Taking the Sting Out of Employee Evaluations

Employee evaluations serve an important purpose. They let
both the employee and the company know how things are
going. Ideally, they offer feedback, guidance and
recognition; too often, though, they become just another
drudgery and serve no real purpose. Here are some ways to
improve the experience for both sides.

For the Supervisor.

1. The number one rule is that an employee must never be
surprised by his or her evaluation. Good managers deliver
evaluations regularly by praising areas where the employee
excels and offering guidance and instruction when the
employee falters. It’s not fair to your staff to keep them
in the dark about their work performance and then spring it
on them once a year.

2. Keep a written record on each employee. It doesn’t have
to be fancy, just a folder where you can jot down notes
when Sally does something exceptional or when you have to
discuss Bob’s tardiness. Keep copies of any “attaboys” your
staff gets, too. It’s easy to forget things that happened
eleven months ago and then end up basing the evaluation on
the work of the past month.

3. Never criticize an employee’s performance without
offering some corrective action. If you are going to grade
someone down in “interpersonal skills”, make sure you offer
concrete examples of when he or she didn’t handle a
situation very well. Then brainstorm a little and encourage
the employee to suggest ways in which he or she might
improve in that area.

4. Use the evaluation time to look ahead to the future as
well as reviewing the past. Insist that your employees come
prepared with personal and professional goals for the
coming year. Go over their goals with them and discuss how
you might help. Maybe the company can offer to send Sam to
that training class on PowerPoint, or maybe Jean would be
interested in starting a corporate blog. Encourage your
staff to dream big and then help them get there – even if
“there” takes them away from you and on to a bigger, better
job.

For the Employee.

1. Keep a file on all your accomplishments during the year.
Every time someone says “great job”, make a note of it.
Write down all the extra things you do, like staying late
to get the budget figures in on time after the finance dept
changes their requirements at the last minute. Take
particular note of any special projects your boss asks you
to work on.

2. A month before evaluations are due, write up a “brag
sheet” about yourself and send it to your boss. List all
your accomplishments over the past year and the projects
you have lined up for the coming year. If you want to ask
for some special training or for more responsibility, this
is the time to do it. Add a paragraph about how learning to
write effective business correspondence or how to design
direct mail brochures would help you do your job better and
how it would benefit the company.

3. Understand the company culture and how it affects
evaluations. If the policy is to grade on a curve, with
most of the employees in the middle, then you’ll have a
better idea of what your actual grades mean. Without being
defensive, ask your boss to explain any very low grades and
ask for specific examples of where you could have done
better.

4. If you really think you’re being unfairly evaluated,
don’t respond right away. There’s nothing wrong with calmly
explaining that you need time to process the feedback and
asking for a second meeting. Take the time to gather your
facts and possibly consult with an outsider, like a former
boss or a friend in the HR business or a career coach.
NEVER discuss your evaluation with another employee in your
company. If a second meeting with your boss doesn’t resolve
your concerns, then you should take the case to your HR
dept. Again, keep your emotions in check and stick to the
facts. Ask if you can write a rebuttal letter to go in your
file.

While there is no single (or simple) answer to managing the
stress of evaluation time, the most obvious idea is that
performance, goals, problems and achievements are things
that require ongoing discussion. Both parties (the
supervisor and the worker) need to communicate clearly and
often. If the communication is there, the performance
evaluation will be easy, because it will be just another
part of the dialogue.

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Joan Schramm, the Workplace Solutions Expert, is a career,
executive and personal coach with twenty years experience
in management, training and coaching. Joan can work with
you to figure out exactly what you want from your life and
your career, and how to get there without a lot of detours.
For more information, or to talk about what’s going on in
your life, go to:
http://www.achieve-momentum.com