,forinstance: Iwillworktopromoteourindustryandthecompanythroughpositiveinteractionwiththe communityinwhichwework. Now,thisdoesntmeanyouneedtogobuyairtimeinthelocaltelevisionorradiomarket;ortakeouta fullpagecoloradinthedailynews.Butitcouldmean,forinstance,supportinglocaleducationevents, inourcommunity,fromgradeschoolleveltohighschoollevel;thingslikevisitingclassestotalkabout whatCH2MHILLdoesandwhyitsimportantforpeopletogointoengineering,forinstance,orhelping proctorMathCounts,judgingtoothpickbridgecompetitions,andsoforth.Nextthingyouknow,yourea communityadvocateofourindustryandourbusiness,whichisverymuchsomethingtoringyourown bellabout,comePEPtime. And,ofcourse,youmayhavesomebonafidedevelopmentneedsofyourowninmind,aswell.Consider, forinstance: Itwillbemygoaltoimprovebothmywrittenandmyinterpersonalcommunicationhabits in2012. Howmightyoumakethisameasurablegoal,youmightask?Theanswerliesinestablishingagoalin whichyouhavearealinterest,inthefirstplace.Forinstance,ifyouhadarealinterestinimproving yourwrittencommunicationhabits,thenyoumightalsobeconsideringsomecourseworkonthematter. Youmightbeconsideringtakingsomeonlineorcorrespondencestudy,toimproveyourjobrelated writtenwork;orevenattendingsomeseminar,oraclassatthelocalcommunitycollege.Suchactivity wouldcertainlydemonstratemeasurablesuccess,andgiveyousomethingtoringyourownbellabout, comePEPtime. RINGINGYOUROWNBELL(yougotit)COMEPEPTIME

 Generallyselfexplanatory,butIwilladdthisasidefromyourPEPObservers,rememberthatyouand youaloneareresponsibleforremindingyouremployeraboutallofthepositive(andwelldocumented) thingsyouhavedone,intheverybestinterestofthecompany,throughoutthecourseofthepreceding year;thatyouareaheckofaperson,andjustageneralassettotheorganization,overall.Andgeez, wouldntyouwanttogiveapersonlikeTHATaraiseandapromotion,whileyoureatit? Seriouslyringyourownbell. Goodluck. PBW