Writing and Giving Performance Appraisals

Why Do Performance Appraisals?

I don’t think it would surprise anyone to know that there is a negative perception with performance appraisals.  There seems to be a general consensus that performance appraisals are a painful process at best and one of least favored times of the year.   If you’re interested in debating the subject see my article on Advantages and Disadvantages of Performance Management.

Organizations use the performance appraisal process to help manage employee performance and achievement of organizational goals.  Successful organizations have well trained managers and a structured process to document employees’ performance, write and give performance appraisals.  If done well it can be a positive experience for both the employee and the manager.  If done poorly it can be a very stressful time and one of the most difficult conversations of the year.  For this reason we will discuss performance appraisals, how to document for them, how to write them and lastly how to deliver them.

Let’s start by discussing the ‘why’ behind doing performance appraisals.   The performance appraisal process should be a time to reflect on the last year and celebrate successes.  It should also be used as a time to course correct if an employee has gotten off track.  Reinforcing the positive and celebrating the successes can influence future positive behaviors.

Statistics show that an estimated 40% of workers never receive performance evaluations. And for the 60% of the workers who do, most are poorly done.  Wow, what a scary thing.   The fact is that employees want and need to know if they’re doing a good job.  A formal performance appraisal process forces managers to communicate both good and bad performance results to the employees.

Desired performance behavior needs to be monitored in order to be achieved.  Goals don’t just happen; they need structured systems and processes.  The performance appraisal process is a critical component to achieving these critical end results.

Goals are important because they provide direction, clarify job roles, give something to strive for, show how far you’ve come and help make the vision attainable.   Having goals written down makes it more real and achievable.  It allows you to see where you are going and the steps to get there.

The structured process should include a cycle that begins with writing goals, communicates expectations in achieving those goals, monitors performance toward goals, assesses performance and lastly ends with the performance appraisal.  This cycle is repeated on an annual basis.

Preparation for the performance appraisal is ongoing.   A manager should always be thinking about the process and whenever a problem is noticed with an employees’ performance, mention it to them, make a note of it and drop it in their file.  At the same time, whenever an employee demonstrates a desired behavior or result, mention it to them, make a note and drop it in their file.

Performance appraisals need to be:  Fair, Pertinent and Comprehensive.  All employees should be treated the same and their behaviors should be tracked and observed the same way.  Terminology of observations and documented behaviors should be the same.  This is critical so there are no biases in the process.

Some questions to ask yourself:

• Would I have made the same note on a different employee?
• Are my observations the same or am I over-emphasizing a single event?
• Am I giving immediate feedback after a problem is observed so the employee has a chance to change their behaviors and improve?

The appraisal should be pertinent to how the job is performed and relevant to job expectations and standards of work that have been established.

The appraisal should be comprehensive in monitoring and observing behaviors that tell a story about the employee through documentation of the entire performance period.   All unusual events that affect performance should be documented and filed.   It is also important to make note of positive performance and major accomplishments in order to be fair and balanced.  The positive notes are important for celebration of successes at the performance appraisal.  Be very specific in your documentation so you don’t forget the details of the observation.   Use a third party occasionally to review your observations to help keep you focused and objective.

Performance Appraisal Preparation

When its time to do the performance appraisal, determine what information should and should not be included in the final appraisal from the entire period.   Look for information that shows patterns in behavior.   There should never be a surprise which is why each time you make a note for the file the employee should be made aware of it.

It is important to block out time on your calendar to write the performance appraisal.   A good rule of thumb is to allow at least one hour per employee to review file, organize content and write performance appraises.  See article on example performance appraisal.

Take time to write and do an initial draft of the appraisal ahead of the deadline.  Sleep on it and look at the draft and test it against fair, pertinent and comprehensive.

Take time and discuss the employee’s performance with the second level supervisor.  This will help to assure that you have no biases in your evaluation.  Schedule the performance appraisal at an appropriate time and a neutral location.   Try to use a conference room as a manager’s office can be intimidating to an employee.

When delivering the performance appraisal be sure that you will be free of interruptions.  Be prepared with specific incidents of effective and ineffective performance and be ready to answer questions if asked.

Performance Appraisal Discussion

When you begin the discussion, be sure to state the purpose of the appraisal and the process you will be using for the discussion.   Review the appraisal with the employee while probing for additional information, misunderstanding or views that differ from yours.  Once the discussion is finished, summarize the performance discussion; have the employee sign the appraisal for the files.

Other Thoughts

• Managers must be willing to commit significant amounts of time on a regular basis to performance management.
• A lack of clear performance expectation and detailed performance feedback is a major source of stress for employees.
• Make sure employee’s job description reflects what is written in their goals.

Lastly, try to remember that most employees want to do a good job and it is your responsibility as a manager to help them identify their boundaries and goals and to provide them with the necessary resources to accomplish them.

You Might Also Like:

1. Advantages and Disadvantages of Performance Appraisals
2. Performance Feedback Disadvantages
3. Team Charter Statement – Why Writing a Team Charter and Purpose Statement is Important