25 June 2024

From 1 September 2024, across all faculties

On 18 June, Leiden University officially launched the new annual interview, which is known as GROW. GROW stands for ‘Gesprekken over Resultaat, Ontwikkeling en Welzijn’ – a conversation about performance, development and well-being – and it replaces the old P&D interview. Since the end of 2022, Leiden Law School has run a pilot using the new annual interview. From 1 September 2024 onwards, the whole university will start working with this new annual interview system. Although our faculty is already familiar with the new-style interview, there will still be a few changes for us to note from 1 September 2024.

An improved system in the Service Portal
A new system with its own tile in the Service Portal will be used to register and arrange GROW interviews. From 1 September 2024, Self Service will no longer be used for staff assessment interviews. Agreements reached between an employee and their supervisor during a GROW interview will be entered directly into the Service Portal. You will no longer have to fill in and upload attachments.

Employees can initiate the interview process
Employees can initiate the interview process and create a report in the Service Portal. Once the meeting has taken place and the employee and supervisor have entered information in the report and approved it, the report is then saved. The assessment authority will no longer be required to approve the report.

Interim interview
If changes occur in the course of the year that affect the agreements made, these changes can also be added in the Service Portal by holding an ‘interim interview’. At the next meeting, the supervisor and employee will then have a full overview of the agreements made and any adjustments.

Final rating to be scrapped
During the pilot at Leiden Law School, we worked with two different ratings: ‘meets the requirements’ and ‘requires improvement’. As of 1 September 2024, this final rating will be scrapped and the supervisor will merely provide a written assessment.

New tools and improved forms
All forms and tools have been adjusted for the new system and other improvements have been made. New tools are now available, including a 360 feedback tool. All other relevant information is also provided in the Service Portal, such as the Let’s Connect! toolkit, feedback rules and leadership cards. As a result, all of the information is available in one place.

More training courses and development opportunities
Opportunities for employee development have been aligned with the new GROW system, including the existing ‘A good conversation’ training course for supervisors. A free course for staff offering tips for holding effective interviews will also become available in the autumn.

We will provide more information on this new system over the coming months. If you have any questions in the meantime, please contact your HR advisor.