punch_kicker15

Title: Rupert Giles' Performance Appraisal, July 31, 1997
Author: punch_kicker15
Rating: PG-13
Fandoms: BtVS
Characters: Giles
Summary: The Watchers Council's performance appraisal of Giles for Season One.
Word count: 1348
Notes:
1) Invaluable beta assistance by my long-suffering husband.
2) Opinions expressed by The Council may not reflect the author's opinions.
Edited to add:
3) Thanks to

gillo for a super helpful Britpicking beta read.
4) Prettier-formatted pdf (with Britpicking edits incorporated) is available here

WATCHERS COUNCIL

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

Employee Name: Rupert Edmund Giles

Title: Watcher

Line Manager: Quentin Travers

Date: July 31, 1997

Review Period: January 1, 1997 to June 30, 1997

Effective Communication: Meets Expectations

Mr. Giles has used clear and concise language when communicating with The Council. He has notified The Council of all impending apocalypses in a timely fashion. He should recognise that his occasional use of sarcasm when communicating with The Council is counterproductive and should be curtailed. Furthermore, while The Council understands that Mr. Giles may be required to use American Vernacular English to communicate with The Slayer, he should remain vigilant against allowing it to creep into official reports. For example, his April 15th weekly report describes an incident in which The Slayer killed a Draesoma demon in “math class” rather than “maths class.”

Research Skills and Textual Analysis: Exceeds Expectations

Mr. Giles has demonstrated significant ability in synthesising multiple sources of information to produce solutions. For example, he analyzed the Book of Azami and syncretised multiple calendrical systems to predict accurately that The Master planned to siphon power from a Vessel on 10th March. This work was crucial in preventing The Master’s plan from coming to fruition. Thereafter, Mr. Giles analysed the Aurelius Manifesto and correctly calculated the date of the rise of the Anointed One on 31st March. Mr. Giles correctly identified the reversal spells to nullify malicious conjurations performed by a Magic Proficiency Level Five Witch. Most impressively, Mr. Giles connected the discredited entomology mythology work of Dr. Ferris Carlyle with the beheading of a Sunnydale High School teacher, and determined that a She-Mantis was the cause.

Care of Occult/Mystical Documents: Exceeds Expectations

Mr. Giles treats important texts with reverence. He recovered the Pergamum Codex, which had been missing for five hundred years. While the Council has some misgivings about the methods of its retrieval (discussed in Adherence to Slayer/Watcher Traditions below), the Codex will provide enormous insight for Watchers and Slayers for centuries to come. With respect to care of other texts, however, The Council must draw attention to Mr. Giles’ failure to safeguard the book containing Moloch the Corrupter from being “scanned” into a computer. This failure led to the deaths of two students, and while this is a remarkably small number of casualties for a collection of that size, The Council encourages Mr. Giles to aim for zero document-related fatalities in the coming year.

Slayer Compliance Management: Requires Some Improvement

Mr. Giles must expend every effort to inculcate a sense of responsibility in his Slayer. Despite Mr. Giles’ efforts, his Slayer initially resisted returning to her calling upon her arrival in Sunnydale. His persistent efforts to make her reconsider, and their eventual effectiveness are noted. However, on several occasions, his Slayer has prioritised leisure activities (such as trying out for “cheerleading” on 17th March, going out with a teenage boy on 31st March) over her duties. Mr. Giles should expend a greater effort to instill a proper sense of priorities in his Slayer. The Council is greatly disturbed by his Slayer’s initial refusal to face The Master because she feared dying, and Mr. Giles’ inability to persuade her otherwise; it was the emotional reaction of another student that caused his Slayer to re-assume the responsibilities commensurate with her position. Mr. Giles should have made a greater effort to impart to his Slayer her proper place in the world: when one Slayer dies, another is called. For a Slayer, death at any early age is to be expected, not feared, and self-preservation should never outweigh her obligations.

