HR Organization

Syensqo's Performance Culture is based on the principle of continuous, open dialogue between managers and employees. The continuous nature of the performance cycle encourages focus, agility, and flexibility to better meet changing business needs. Regular dialogues between you and your manager will enable a transparent view of your performance, as well as concrete opportunities for development throughout the year.

Employees and managers use the Performance tool in My HR Services to capture goals, summarize check-in conversations, and record snapshots.

The annual performance cycle is based on the annual business cycle.. The Group and Entity priorities and objectives provide clear direction for the year ahead.

Your manager will help you connect your work with the business strategy (setting objectives). Throughout the year, you will engage in regular, meaningful conversations (check-in conversations), take ownership of your development (development discussions), and look back on your performance for the year, based on what you achieve and how you deliver (year-end performance assessment).

The annual cycle of performance-related activities for individuals can be found below.

Check-ins are regular discussions between you and your manager to review

Your performance and behaviors (both what and how you deliver)
Development actions that could improve performance and help you reach your career ambitions.

How often should Check-Ins occur?

Employees should set up check-in discussions with their Manager at least once per quarter.

How should I consider my Behaviors Self-Assessment?

As part of the check-in, employees have the ability to rate themselves against Syensqo’s behaviors.

This self-assessment, alongside your manager’s assessment, is meant to encourage reflection and create more meaningful, two-way conversations about how you demonstrate our behaviors. Read more about Syensqo’s levels of performance here.

When discussing the behaviors assessment, it is important for employees and managers to:

Understand the Criteria | Familiarize yourself with Syensqo’s behaviors to help you understand the basis of the assessment.

Be Open-Minded | Approach the feedback with an open mind. Remember that feedback provides an opportunity for growth and improvement.

Reflect on Examples | Think about specific instances where you have demonstrated the behaviors. This can help you understand the feedback better and provide context.

Acknowledge Strengths and Areas for Improvement | Recognize both your strengths and areas where you can improve for a more balanced view.

Plan for Development | With a comparison view of both the employee’s self-assessment and their own assessment, managers can use the analysis to prepare for a development discussion.

Employees can use the output of the discussion and the behavior assessment to build development goals.

The Snapshot is the summary of every check-in, prepared by the Manager, and captured in the Performance tool in My HR Services. Snapshots are comprehensive overviews of an individual’s performance, behaviors, development, and potential.

When prepared properly, the snapshot provides honest, direct feedback to the individual, and avoids surprises at the Year-end Assessment.

What should I do if I take on a new role or will have a new Manager?

Prior to a change of role or Manager, you should initiate a closing check-in with your Manager. Then, your Manager should complete a snapshot to assess your performance based on currently defined objectives.

When you take on a new role, reporting to a new Manager, you should initiate a check-in with your new Manager to discuss coming priorities and objectives. You are also responsible for leading your development discussion.

When you will stay in the same role, reporting to a new Manager, you should initiate a new check-in with your new Manager. If possible, you, your previous Manager, and New Manager would be present as a best practice in order to encourage transparency and a smooth transition.

The Year-end Performance Assessment is a core element of the performance cycle. It is a time to reflect on our greatest achievements and our biggest challenges, and prepare for the year ahead.

The Year-end Performance Assessment is the last Check-In/ Snapshot of the year, that covers the entire year. The result of the assessment is a year-end performance rating.

Be mindful of the calendar and deadlines that are shared with you at the beginning of the performance campaign.
Reflect on your achievements. What objectives did you meet? What are you most proud of? What made your achievements meaningful? Where did you have difficulty meeting objectives? What made it difficult? What support do you need?
Reflect on your behaviors. What behaviors did you develop? What was the impact for the company?
Ask others for feedback. Reach out to your peers and main stakeholders via My HR Services to help you identify your strengths and areas for improvement.
Both manager and employee contribute to filling out the form.
Reflect on your development. What steps did you take toward your ambition? How will you develop next? What do you want to learn? What is your next career step? What support do you need?

The Year-End Assessment form will open automatically at the beginning of the assessment period.
Goal and development content is pulled from previous Check-Ins and Snapshots forms throughout the year.
Both you and your manager contribute to filling out the form.
Click here to see more information and support.

Performance ratings are determined based on the expectations for the time in the role and the achievement of goals. They reflect both what the individual achieved (business objectives) and how they achieved it (behaviors).

Please note:

The Low or Partially Successful ratings are not the default ratings for new or new-to-the-role employees.
Exceptional Impact and Highly Successful ratings are not reserved for managers and leadership. All performance-eligible employees may achieve one of these ratings. Exceptional Impact is validated at the GBU/Function Level.

	Contribution Levels	Business Objectives	Behaviors
5 levels to appraise the WHAT and the HOW	Exceptional Impact	The individual’s contribution has been outstanding and had a clear, significant impact on building Syensqo's future and success.	The individual leads by example and is a role model for Syensqo’s behaviors.
	Highly Successful	The individual’s contribution to Syensqo's success is obvious and they showed agility in achieving their objectives, even in a potentially challenging environment.	The individual consistently demonstrates and encourages others to act according to Syensqo's behaviors.
	Successful	The individual successfully achieved all of their objectives.	The individual consistently demonstrates Syensqo's behaviors.
	Partially Successful	The individual successfully achieved some of their objectives.	The individual does not consistently demonstrate Syensqo’s behaviors.
	Low	The individual did not reach the expected deliverables.	The individual’s behaviors did not align with expectations.

Setting performance objectives for the year ahead is an important process that aligns individual goals with Syensqo’s priorities.

