THREE TYPES OF EVALUATIONS

 

The annual employee performance evaluation has historically been viewed as an uncomfortable conversation between the employee and the manager, in which the employee endures a seeming eternity of anxiety listening to the manager recite the good, the bad and the ugly of the previous years’ performance record. Frankly, the process is just as uncomfortable for the manager, especially if it falls on the manager to deliver less than good news. Things would go a lot better if both parties could view this process as a collaborative conversation designed to aid both parties – and, ultimately, the company – in achieving even greater levels of success in the future.

Many companies have discovered that this greater success is easier to achieve if the formal evaluation process is expanded to a three-stage operation.

Stage One – The Employee evaluates his or her own performance

By first allowing employees to share their own impressions of their performance, managers can glean helpful information to guide them in understanding and interacting more effectively with employees during the remainder of the interview. There are many ways to approach this, but -- assuming the employee has a well-defined job description – it could be as simple as asking employees to rate their effectiveness at doing their jobs by assigning a number between 1 and 5 (with 5 being exceptional) to each task in their job descriptions. In addition, it could be very enlightening to ask employees to rate their job satisfaction. Ask them to choose the three most important they are looking for in a good job, and then ask them to assign a number between 1 and 5 to each one based on how pleased or displeased they are with what they are receiving.

Stage Two – The Manager shares the "formal" evaluation with the Employee

This is the time to share with the employee the detailed evaluation you have prepared, including whatever commendations, corrections and recommendations you believe to be necessary, using whatever scoring system your company has chosen. Try to make this a dialogue as you brainstorm any needed solutions with the employee. The goal here is to increase trust and teamwork, develop any performance improvement goals or plans, and conclude the meeting on a positive, hopeful note.

Stage Three – The Employee Evaluates the Manager

Do you really want to know what kind of job you are doing as a manager? Don’t rely exclusively on feedback from YOUR manager; instead, ask for feedback from those you manage. Sometimes referred to as 360 Evaluation (because it brings the evaluation process full circle), providing the employee an opportunity to provide feedback to the manager can be one of the most valuable components of an effective evaluation program.

Even the most dedicated and knowledgeable manager has blind spots which can contribute to a loss of effectiveness in one or more areas. None of us can see ourselves as others see us. However, since a major factor in a manager’s success is being able to elicit confidence and cooperation from his or her team, it is vital for the manager to be made aware of anything an employee might be feeling or seeing that would undermine confidence and cooperation.

It is important to point out that soliciting this input is not the same as validating it in every case; after all, the occasional disgruntled employee may simply have an axe to grind or hold an irrational point of view. However, even if the feedback is not factually accurate, it is still important for the manager to discover that the employee is harboring those feelings, because they are certainly affecting the employee’s performance. Also, it is probably wise for the manager to discount effusive praise, because some employees will polish the apple in hopes of currying the manager’s favor.

Taking these caveats into consideration, the 360 evaluation process is still an effective way to develop greater trust and understanding between manager and employee. The positive impact of this collaborative approach yields the most promise for improving the performance of your team.

 

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July Management Quick Tip of the Month -- Avoid the Blame Game

The quarterly board meeting is tomorrow and you have had your team working for a solid week putting together the key elements of an important presentation. You have been cranking out Power Point slides, charts graphs, spreadsheets, and a very attractive presentation booklet to hold all the key elements. An hour before close of business, you discover one of the spreadsheets has a drastic error in it. One of your data entry clerks totally mis-keyed an entire line. What do you do? You could yell and scream and blame and waste a lot of time. Instead, get a grip. Nobody is perfect. People make mistakes. Sometimes they make BIG mistakes. You ought to know; you have certainly made your share. Get over it and get to work on the correcting the booklet. