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How Employee Performance Evaluations Can Drive Performance
Why are employee performance evaluations so stressful?
When you think of the annual review, what is your first reaction?
Management and staff shudder at the thought. Supervisors dread writing the report, but they want to get the job done. Employees don’t like surprises in their annual evaluation, but they want to get a good review.
Annual reviews tend to be stressful experiences for management and staff.
However, if both parties are committed to achieving goals, it is simply a matter of establishing clear expectations while continuing to provide the coaching and mentoring necessary to help employees succeed.
Why do so many managers forget their critical role in mentoring employees?
Why do both forget to assess whether they are meeting interim objectives along the way?
Imagine employee performance evaluations that assess actual results with both parties being accountable for their part.
Employees could grow and develop in a more positive environment and supervisors would achieve the desired results more quickly.
Goal Setting Exercises
Dr. Randy Pausch, author of the 2008 National Best Seller The Last Lecture, would assign projects where he provided students with a contract to earn the grade of their choice.
From the beginning, it was clear to students whether they would earn a "C", "B" or an "A," and as you might imagine, the requirements were increasingly more difficult. If you wanted an "A," you had to earn it.
With his approach, there was never any doubt about the outcome of your grade, because everyone understood the "contract" beforehand.
Randy's approach reduced student stress because everyone knew their grade before they turned in the assignment. It also reduced his workload because the student determined their own grade and this minimized stress for both parties.
Similar to achieving a grade for a particular course project, management and staff can achieve common objectives.
Management can define minimum standards and staff will feel valued because they are meeting company goals.
Those above average and top performers who are most capable and inspired to do more will demonstrate greater initiative if they know they will be rewarded for their efforts.
Feedback
Leaders who provide regular feedback find employee performance evaluations much less stressful.
The idea is to help your team succeed. Create a positive environment. Address, but downplay the shortcomings. Catch them doing something right and expand upon the smaller victories on a daily or weekly basis.
Periodically before the annual review, conduct one or more semi-formal reviews so everyone knows what to expect or what behavior to change prior.
During the semi-formal review, both parties can discuss differences openly without the stress of the final report, while working toward common agreement on any tasks not being performed correctly.
Be open - it may not be the employee who needs to change!
More on Performance
Setting Performance Goals Setting performance goals is the first step toward accomplishing your objectives. Set realistic and challenging goals that are achievable; the end-state everyone wants.
Job Feedback Constructive job feedback is critical toward helping employees achieve great things. Discover the key to improved employee work performance.
Tracking Employee Performance A constructive way of conducting performance appraisals and tracking employee performance is to conduct interim reviews as part of a continuous employee development process.