How to set your goals:

Align with the Organization’s Priorities | Discuss with your manager to understand how the Group and Entity’s priorities should set the direction for your work in the year ahead.
Collaborate and Communicate | Share your objectives with your manager and team members to ensure alignment and gain feedback. Collaboration fosters a supportive environment and may provide insights you hadn’t considered.
Prioritize and Focus | Identify the most critical objectives that will have the greatest impact. Prioritize these to ensure focus and effective resource allocation.
Include Personal Development Goals | Consider objectives that enhance your skills and knowledge, contributing to both personal growth and the company’s success.
Review and Adjust | Regularly review your objectives throughout the year. Be open to adjusting them in response to changing circumstances or new opportunities.
Document and Track Progress | Keep a record of your objectives and track your progress. This helps in maintaining focus and provides a basis for performance reviews.

The Group’s priorities help us understand what we need to achieve - Syensqo’s behaviors provide a framework for how we will achieve.

As you set your performance goals for the year ahead, consider the following:

We are Curious | What innovations could support you in reaching your goal? What existing ideas or assumptions could you challenge?
We Learn Unlearn and Relearn | What will you learn through working toward your goals? In what ways could you share the knowledge with others?
We Bring Different Perspectives | Will you collaborate with others to advance your goals? What diverse perspectives will be essential for advancement?
We Rise as One | What are you accountable for? What safety actions (physical or psychological) will you consider?
We Think Customer | What customer need are you addressing? What anticipated challenge are you considering?
We Deliver Results | How will you measure and track progress against your objectives? What impact are you making on the organization, people, and the planet?

Feedback is a key step to nourishing self-awareness and learning toward growth. Feedback makes us feel recognized for what we have achieved, and it makes us aware of our strengths. It is also an opportunity to identify areas of development to help us improve the overall quality of our work and learn new behaviors as necessary.

Feedback is information about the past, delivered in the present, which can positively influence our future behaviors.

How to Request and Receive Feedback in My HR Services

Go to My HR Services - Select Feedback > Choose whether you want to Request Feedback, View Feedback Requests or Give Feedback:

Employees and managers use the Performance tool in My HR Services to capture goals, summarize check-in conversations, and record snapshots.

The following is a quick reference guide to activities that are done in the Performance tool:

The scope for the Performance tool is all cadre and all white-collar non-cadre employees;
My HR Services is available in English and translates to all European languages, with plans to offer more local languages in the future;
Check-Ins and Snapshots are captured in the Performance tool and in one form;
Check-in forms are designed to capture one check-in conversation and should be closed when both parties have made their inputs. They would open another check-in form the next time they have a check-in conversation;
Managers and employees can both open as many Check-In/ Snapshot forms as they wish throughout the year;
The Year-End Assessment form will open automatically and feed the Calibration and Compensation processes;
Feedback can be requested and provided flexibly via My HR Services;
The YOU platform has been decommissioned as of January 31, 2023. Any assessment information that was previously stored in YOU has been transferred to My HR Services. To access assessment information previously stored in YOU, follow the steps in this user guide.

For further details on navigating the tool check My HR Services User Guide.

Performance Historical Data

To request access to your Performance information recorded during your time at Solvay, please contact the Privacy team via email.

Syensqo's Performance Culture is based on the principle of continuous, open dialogue between managers and employees. The continuous nature of the performance cycle encourages focus, agility, and flexibility to better meet changing business needs.

Employees and managers use the Performance tool in My HR Services to capture goals, summarize check-in conversations, and record snapshots.

At a high level, you are responsible for supporting your team members by helping them connect their work with the business strategy (setting objectives), engaging in regular meaningful conversations (check-ins and snapshots), encouraging them to own their development (development discussions), supporting them in challenging moments (engagement discussions) and assessing their performance based on what they achieve and how they deliver (year-end performance assessment and calibration).

The annual cycle of performance-related activities in your scope as a manager can be found below. Follow the Useful Links on the right to find more information about each activity.

The annual business cycle sets the delivery agenda for the year ahead. The business plan and GBU goals provide clear direction for the priorities that should feature in setting team and individual goals.

Providing visibility and translation of business priorities helps teams to perform at their best in order to visibly achieve better business results. It also helps individuals connect an individual’s day-to-day reality with the Group’s purpose. Leverage the team’s energy to bond in order to reach goals collaboratively and build a high performing team.

Make sure everyone on your team is aware of Group and Entity priorities and objectives.

Cascade business information and priorities to their team any time there is a significant evolution of the situation.

Agree on clear results to achieve but let employees choose how to get there.

Empower them by steering on results and not on ‘the how’;

Follow up during the individual goal-setting exercise and regularly throughout the year.

How can individual goals reflect one’s own passions and purpose?
Encourage individuals to find meaning in the ways that their work contributes to the business priorities.

Check-ins are regular discussions between individuals and managers to review

The individual’s performance and behaviors (both what and how they deliver)
Development actions that could improve performance and help them reach their career ambitions.

During check-in conversations:

Explore how the bar can be raised. What would help the employee to go beyond and above? For the employee, this is about growing, being recognized, and understanding whether they’re on the right track.
Find ways to engage with your team members, know what is happening with them and how you can support them accordingly.
Don’t shy away from giving honest feedback. While some feedback might be difficult to hear at first, given in a constructive way and in the right context, it can serve as a necessary and true step towards growth.

How often should Check-Ins occur?

Employees should set up check-in discussions with their Manager at least once per quarter.

How should I assess the employee on behaviors?

As part of the check-in, employees have the ability to rate themselves against Syensqo’s behaviors.

As the manager, your assessment, alongside the employee’s self-assessment, is meant to encourage reflection and create more meaningful, two-way conversations about how they demonstrate our behaviors. Read more about Syensqo’s levels of performance here.