City Colleges of Chicago is undertaking a significant organizational transformation through the implementation of a new employee performance management process across the institution. This initiative represents more than a procedural update — it is an opportunity to rebuild trust, strengthen organizational accountability, improve employee engagement, and establish a long-term culture centered on measurable performance and continuous development. 

Approximately eight years ago, the organization implemented a performance evaluation framework developed by an external consulting firm. The initiative ultimately failed to achieve sustainable adoption, leading to organizational hesitation around future performance management efforts. As a result, many employees and stakeholders remain cautious about new evaluation systems, particularly in a public-sector environment where change management, communication, and stakeholder alignment are critical to long-term success. 

Under the leadership of a new Chancellor and Chief Talent Officer, City Colleges of Chicago is reintroducing performance management through a phased, two-year implementation strategy focused initially on goal-setting and organizational alignment. The success of this rollout will play a major role in determining whether broader performance management initiatives continue across the institution. 

The central challenge for this project is: 

How can City Colleges of Chicago successfully implement and communicate a new performance management process in a way that builds trust, increases employee engagement, supports organizational productivity, and creates long-term adoption across a complex public-sector workforce? 

MBA students will work alongside the Performance Management team to evaluate organizational feedback, assess implementation challenges, analyze communication and engagement strategies, and support the development of a sustainable performance management culture. Students will also examine how strategic communication, vendor evaluation, training, and change management practices can influence adoption and organizational outcomes in large public-sector systems. 

This project provides students with the opportunity to explore real-world organizational transformation while balancing limited financial resources, operational complexity, employee skepticism, and bureaucratic constraints common within government and public-sector environments.