90 Day Review
Operations Coordinator
10/2/2014
Employee / Position / Hire Date
Candice Grimm
Operations Coordinator (new position)
Hire date: June 9th 2014
Overview of the Review Process:
The process used in this review was as follows:
1) Hiring Process:
The hiring process itself had begun to explore the highest potential of the position of Operations
Coordinator. Conversations with candidates were frank and open about the fact that they would
be simultaneously creating / defining this new position while doing the work.
2) Establishing Expectations
Within her first few weeks, Candice joined Creating the Future’s Core Operations Team. The
team spent several meetings asking / answering:
• What will it take to cultivate the highest potential for staff members?
• What conditions need to be put in place for success?
Those discussions led to actions / conditions to be evaluated within Candice’s first 90 days.
3) Mutual Responsibility
Guided by our core values and rooted in The Pollyanna Principles, those discussions made clear
that we were all mutually responsible for the success of this position, and for Candice’s success
within it. What that meant in practice is that we would assume we are all mutually responsible for
setting expectations, supporting each other’s efforts to achieve results, and then evaluating the
extent to which results were achieved. The ongoing question would be about ensuring conditions
for success - for bringing out the best in the position and the individual within that position.
4) Ongoing Review of Expectations
Within the first 90 days of her employment, those expectations were reviewed several times, to
determine whether they were realistic. Several projects on the initial list were postponed, to
ensure conditions for success (vs. biting off more than any human could successfully
accomplish).
5) 90 Day Review
The review itself aimed at the question: “How did we all do in accomplishing that plan” vs. a
review of an individual’s achievements (or lack thereof, as is often the case).
The questions asked during the review therefore included:
• Were our mutual expectations met? Were they reasonable?
• What have we learned about the position to help us clarify its highest potential?
• What conditions will ensure that the position itself is poised to reach for that potential?
• What conditions will ensure that Candice, as the person in that position, can reach for
that potential (as well as future individuals in that position)?
• What actions will we all take in the next 90 days, to ensure those conditions-for-success
are being met?
Expectations: The First 90 Days
Candice proposed the following as her expectations for her first 90 days in this new position.
1) Within 90 days, be 100% comfortable with (or require little to no supervision)
1. Day to day office tasks
2. Meeting Minutes & Blog Posts
3. Social Media
4. Newsletter Production
2) Projects to complete by September 2014
1. Consolidate Google calendars
3) On-going projects
1. Creating checklists of all operational processes at Creating the Future
2. Assemble a Recurring Events Calendar for Creating the Future
From the organizational side, two issues remained to be clarified:
1) Employee benefits (health insurance)
2) Paid time off / accumulated sick time
Because Candice will be covered by her family’s health insurance for another year, she prioritized the
issue of “paid time off.” That issue was resolved via board discussion at its September 2014 meeting.
(See link here for results of that discussion.)
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Review of the First 90 Days: Results and Next Steps
Participating in the Discussion: Candice, Hildy, Dimitri
There were two parts to this review conversation:
1) Accomplishments: Looking at the shared expectations for Candice’s first 90 days of inventing
this position, were those expectations achieved? If not, what conditions led to that?
2) What’s Next: What will we mutually expect to accomplish in the next 90 days - both for the
evolution of the position itself, and for Candice’s actions and expectations within that position?
Grounding in the Highest Potential Outcome
The conversation began by reconnecting again to the high potential for the position. This was
important because it is a new position, that is evolving as the work is being done, and the goal of this
(and any) review is that both the position AND the person in the position be aimed at what both make
possible.
The following is how we defined the highest potential outcome for this position AND for the person
within that position:
To build and maintain mindful, reflective, compassionate and pragmatic systems that create
consistency for all operations at Creating the Future, reflecting our values, so that the
organization can seamlessly accomplish its mission.
That high potential became the context for ALL the discussions related to evaluating success.
Accomplishments
The following is our mutual review of the first 90 days of this position and of Candice’s place within
that position.
Expectation
Within 90 days, be 100%
comfortable with (or require
little to no supervision)
1. Day to day office tasks
2. Meeting Minutes & Blog
Posts
3. Social Media
4. Newsletter Production
Accomplished?
Yes/No
1.
2.
3.
4.
YES
NO
YES
YES
Complete by Sept. 2014
Consolidate Google calendars
COMPLETED
On-going projects
1. Checklists of all operational
processes
2. Assemble a Recurring
Events Calendar
1. In process, with
all staff working to
fine-tune checklists
2. COMPLETED
Comments
Comfort level with meeting minutes and blog
posts was dependent on working closely with
Hildy, who was on sabbatical for much of
Candice’s first 90 days.
Discussion of the evolution of the position led to
this item being removed from the direct tasks of
the Operations Coordinator - and the
development of a new position specifically for
this function.
The review discussion made clear that the
checklists for all levels of operations was so
critical to reaching the position’s AND the
organization’s highest potential, that it became
a key strategic priority for 2015.
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What’s Next?
Combining what we have learned about the potential of this position over the past few months, we
can now be more accurate in assessing the conditions that would lead to that success.
What needs to be in place from this point forward, for that high potential success to be
achieved? What will it take - for both the position itself, and for the person who is
currently in that position - Candice?
Pre-conditions for success for the position:
• Organization is “Bus Proof” - reliant on systems vs. individuals
• The high potential is always in mind - asking “Operations in service to what?” for every task - to
ensure it is not means for means sake
• List of all current systems, to begin bus-proofing each of them (and ensure nothing falls through
the cracks)
Pre-conditions for success for the person in the position (Candice now; in the future,
whomever):
• Confident and comfortable to jump into situations and take action
• Comfortable with both virtual and real life relationships
• Working WITH Hildy and Dimitri vs FOR Hildy and Dimitri
• Hiring a virtual (or onsite) assistant
• Getting a phone system that can forward calls directly to all members of the Operations Team
The last two items were added to free Candice from her dual role as “Operations Coordinator” and de
facto assistant / receptionist (simply because there is no one else to do that job). This will free her up
to step fully into the role of Operations Coordinator - AND, having been in the position of assistant will give her the experience to hire a replacement for that part of her position (part of the bus-proofing
and creating of systems!).
Pre-conditions for success for BOTH the position AND for the person in the position:
• Time to know each other as people
• Time to celebrate
• Time to reflect
• Self-care
Projects to be completed by 12/31/14
1. Contract with / hire a Virtual Assistant
2. Establish a working phone system in and outside of the office
3. Finish the convening space (needed for upcoming onsite classes in 2015)
4. Continue all ongoing projects from the first 90 days - checklists for every process
At the end of year, we will review progress on those projects, as well as progress on the preconditions for success for both the position and for Candice as the person in that position.
To be completed by 6/30/15
Health insurance as a workplace policy overall will be discussed in coming months, with a policy in
place by June 30, 2015.
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