Human Resource & Payroll Services And Solutions - Houston, Dallas, Austin - Texas www.hrp.net. Annual employee performance evaluations, like any other routine, can drift into an almost pointless ritual. But allowing that to happen would be a huge wasted opportunity. Read on to learn how to use performance evaluations to achieve your company's goals.

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Making Performance Evaluations
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Performance Evaluations
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2. » A reminder of the basic purposes of performance evaluations sets the
stage. Employment law attorney David Gabor of The Wagner Law Group
says the process can:
 Push employees to improve performance
 Clearly communicate your expectations
 Hold employees and managers accountable
 Create metrics that link performance to compensation
» It's a good idea, he suggests, to take a fresh look at the basic structure of
your evaluation system, to ensure that you are assessing the relevant
performance metrics.
» "Every component of a performance evaluation system should be there
for a reason," and reflect the performance criteria that are most
important to your organization today, he advised a recent webinar
audience.
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3. Setting Goals for the Review Session
» In planning the review session itself, establish specific takeaways for
yourself and the employee. That might be something as simple as making
an associate feel more comfortable seeking guidance when he is
uncertain about how to prioritize tasks. Or making sure that an employee
who you suspect doesn't know how his job (and performance) contribute
to the company's goals leaves the meeting with a clear understanding of
that relationship. Or learning an employee's career aspirations.
» Setting such goals lets you direct the session instead of allowing it to be
dictated, for example, merely by the format of the written performance
review document or an issue of little consequence that randomly crops
up mid-stream.
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4. Legal Red Flags
Gabor also warns that when evaluations of employees whose performance
hasn't been satisfactory aren't performed properly, you might provide
lethal ammunition to plaintiffs' attorneys if a disgruntled employee is
unhappy with his evaluation, particularly if it results in an adverse action.
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5. Specific, red flags in employee evaluations that could get you in hot water
include:
1 Evidence of disparate treatment of employees
1
For example, if the review of a poorly performing employee lasted just five
minutes and the written document contained harsh language, in contrast
to longer reviews and more balanced tone to other reviews (including
negative ones), that could spell trouble.
2 Omission of performance related issues
2
A negative review that strays into matters beyond the scope of the
employee's responsibilities can create legal problems.
3 Lack of a paper trail
3
If an evaluation criticizes an employee, for example, for chronic tardiness
but the personnel records offer no evidence that this problem has been
brought to the employee's attention in the past, a judge considering a
discrimination or wrongful termination claim might doubt the employer's
credibility.
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6. » A lack of evidence that employee performance (bad or good) has been
discussed with the employee since the last review may also reveal an
important misconception about performance reviews.
» Employee performance consultant Marnie Green of the Management
Education Group advocates a "no surprises rule."
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7. "No Surprises"
» That means the performance review is not the time to raise new issues
with employees. Rather, the review should focus on performance-related
discussions that have occurred since the last review, and progress
towards addressing those issues or the maintenance of positive
performance that has been praised.
» Performance issues should be discussed when they become apparent,
Green says. In addition to exploiting a "teachable moment," doing so
fosters employee trust, rather than anxiety about what they may hear
from a supervisor several months down the road.
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8. Make it a Dialog
» Another basic principle of employee reviews recommended by
Green: Reviews should be a dialog, not a supervisor's monolog. But rather
than just expect employees to spontaneously discuss their own
perspectives on their performance, they should be equipped in advance
with a set of questions to discuss.
» Employees can be asked to describe, for example, their greatest
achievements and challenges during the past year, their goals for the next
year, and what the company can do to help them achieve those goals.
» Also, sharing the written review with the employee prior to the meeting
obeys Green's "no surprises rule," and opens the door to a more
thoughtful discussion of the supervisor's assessment. Ask the employee
to discuss the assessment before you rehash it. That way Green says, the
employee will feel an increased ownership of the performance issues -- a
positive outcome.
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