Inside the Black Box - Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

Evaluate Staff Performance
Organizations in the study regularly measure the performance of their staff, including their class
instructors and case managers. Methods to measure staff performance include examining participant
performance in class and the various components of one’s program, and class evaluations. However, one
interviewee noted that it is difficult for her to assess the effectiveness of trainers based on class
performance and graduation rates alone, as there can be a large variation in the behavior of the
participants. For example, if one participant is disruptive, it can interfere with the performance of the
entire class.
I assess the effectiveness of trainers, [while recognizing that] it’s totally unpredictable and it depends
on the class.
Staff evaluations are common in order to maintain the high levels of staff performance that administrators
and participants alike expect, as well as make improvements more effectively and quickly. A few
organizations in the study utilize student surveys of the program and/or staff upon completion.
One of the last things that we did last year was where students were surveyed for how they felt about
staff. And then we got the results of that survey and got to see where they felt left out, where they felt
neglected, what they felt about the services overall.
The organizations use these evaluations to try and improve staff performance, as well as to continually
improve as an organization, better serve their participants, and ensure they are adhering to their missions.
Plan Strategically for Growth
All six organizations mentioned growth in their plans for the future of the organization. Adherence to the
mission is a primary consideration for organizations in their plans for growth, but organizations, and staff
within them, do not always agree on the best way to grow while supporting their clearly defined mission.
The main source of tension or conflict in plans for growth centers on the question of broader growth or
deeper growth—that is, whether organizations (and staff) wanted to serve more clients or to offer moretailored
services to the same number of clients. The organizations were sensitive to the delicate balance
between growth and expansion on the one hand and staying committed to their strengths on the other. One
expressed a desire for a kind of slower, steady growth in order to ensure the organization spends the
necessary time strengthening its core competencies.
Half of the organizations reported that working to improve or expand services for existing clients was
their primary concern before serving other clients or expanding their base. This included practical goals of
providing associate’s degrees rather than certificates, expanding a housing program, expanding social
services to participants across all programs in the organization, and offering more transitional and
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