Every staff member deserves the opportunity to have their contribution recognised, receive meaningful feedback and participate in a conversation about their development and future priorities.
As a supervisor, you play a key role in supporting your staff members through the Progress Planning process. A range of resources are available to help you to prepare for and lead a constructive Progress Plan conversation with your team members.
Progress Planning – A Manager's Guide
Refer to the Manager's Guide for a comprehensive overview of the Progress Planning process, including practical guidance, tips, and advice on how to effectively support your team.
Training
View training opportunities and register for supervisor-focused sessions designed to build your confidence and capability in leading Progress Planning conversations.
More information
For additional guidance, refer to the Progress Planning FAQs and the Supervisor FAQs below.
Supervisors are responsible for initiating the Progress Planning process and arranging time for the conversation.
Staff members are responsible for preparing for the discussion, reflecting on their achievements, priorities, development and career direction, and completing the relevant Progress Plan requirements.
Progress Planning is a shared process, but supervisors should not wait for staff members to initiate the annual conversation.
All staff are encouraged to participate in Progress Planning.
As a supervisor, check whether each staff member you supervise has already had a meaningful and documented Progress Plan conversation during 2026. If they have not, arrange a conversation with them and ensure their Progress Plan is completed and recorded by the required deadline.
The current policy applies to continuing staff and staff employed on a fixed-term contract of more than six months. Staff outside these categories may still participate in Progress Planning where this is useful and appropriate.
They do not need to complete another Progress Plan simply because of the 2026–27 process.
Check whether the earlier Progress Plan has been documented or formally submitted. If it has, no further submission is required unless circumstances have changed significantly, and another conversation would be useful.
If the staff member completed a Progress Plan using another document or template but it has not been formally recorded, they can submit that existing document using the relevant Academic or Professional Staff Progress Planning process rather than completing a new plan. The Academic Staff Progress Planning Tool explicitly allows staff to upload an existing Progress Plan document.
Preparation should be simple and proportionate.
Before meeting, refresh your understanding of the staff member’s role, existing goals or priorities, relevant team and university priorities, and any significant changes that have occurred during the year. Consider some balanced examples of achievements, contribution, development and areas where further support or clarity may be useful.
Preparation is not about deciding your assessment in advance or gathering large amounts of evidence. Arrive informed, curious and ready to hear the staff member’s perspective.
As a general guide, allow 45–60 minutes for a Progress Plan conversation.
A longer conversation may be appropriate where the staff member’s role or priorities are complex, there have been significant changes during the year, the staff member is on probation, substantial development or career matters need to be discussed, or performance support is required.
Avoid trying to fit the conversation into the end of a routine operational meeting.
The conversation should broadly cover:
The aim is a genuine two-way development conversation, rather than a manager-led assessment or an exercise focused primarily on completing a form.
An incomplete or changed goal does not automatically indicate poor performance.
Explore what happened and consider the context. Priorities may have changed, work may have depended on decisions or resources outside the staff member’s control, or the goal may no longer have been relevant.
Use the conversation to establish what was achieved, what was learned, whether the goal should continue or change, and what should happen next.
Yes. Constructive feedback and discussion about areas requiring improvement are an appropriate part of Progress Planning.
However, a significant performance concern should not be raised for the first time during the annual Progress Plan conversation if it can be reasonably addressed earlier.
Where concerns are serious, complex or may require a formal process, distinguish that process clearly from the Progress Plan discussion and seek appropriate People and Capability advice where required.
You do not need to reach identical views on every point.
Listen to the staff member’s perspective, clarify the evidence or context underlying each view, and distinguish factual errors from genuine differences in perspective. Where perspectives remain different, ensure the written record is fair and that expectations, agreed actions and next steps are clear.
Do not delay finalising the Progress Plan simply to achieve identical wording on every issue.
Progress Planning should create space to discuss development needs, career aspirations and opportunities that may help the staff member grow.
Be clear about what support you can reasonably provide and what may depend on future approval, funding, workload, availability or organisational priorities.
Where an opportunity cannot be confirmed during the conversation, record the next step or what needs to be explored rather than presenting it as an agreed commitment.
Yes. The purpose and core principles of Progress Planning are consistent, but the recording and submission processes differ.
Professional staff are asked to prepare for and have a Progress Plan conversation with their supervisor. They will then finalise their responses and share them with their supervisor for review, before submitting their plan using the Professional Staff Progress Plan form.
Academic staff use the Academic Staff Progress Planning Tool. They can complete the guided tool or upload an existing Progress Plan document. Academic staff may submit a draft for supervisor review before the conversation and then submit a final plan. The supervisor approves the final plan or returns it for revision or further discussion. Once approved, it is saved centrally and copies are provided to the staff member and supervisor.
Staff on probation should still participate in Progress Planning.
The Progress Plan can be used to discuss progress towards probation criteria, achievements, priorities, development, and support needs. You may also need to allow additional time for the conversation where probation matters require more detailed discussion.
However, Progress Planning does not replace the formal probation process. Any separate probation review, documentation or decision requirements continue to apply.
If you have any questions or require specific advice about the Progress Planning process for your team, please contact [email protected].
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