In today’s technology-intensive business
climate, employers must be able to accurately gauge the evolving needs of their
enterprise, how individual employees are coping with change, and how each staff
member’s role is shifting relative to h/er original job description. The
individual employee performance review can be an effective tool for measuring
progress, and for improving productivity, morale, and relations between
managers and staff. But it can also be a waste of time if the participants are
unprepared.
Prepare
for the performance evaluation in advance and pay
attention to details. Here are some areas you may want to consider:
•
the employee’s professional
rapport with h/er co-workers, superiors, and subordinates
•
skills and execution in key
areas like organization, timely response to e-mails and phone messages,
courtesy toward clients (barring exceptional circumstances), and completion of
tasks ahead of deadlines or key dates
•
any comments or feedback,
whether complimentary or otherwise, about the employee from h/er colleagues or
immediate supervisors
•
opportunities for professional
growth, on-the-job training, and skills upgrades
It is wise to give an employee plenty of notice
that a performance review is forthcoming, and remind h/er a few days before the
meeting. This will give h/er time to identify issues that s/he may want to
raise, including h/er goals within the organization, and areas where s/he may
need additional support.
Hold the
evaluation in a confidential space, and set an agenda.
Dedicate a certain number of minutes to each
area you’d like to discuss; aim to stay more or less on topic and on schedule.
Confidentiality is important. You don’t want everyone in the office to know
your opinion of the employee, and the employee won’t want rumours about h/er
strengths, weaknesses, impressions of relationships with colleagues and
professional goals to spread.
Don’t
leave compensation to the end.
Employees are understandably interested to know
the level of compensation they can expect today and in the future. If the
individual you’re evaluating senses that you’re glossing over the subject or
avoiding it, it could become an elephant in the room. And distractions of that
magnitude during an evaluation are never helpful.
Whether you believe a raise is in order or not,
state your position and your rationale. If possible, try to put a positive spin
on a non-raise by hinting at actions your employee can take to qualify for a
salary bump and increased responsibility. Staff who feel that their pay is
arbitrary, or that their career is stuck in neutral, may become discouraged and
contemplate moving on.
Ask
questions, and provide opportunities for your counterpart to do the same.
You may have formed a certain impression of the
employee and h/er performance already, but it’s still important to hear the
other person’s point of view. You could even begin the meeting by asking the
employee to evaluate h/er own performance, and compare that assessment to your
own.
In the event of an underperformance, there may
be confounding factors you haven’t accounted for. On the other hand, if an
employee is enjoying success, s/he may offer an explanation that will enable
you to foster h/er continued success.
Finally, just as you would at the end of a job
interview, reserve a few minutes for the employee to ask questions, raise
concerns, and pitch ideas of h/er own.
Make sure
you’re on the same page.
Review the key points raised during the
evaluation as it draws to a close, and ensure that you both (employee and
manager) understand and accept your expectations of each other, and your
responsibilities moving forward.
