County offices must be sufficiently staffed at all times during regular office hours.

The use of a flexible schedule and/or flexing working hours during a particular workweek must be approved in advance by the respective department head.

Like the normal work schedule, all work performed before or after regular office hours must be productive and beneficial to the mission of the department.

Flexible or modified work schedules may be approved by department heads, if:

Flexible working hours may be approved or enforced by a department head or his/her designee, if:

Flexible hours may not be used to offset full-day deductions from sick leave accruals.

Flexible schedules are subject at all times to revocation or alteration by the department head to meet staffing needs, to achieve performance initiatives, or failure by the participating employee to accrue necessary hours for flexing.

Format. Supervisors shall use a standard performance appraisal form issued by the Personnel Office. Annual training shall be provided by the Personnel Office for employees and supervisors on performance evaluation process and forms.

Probationary employees. Employees on introductory (probationary) employment status shall be evaluated at least at the midpoint of such status and two weeks prior to the end of the introductory employment period, at which time the employee shall be advised of his/her status (regular or terminated).

All personnel shall be evaluated at least once a year. All employees are evaluated on an annual basis prior to the new fiscal year with a due date determined by the Personnel Director. Department heads may choose to evaluate employees more often. Those employees receiving an "Effective" evaluation shall be eligible for an annual step increase, unless the employee is at the top of the range.

Procedures. Employees who regularly supervise one or more full-time employees are evaluated using a supervisory personnel form. All other employees are evaluated using the form designated for their type of work. Employees are encouraged to do a self-evaluation, in order to facilitate the open discussion process. Once the supervisor and the employee have completed the evaluation form, both parties shall meet to discuss the contents, discuss training needs, and establish performance goals for the upcoming year, and the supervisor's performance rating of the employee. In order to achieve an "Effective" (3.00) or higher on the performance evaluation, all goals must have been substantially met. A score of "Highly Effective" (4.00) or "Exceptional" (5.00) would only be granted to the degree performance exceeded documented expectations and timelines.

Performance improvement plan. Employees receiving a performance evaluation score less than "Effective" (3.00) overall will receive a performance improvement plan developed by the supervisor and reviewed with the employee. The supervisor shall establish specific tasks or behaviors required to improve performance with specified dates of accomplishment. Employees failing to meet the deadlines and receiving a subsequent less than effective evaluation may be terminated. If performance has improved and the employee achieves an "Effective" score, he/she shall receive a nonretroactive step increase.

Adjustments to ratings. An employee is required to sign the performance evaluation form as an acknowledgement that it was completed and that he/she is aware of its contents. The supervisor likewise signs the form. Completed evaluations and recommended adjustments are subject to review and approval by the department head, where applicable, and then the Personnel Director, whose determination shall be final. The department head and/or Personnel Director may change the recommended adjustment or return it for reconsideration due to budget considerations, evidence of rating error, bias, or other relevant factors. The employee and supervisor should make a copy of the evaluation for use in future evaluations. The original shall be kept in the employee's confidential personnel file.

Department heads. The performance of department heads appointed by the Levy Court shall be annually evaluated by the County Administrator using a format of his/her choosing. After discussing the evaluation with the individual department heads, the completed evaluations shall be reviewed with the Commissioners, and any desired revisions made thereto. An annual evaluation of the County Administrator's performance shall be conducted by the individual Levy Court Commissioners using a form or format approved by them, and the contents thereof reviewed in confidence with the President.

Appeals of ratings. Ratings may not be appealed or grieved, but employees may attach written comments to the evaluation form identifying those areas of dispute and providing supporting statements.

Employees with less than one year of service. Employees who will have more than three months but fewer than nine months of service by July 1 shall be evaluated and are eligible for a half-step (1%) pay increase. Employees with more than nine months of service shall be evaluated and eligible to receive the full step increase. Employees employed three months or less need not be evaluated and shall receive no step increase for the upcoming fiscal year.

The Personnel Director shall develop appropriate forms and any additional procedures necessary to effect the administration of this Policy.

Excellence. County employees shall strive to go beyond the minimum required to provide the highest quality of customer service that regularly exceeds customer expectations. To monitor our progress, the County will actively seek feedback from our customers and will use this feedback as an aid in assessing our strengths and weaknesses, and for seeking continual improvement. Feedback will be solicited in a number of ways, including but not limited to direct contact, customer comment cards, written correspondence, and website customer satisfaction postings.

Accessibility. County employees shall be reasonably accessible for consultation and meetings with customers. Departments with regular public interaction shall have the front counter staffed at all times during normal business hours. Inquiries and requests for meetings with technical staff, division managers and department heads shall be arranged promptly and at the most immediate and mutually convenient time possible. It is expected that division managers and department heads shall make themselves available for consultation as soon as possible and in deference to the customer's preference.

Clarity and responsiveness. It shall be the responsibility of each employee to operate within the limits of his/her County job description and area of responsibility to provide clear, concise, and courteous responses to inquiries for assistance and/or requests for information. When inquiries are received that would best be responded to by another County employee or County department, the employee receiving the inquiry shall bear the responsibility of assuring that every effort has been taken to confirm that a person-to-person relay of the inquiry has been made.

Timeliness. All requests for assistance and/or information shall be processed and responded to promptly, with most routine inquiries being satisfied immediately or within 24 hours. Requests for information pursuant to Delaware Code Title 29, Chapter 100 (Freedom of Information Act), shall be processed in accordance with County Policy P08-05.[1]

Commitment. It is the expressed policy of Kent County Levy Court that every County employee shall engage each customer with respect, service and assistance in a manner equal to or exceeding what the employee would expect if he/she were the customer.

County employees shall strive to maintain compliance with the provisions of this Policy at all times in their official capacities as County employees. Lapses in compliance with this Policy shall be considered deficiencies in performance and may be subject to disciplinary action as prescribed in Chapter 68, § 68-4, of the Kent County Code.