Paranormal Identification Skills: Meets Expectations

Mr. Giles has performed some excellent paranormal identification work, such as recognizing astral projection as the source of reality distortion (despite being temporarily rendered unable to read), recognizing a Blinding Spell cast on a student, and later recognizing a Bloodstone Vengeance Spell cast on The Slayer. In addition, Mr. Giles correctly posited that the cause of a student’s invisibility was not paranormal, but metaphysical (the result of the observational effect.) However, on several occasions, Mr. Giles has struggled to identify a malevolent paranormal entity: the hyena-possessed student, the She-Mantis masquerading as a substitute teacher, the Brotherhood of Seven demon taking part in the school talent show, and the Magic Proficiency Level Five Witch who had performed a Body-Mind Exchange Spell with her daughter. Mr. Giles is encouraged to review the writings of Hae Ji-Hyun in order to refresh his identification techniques.

Self-Defence/Self Preservation/Skills in the Field: Requires Some Improvement

Mr. Giles is not appropriately cautious with respect to his own physical security. Mr. Giles has suffered three concussions this year. He should consider wearing protective headgear in situations where this would not be conspicuous. Mr. Giles also required rescue from civilians on several occasions this year, most notably when he agreed to place his head what he believed to be a student magician’s trick guillotine. The Council notes that even if the “student” had not been a member of the Brotherhood of the Seven, it was an unnecessary risk to get into that machine. Mr. Giles should consult Milliken’s Guide to Everyday Threat Awareness for a thorough grounding on avoiding mundane risks. In addition, Mr. Giles should remember that attention to detail is crucial to success in the field. An action as simple as putting in a tape backwards (as Mr. Giles did with the bat sonar tape when The Slayer was fighting the She-Mantis) could result in disaster. Mr. Giles is encouraged to triple-check all tasks prior to engagement in the field.

Discretion/Cover Identity Preservation: Requires Some Improvement

Mr. Giles has been lax with respect to confidentiality. He has disclosed the Slayer’s secret identity to two students and one teacher, none of whom are biologically related to or married into traditional Watcher families. While these disclosures have not, to the Council’s knowledge, resulted in any attacks upon The Slayer, Mr. Giles should aim to avoid further disclosures in the future.

Adherence to Slayer/Watcher Protocols: Meets Expectations

Mr. Giles is generally good at following protocols. Mr. Giles’ commitment to The Council’s standards for proper business attire, even in the Southern California heat, is noted. As delineated above, (in the Care of Occult/Mystical Books section), The Council greatly appreciates Mr. Giles’ recovery of the Pergamum Codex; however, it wishes to emphasize that non-adversarial contact with vampires should be avoided in the future. Mr. Giles’ concealment from The Slayer of the vampire’s role in rescuing him from the school basement is a good step in this direction. Similarly, The Council understands that Mr. Giles has requested both textual and computer research assistance from individuals unconnected to The Council, when he considered it necessary to avoid fatalities and apocalypses. It should be emphasized that Mr. Giles should keep those practices to a minimum.

Impartiality: Requires Some Improvement

Mr. Giles lets his personal feelings about The Slayer interfere with his judgment. His attempt to confront The Master and face death in The Slayer’s place was, at best, misguided. While a Watcher forming some attachment to a Slayer is to be expected, it should never interfere with carrying out his official duties. Mr. Giles, if he were being truly impartial, would appreciate that while there will always be another Slayer called, there is only one Watcher who is completely apprised of the situation on the ground in Sunnydale. Mr. Giles’ duty, in the event that his Slayer were killed, would be to brief the new Slayer’s Watcher and provide support, something he risks being unable to achieve in the event of his incapacity or death.

Fatality Prevention/Reduction: Exceeds Expectations

Mr. Giles has done an exceptional job in respect to protecting the Sunnydale community. According to the local mortuary reports, deaths by exsanguination are down by 85%, deaths by maulings are down 92%, and beheadings were down 75% since Mr. Giles and The Slayer moved to Sunnydale. As they say, a tool is only as good as its user, and while The Slayer is certainly an effective weapon, Mr. Giles is wielding it well.

Overall Performance: Meets Expectations

Mr. Giles overall had an adequate performance year. He will need to improve performance in Slayer Compliance Management, Self Defence/Self Preservation/Skills in the Field, Discovery/Cover Identity Preservation, and Impartiality. If he is unable to do so, The Council will consider all possible options to ensure The Slayer is managed by a high-performing Watcher.

This annual performance review will become part of your Watchers Council personnel file. Please sign below to acknowledge that you have received this document.

Employee’s Signature:

______________________________________________

Supervisor’s Signature:

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