WorkPlace

There’s no question that people do their best when in an environment with regular communication of goals, expectations and performance standards. The most important question for an employee is usually, "How am I doing?" People want to know where they stand — even if it isn’t good. With a performance review process, you can answer this question.

The Purpose of Reviews. In addition to helping an employee understand where he or she stands, there are other reasons why it is important to conduct a performance review. Some include:

• A performance review establishes a way to evaluate an employee’s performance in a fair and consistent manner.

• A performance review establishes a basis for a pay increase and other personnel actions.

• A performance review helps deter- mine whether an employee is performing up to established standards.

• A performance review provides documentation for personnel actions such as promotions and discharges.

A performance review should not be used to reprimand employees, nor should it be used to display appreciation for a job well done. It is not intended as documentation for a singular performance-related incident. Rather, it is a summary of overall performance covering the specified review period.

Setting Objectives. Managers conduct performance appraisals mentally every day. The review form simply provides an opportunity to collect thoughts and reduce them to writing. The effectiveness of a performance review depends on setting performance standards objectively.

Ideally, you should draft measurable standards for each of the categories in the review and these standards should be discussed with the employee upon hire. Take time to develop standards that are consistent among positions and job-related for a given position. One of the biggest mistakes managers make is failing to communicate acceptable standards and/or review categories until performance review time. When this occurs, managers often hear employees say, "I had no idea this is what you were basing my performance on." Don’t be put in this position. Discuss performance categories and standards with employees upon hire.

Effective Reviews. Let’s review some important suggestions to keep in mind when conducting a performance review:

• Beware of the "halo effect." The halo effect is when you allow one positive characteristic of an individual to overshadow other, more negative, characteristics.

• Avoid the "similar to me" and "recency" effect. Be careful not to rate people more favorably just because they resemble you. Also, do not allow recent minor events to have more influence on the rating than major events that occurred months ago.

• Be frank and honest. If an employee is doing poorly, say so. Don’t attempt to "sugarcoat" the appraisal. This will cause more problems later on, especially in the event the employee is terminated for poor job performance that occurred during the time period covered by the review.

• Take time with the employee. Make the employee feel that you are interested in him or her as an individual and that you consider the review to be extremely important.

• Ensure the employee signs the form.

• Follow up with employees after the evaluation on any open items.

• Avoid using language that creates a legal liability. Do not promise future raises, continued employment or a promotion.

Common Mistakes. Avoid these mistakes when evaluating employees:

• Not evaluating or documenting performance all year long. Stay in touch with your people and give them frequent verbal and written feedback. When the final evaluation is due, it will then primarily be a review of prior conversations. Performance problems and commendations should be documented for the personnel file throughout the course of the year.

• Surprising the individual with what is written. The appraisal should, practically speaking, never be a surprise (this includes the form itself!). If it is, it will frequently result in a defensive, angry employee. The way to avoid surprises is to heed the advice given earlier.

• Writing conclusions, rather than reporting specific examples. Instead of writing about an employee’s poor judgment, it is much more helpful to the individual (and better legal protection) to report performance examples.

• Evaluating from personal factors or biases rather than performance. A good evaluator always attempts to separate performance from personal factors such as length of service, the halo effect, favoritism or the tendency to want to make all employees look good.

• Criticizing the person, not the performance or behavior. Remember to always focus on the performance and provide examples. Never attack an individual’s character.

• Failure to obtain agreement from the employee. At the conclusion of the appraisal meeting, it is critically important to gain agreement from the employee that he or she will make any improvements or meet any outlined goals.

• Failure to follow up. Remember to meet periodically with the employee to determine what progress he or she is making, particularly on areas or goals that were agreed upon.

CONCLUSION. You can conduct meaningful evaluations if you develop a sincere approach and avoid being condescending. Use diplomacy and tact and be honest and fair. End all reviews gracefully, unhurriedly and, to the extent appropriate, on a positive note. If you’ve done your job all year, you won’t dread conducting a performance appraisal. It boils down to making time for your employees and learning how to communicate! Remember, your employees have a stake in the company. They can make it or break it. Review time is an opportunity to help them help you.