Improving Performance Evaluations

Performance evaluations of employees can be a difficult task for senior management. Often the problem comes in that there are no real guidelines or expectations for these reviews. In order to improve performance evaluations, the process must be improved. When staff has been given clear expectations about their job, and a clear guideline of how they will be rated, the evaluations will be much more successful.

Define the Expectations:

At the start of employment for new hires and at the beginning of the year for everyone else, it is important to clearly define the evaluation process.

Explain when evaluations take place each year or quarter and also give the rating scale.

Employees should be given clear guidelines of their job duties in an employee handbook. When staff are uncertain of their roles within the company and are not sure how their performance will be rated, it can give them an uneasy feeling when evaluations come up. Should they receive an evaluation score that is below their expectations, it can leave for poor morale in the work environment.

Give Ratings That Don’t Appear Negative:

When determining the ratings for an evaluation, it is typical that you will see a grading scale of 1-5. If an employee has consciously been working hard for the company, and they receive a grade of 3, it can seem as if they are underperforming. In their minds, it would be similar to receiving a C in school. With grading scales that most people are accustomed to, they shoot for the highest ranking, and anything below that can be seen as a negative rating. It is best to give each number a defined idea of what it means. Such as a 1 should be labeled as unsatisfactory; a 3 could be labeled solid worker; and 5 might be labeled distinguished and exceeds all expectations. If your staff understands that receiving a mid-grade rating doesn’t mean they are performing at an unexpected level, this will change their point of view. It can be very hard on staff that are working hard for the company to be graded in a way that puts them below what they were expecting.

Be Consistent:

One of the keys in improving performance evaluations is to make sure that you stay consistent. Regardless of what kind of time restraints your business deals with, evaluations should be scheduled out in advance and happen during the same time frame each year or quarter. Especially if evaluations are used to determine raises, keeping the meetings within a specific period of time is vital.

When you give clear expectations of job performance, valuable feedback, and stay consistent in your methods, you will see an increased positive response from your staff.

If you have any questions about this article, or about how we can help you enhance your communications, team building, goal setting, performance, leadership, strategy, and / or hiring needs, contact Otis & Tina Bishop!

Thanks for your readership.

Sincerely, Otis & Tina Bishop

Bishop Placement Services

150 Uptown Square suite D Murfreesboro, TN 37129

http://www.bishopplacement.com ~ otis@bishopplacement.com ~ 615-367-6177