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Welcome to ACE Performance
Developing people to their highest potential is a basic leadership responsibility. ACE Performance helps supervisors and employees achieve optimal performance and development through collaborative discussions on job clarity, university core values, goals, initiatives, and contributions to the Department’s mission/success. In other words, it helps us “ACE” performance at Auburn.
ACE Performance was developed for us, by us so it has Auburn’s culture and values written all over it.
A&P and Staff employees will participate in the ACE annual performance process.
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What is ACE?
ACE Performance is a development process that helps employees and supervisors work together to achieve personal, departmental, and organizational goals. The following steps can all be completed on the ACE Performance Document available for download from the Additional Resources section below:
The first step in ACE Performance is Align, which allows supervisors to provide job clarity. This process should occur at the beginning of the performance year, June. This also can coincide with your end of year evaluation conversation with your supervisor. Job functions should be reviewed by supervisors with their employees along with other duties assigned, tasks, goals, initiatives and contributions to the department's mission and success. This process allows supervisors and employees to work together to achieve goals for the upcoming year.
Collaborate is the longest phase of ACE Performance. During Collaborate, supervisors and employees should meet regularly and talk throughout the year. They should engage in regular one-on-one discussions to adjust priorities, celebrate achievements, provide constructive feedback, and identify development opportunities. This can be documented in various ways depending on what works best for you and your supervisor. The collaborate phase should set each other up for success during the evaluation process.
Our goal is for everyone to look forward to the Evaluate phase of ACE Performance. This should also be the easiest phase because we have been communicating throughout the performance year. This phase is when supervisors complete the performance evaluation form, intentionally reviewing each employee's performance with a rating. This phase will also include a one-on-one meeting to discuss the previous year and begin the alignment stage for the upcoming year.
Auburn Core Values and Leadership Principles
Auburn University supervisors and employees are expected to adhere to Auburn University's Code of Conduct and Ethics. When working through the stages of ACE Performance, ensure that the following are taken into account.
The Auburn Creed describes the Auburn Spirit and qualities that make Auburn University (AU) unique. Our core values, derived from the Creed and identified in the Code of Conduct and Ethics, are:
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Integrity: We will pursue our work with honesty, professionalism, and ethics that foster trust and accountability.
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Respect: We will honor the rights and dignity of others and work each day to create an environment where people are welcomed, valued, respected, and engaged.
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Commitment to Excellence: We will pursue our work with distinction, diligence, and an unwavering commitment to advancing Auburn’s mission.
Auburn University supervisors are expected to follow university policies and exemplify the leadership principles of Empower, Enable, Encourage, and Develop in their interactions with direct reports.
We encourage Auburn supervisors to enroll in Aspire Auburn's Leading People program. Leading People is designed for leaders serving as a supervisor of one or more team members. Over six weeks, supervisors will gain essential skills for empowering, enabling, encouraging, and developing others while focusing on the core values of Excellence, Integrity, and Respect.
2025-2026 Performance Year
Embracing Continuous Improvement
We are committed to a culture of excellence and continuous improvement. As we move into the 2025-2026 performance year, we are excited to introduce some updates to our performance development process that reflects your feedback.
What to Expect This Year
We have made some small but impactful updates to our performance development forms based on your feedback from the 2024-2025 performance year. Here are the key changes:
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Two Forms: There will be two forms for employees - one for an employee who supervises and one for an employee who does not supervise.
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Optional Weighting: We will continue to offer optional weighting to provide flexibility in how performance is evaluated, allowing for a more personalized and fair assessment. The weighting worksheet can be copied and pasted into the ACE Document eliminating the need to submit two separate forms.
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Increased emphasis on AU Core Values and Leadership Principles. Learn more below:
Upholding Our Core Values
Our core values of Integrity, Respect, and Commitment to Excellence are the foundation of everything we do. For the 2025-2026 performance year, these values will be integrated into each job responsibility. This means that when evaluating performance, we will consider how well employees demonstrate these values in both their primary responsibilities (section 1) and other duties assigned (section 2).
This integration ensures that our values are not just words on paper but are actively reflected in our daily actions and decisions.
Empowering Leadership
In addition to our core values, we are placing a renewed focus on our leadership principles. The top priority for supervisors will be to model the principles of Empower, Enable, Encourage, and Develop in their interactions with their direct reports. This expectation will be clearly outlined as the first job responsibility on the Supervisor Performance Form.
By emphasizing these principles, we aim to create a supportive and empowering environment where everyone is valued, respected, and engaged.
Additional Resources
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ACE Performance Document for Employees - Use this document if your employee is not a supervisor.
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ACE Performance Document for Supervisors - Use the document if your employee supervises others.
Your division HRL will reach out with additional information during the evaluation phase. For questions, email hrddept@auburn.edu.
FAQs
In the Word document select Review>Spelling and Grammar. When you receive the Proofing Exceptions prompt ("Do you want to turn them off?"), select "Yes".
This decision is encouraged to be made at the SVP and Dean level but if made at the Supervisor level, all direct reports weighting vs. non-weighting must be consistent.
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The Align phase begins June 1, 2025, and supervisors can add responsibilities in Section 2 Job Clarity.
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Phase 2, Collaborate, is where most of the time is spent between July and April. Supervisors review goals and development opportunities and employees can add accomplishments. Time should also be spent on discussing the Auburn Core Values and Leadership Principles.
If an employee’s position description needs to be modified, work with your supervisor and HR Liaison. Your HR Liaison will submit the information/changes into JDXpert on your behalf.
