What will this new interview cycle do for me? And four other questions about GROW
The announcement was made shortly before the summer break: from 1 September the annual Performance & Development (P&D) interview will have a new format and also a new name. The P&D interview will be changing to GROW (Gesprekken over Resultaat, Ontwikkeling en Welzijn): Conversations on Performance, Development and Well-being.
1. What will this new interview cycle do for me?
In short, you will have: regular interviews and conversations with your manager, joint responsibility, a focus on your well-being, and more recognition and rewards for collaboration and your contribution to the team. The current P&D interviews often take place only once or twice a year. GROW is based on multiple interviews and conversations throughout the year; in addition to the start interview and annual interview, you can also have interim interviews. This will encourage you to engage in active and ongoing reflection on your performance, development and well-being – and allow you to work on your goals in a more targeted way, or to adjust them where necessary. This contributes not only to your personal growth but also to creating more committed and motivated teams, and ultimately to the success of your organisational unit.
You will be able to talk about how you feel about your work, whether you’re experiencing work pressure, what you need for a good work-life balance
2. Isn’t this just the same interview but with a new name?
Our aim with GROW is to make the interview different and more open. When you speak about your performance and the content of your work, you will not only be looking back but also ahead, and you will reflect on the goals of your team, how you contribute to these goals and how you collaborate with others. When the focus is on development, you will discuss where your talents lie, what your development needs are and what steps you’d like to take in your career. And when the topic is well-being, you will be able to talk about how things are going for you, how you feel about your work, whether you’re experiencing work pressure, what you need for a good work-life balance and how you and your colleagues are getting along.
3. What will be expected of me now?
You and your manager will be jointly responsible for scheduling and preparing the GROW interviews. And with GROW, we’re also introducing 360-degree feedback, which means that before your GROW interview – if you wish – you can ask your colleagues for feedback on how they feel about working with you. You will also still be responsible for your part of the report and for achieving your agreed goals. You will continue to actively reflect on what you have to do in the areas of performance, development and well-being.
To prepare for the GROW interviews, you can use the GROW toolkit. This includes the GROW development menu with a wide range of training courses, GROW microlearnings and tools from the updated Let’s Connect! toolkit to help with participating in discussions. The Growth in Conversation workshop will enable you to develop your discussion skills using the GROW principles. The workshops for this year are already fully booked, but there are still plenty of places available in 2025.
Writing GROW reports is simpler and faster, with a shorter, clearer online form
4. From now on, everything will be recorded in the new GROW tile in the Service Portal. What can I expect from this application?
You will use the new GROW tile for preparing a GROW interview and completing the report. And when agreements are changed (arising from interim interviews), you will be able to record the changes in a supplementary report. Writing reports is now simpler and faster, with a shorter, clearer online form. Your manager is only required to give a descriptive assessment of your performance, instead of an assessment of different competences using scores. It is also no longer necessary for a second assessor (i.e. your manager’s manager) to digitally co-sign the report.
The GROW tile is now available in the Service Portal. You can watch the instruction video to see how easy it is to use! The ‘GROW report’ knowledge items give written instructions for producing the reports of the various GROW interviews. If you have any problems with using the GROW tile, please contact the PSSC Service Point.
5. GROW will be launched on 1 September. When is the last date for working with the ‘old’ P&D interview reports?
New P&D interview reports can still be created via Self Service until 1 October 2024. All existing P&D interview reports must be completed on or before 31 December 2024 in Self Service. After that date, you will be able to find all the completed P&D interview reports in the GROW tile. From 1 January 2025 the ‘P&D interview’ tab will no longer be available in Self Service.
Executive Board Vice-Chairman Martijn Ridderbos speaks about GROW
‘Our aim in introducing GROW is not only to improve the performance of our teams, but also to foster a culture of both more open communication and more focus on the development and well-being of everyone who works here. By placing greater emphasis on team goals, personal development and well-being, we’re helping to create an environment where everyone feels recognised and rewarded. GROW makes it possible for us to remain in ongoing conversation with one another about opportunities and challenges; and also to discuss any concerns you may have about personal issues, or about what’s happening within or outside the university.’
Like to know more?
You can find more information, the GROW toolkit and a Q&A with all the questions and answers about GROW on the staff website.
If you have any questions about GROW itself, please contact your manager. If you have questions about the system, please contact the PSSC Service Point. Managers are welcome to ask their HR adviser if they have substantive questions about GROW.