Tips for Effective Performance Evaluations

Generally, many employees dread getting an evaluation/review, and many employers hate giving them as well. Evaluations help to address any concerns and problems before they arise; however, many managers have no training on how to carry them out.

Giving employee evaluations can also help to create strong relationships between you and your employees. Below are some tips on how to carryout employee reviews with less anxiety for you as well as your employees:

Make Sure Employees Know That Reviews are Coming

Many managers cram employee performance evaluations at the last minute when making plans and a budget for the following year. No employee wants to receive an ominous email telling him or her that he/she is needed in the office to discuss their performance. Prepare your workers about what is coming and request them to reflect on their performance in advance.

Be Ready To Take the Next Step

Whether the feedback is positive or negative, be ready to discuss the next steps with your workers. If the evaluation results are good, be ready to discuss training, growth opportunities, as well as long-term career objectives. If the employee review results aren’t so pleasing that the performance needs a boost, be ready to discuss how improvement will be measured. Work together with the employees to get there.

Keep It Conversational

Employee evaluations make many employees nervous, and understandably so. Even the employees that know that their performance is quite good also get nervous. Eliminate the tension by making the review conversational. Launch the conversation using their self-reflection. For instance, you may ask them  about the things that they are proud of in the current year, and where they want to grow.

Keeping the employee performance evaluations conversational also helps to ensure that the employees’ concerns are also heard so that they can be addressed. Listening to what your employees have to say will make them feel like they are real participants in the process. Additionally, you may also learn something that may change your employee performance nevaluation.

Keep the Entire Proceeding Casual

A casual environment allows the environment to be as natural as possible. Instead of reviewing your employees’ performance from behind the desk, come around and sit side-by-side with them. You may use a quiet corner in a coffee shop or even take a walk. There are some environments that have a remarkably disarming power. Consider holding your performance review conversation in an environment that doesn’t cause the employee to get too tense.

Be Specific and Collaborative

When setting standards and goals for your employees, point out exactly what you expect them to achieve. For instance, don’t use general statements such as “improve quality” or “work harder”; instead, you may say “make at most 3-errors per day when inputing data” or “increase the sales by 10% over the previous year. Allocate the resources properly, offer the employees all the support they need, and also clearly state the goals as well as priorities. Approach the evaluations while keeping in mind that you are a collaborator in the success of your employees.

As displeasing as employee evaluations may be to employees as well as the employers, they can nip many employment problems in the bud. These evaluations help managers track and document the issues or problems of their employees. Use the above tips to carry out an effective performance review.