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Are your organization's "annual"
appraisals done even less frequently because no one likes doing
them? You may be missing an opportunity to improve employee
relations and productivity.
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[Creating HR Policies or Employee Handbook?]
A
performance evaluation system can
be an effective retention tool, since most employees want and need
constructive feedback on how they are doing. Unfortunately, the
majority of supervisors dread doing appraisals. The process requires
communicating personal judgments and is time consuming, especially
if supervisors do only annual reviews that force them to recall and
catalogue a year's worth of experiences. Many HR experts agree that
this "once-a-year" approach to performance evaluations doesn't work
since it tends to focus the appraisals on extraordinary events or to
rehash past problems that should have been addressed already.
Instead, employees need regular, ongoing evaluations and structured
guidance to help them set and achieve both job and career goals. The
following practice tips outline the four elements of an effective
appraisal system and warn against the eight common mistakes
supervisors make that can undermine the program.
Four
Factors Combine to Make Program Effective
For a performance appraisal program to work, the system must be
designed to give employees clear goals and rate their progress
objectively. The most successful programs typically combine four
elements:
• Regular, informal feedback from supervisors. Once-a-year
evaluations aren't enough. Employees should receive regular input
from their supervisors. These discussions typically focus on
day-to-day performance objectives rather than concentrating on the
employee's past mistakes or failures. This approach requires
supervisors to observe and evaluate their employees regularly and to
work closely with individual employees as needed.
• Performance goals set by employees and supervisors. Goals may be
both short-term and long-term and can cover a wide variety of
objectives, depending on the employee's current job responsibilities
and future aspirations. Identified core competencies should be used
to determine future performance goals. Goals should be specific and
quantifiable where possible, such as the completion of a specific
project within a set period of time. To help employees meet their
goals, supervisors should offer additional training or other
necessary support. New performance goals should be recorded,
reviewed regularly, and modified as needed.
• Action plans to address performance or disciplinary problems.
Action plans can be helpful when an employee is experiencing
performance problems that need correction. The supervisor should
identify and discuss the problems with the employee as they occur
and suggest a course of action that may improve performance. The
plan should detail the nature of the problem, the steps that both
the employee and the supervisor will take to help solve the problem,
and the time within which the plan will be implemented. The employee
should have input on the plan and suggest changes. Once a plan has
been agreed upon, it should be reviewed regularly to make sure the
employee is able to implement it successfully.
• Formal reviews that accurately document the "big picture."
Ideally, these formal reviews should be done several times a year,
although if informal meetings are conducted regularly, you may be
able to get away with an annual or semi-annual review. Generally,
they should not be used to deal with ongoing performance problems.
The employee should have been alerted to these during the informal
discussions and should be following an action plan to correct them.
Instead, the purpose of these meetings is to assess whether goals
and any action plan have been met and to determine if the employee
is following the right path for career development.
Train to Avoid the Eight "Deadly Sins" of Evaluations
Training managers to perform effective and consistent evaluations is
essential, since both managers and employees often are uncomfortable
discussing performance. The training should include warning
supervisors to refrain from the following eight common errors that
can distort and even invalidate the evaluation process:
1. Basing the evaluation on the employee's most recent behavior,
instead of evaluating the whole performance period;
2. Allowing irrelevant or nonjob-related factors to influence the
evaluation, such as physical appearance, social standing,
participation in employee assistance programs, or excused time off
for leaves of absence;
3. Failing to include unfavorable comments on the evaluation, even
when justified;
4. Rating all subordinates at about the same point on a ranking
scale, usually in the middle;
5. Allowing one characteristic of the employee or aspect of the job
performance to distort the rest of the rating process;
6 Judging all employees too leniently or too strictly;
7. Allowing one very good or very bad rating to affect all the other
ratings of the employee (the "halo effect"); and
8. Permitting personal feelings to bias the evaluation process.
Foster
Positive Attitudes about Appraisals
Performance evaluations don't have to be painful or unpleasant if
approached systematically. In fact, when done properly, they can be
effective planning tools for managers and provide important feedback
to employees. The first step is to show your organization's
commitment to conducting appraisals by providing training to
supervisors. Next, supervisors should be held accountable for their
ability to provide ongoing guidance to their employees. And finally,
supervisors should involve employees directly in the formulation of
goals and action plans. This disciplined, interactive approach can
help eliminate the natural barriers to effective evaluations.
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Personnel
Policy Service, Inc.
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