12.6 Organizing the Performance Appraisal Process

While it will be up to the individual manager to give performance appraisals to employees, your HR team will develop the process and help to manage the process. Here are some aspects to consider to manage the process effectively:

1. Ensure you have a job description for each employee. The job description should highlight the expectations of each job title and provide a sound basis for review.
2. Ensure you have the necessary documents, such as the criteria and rating sheets for each job description.
3. Understand the instructions and ground rules for filling out the documents.
4. If your organization has decided to tie performance evaluations with pay increases, determine the pay for each employee.  If you are given a budget, clearly understand what the pay increase budget (total) and target percentage increase are for each range of performance ratings.
5. If necessary, ask for coaching assistance on the development of objectives and improvement plans.
6. Ensure you know the time lines for each performance review that you are responsible for writing.

It is helpful to keep a spreadsheet or other documents that lists all your employees and time-lines for completion of performance evaluations. This makes it easier to keep track of when performance evaluations should be given.

Of course, the above process assumes the organization is not using software to manage performance evaluations. Numerous types of software are available that allow leaders to manage key job responsibilities and goals for every employee in the organization. This software tracks progress on those goals and allows the manager to enter notes (critical incidents files) online. The software can track 360 reviews and send e-mail reminders when it is time for an employee or manager to complete evaluations. This type of software can allow for a smoother, more streamlined process. Of course, as with any new system, it can be time-consuming to set up and to train managers and employees on how to use the system. However, many organizations find the initial time to set up software or web-based performance evaluation systems well worth the easier recording and tracking of performance goals.

No matter how the system is managed, it must be managed and continually developed to meet the ultimate goal—continuing development of employees.

Appraisal Interviews

Once a good understanding of the process is developed, it is time to think about the actual meeting with the employee. A performance review process could be intricately detailed and organized, but if the meeting with the employee does not go well, the overall strategic objective of performance reviews may not be met. There are three types of appraisal interview styles. The first is the tell and sell interview. In this type of interview, the manager does most of the talking and passes his or her view to the employee. In the tell and listen type of interview, the manager communicates feedback and then addresses the employee’s thoughts about the interview. In the problem-solving interview, the employee and the manager discuss the things that are going well and those that are not going well, which can make for a more productive discussion. To provide the best feedback to the employee, consider the following:

1. Be direct and specific. Use examples to show where the employee has room for improvement and where the employee exceeds expectations, such as, “The expectation is zero accidents, and you have not had any accidents this year.”
2. Do not be personal; always compare the performance to the standard. For example, instead of saying, “You are too slow on the production line,” say, the “expectations are ten units per hour, and currently, you are at eight units.”
3. Remember, it is a development opportunity. As a result, encourage the employee to talk. Understand what the employee feels he does well and what he thinks he needs to improve.
4. Thank the employee and avoid criticism. Instead of the interview being a list of things the employee does not do well (which may give the feeling of criticizing), thank the employee for what the employee does well, and work on action plans together to fix anything the employee is not doing well. Think of it as a team effort to get the performance to the standard it needs to be.

The result of a completed performance evaluation usually means there are a variety of ramifications that can occur after evaluating employee performance:

1. The employee now has written, documented feedback on his or her performance.
2. The organization has documented information on low performance, in case the employee needs to be dismissed.
3. The employee has performed well and is eligible for a raise.
4. The employee has performed well and could be promoted.
5. Performance is not up to expectations, so an improvement plan should be put into place.
6. The employee has not done well, improvement plans have not worked (the employee has been warned before), and the employee should be dismissed.

In each of these cases, planning in advance of the performance appraisal interview is important, so all information is available to communicate to the employee. Consider Robin, an employee at Blewett Gravel who was told she was doing an excellent job. Robin was happy with the performance appraisal, and when asked about promotion opportunities, the manager said none were available. This can devalue a positive review and impact employee motivation. The point is to use performance evaluations as a development tool, which will positively impact employee motivation.

“Completing and Conducting the Appraisal” in Human Resources Management – 2nd Ontario Edition by Elizabeth Cameron is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.