Tips For Conducting Effective Performance Appraisals

Be prepared.

• Explain the process ahead of time:
  • What’s going to happen
  • How long it will take
  • What you expect of the employee.

Schedule the meeting time together rather than surprising your employees with, “Hey, do you have a minute? Let’s go over your evaluation.”

Have employees complete self evaluations.

Lead with a positive.

• Starting any evaluation with failures or weaknesses will put a wall between the two of you.
• If you have to discuss short comings or areas for improvement, do so towards the middle of the review as the employee will more likely be willing to listen and work towards a solution.

Don’t be confrontational.

• Remember to evaluate the job performance not the individual. Evaluating the person is demoralizing.

Keep it real.

• Don’t use business speak or technical jargon that an employee will not be comfortable with.

Be consistent.

• Handle each review the same.

Make it a 2 way conversation.

• Show your interest in your employees by asking for ideas or input. This is edifying to the employee and confirms their value. This is also a time for employees to express new concerns, but do not let them turn the meeting into a griping session.

Address what’s important to the employee.

• Use this opportunity to gauge employee morale and discuss issues that are important to the employee.

Discuss work/life balance.

• Talk about quality of life and hours worked if you feel there might be an issue in this area. Now is a good time to discuss career advancement and future opportunities.

Be a good listener.

• Remember to be an active listener and be careful to pick up on both verbal and non-verbal cues.

Review regularly.

• Although we conduct evaluations twice a year, we should be checking in and following up with our employees on a regular basis. There should be no surprises for either you or your employees during the mid year and year end evaluation process as long as you do your part to keep the lines of communication open.

source : www.harrells.com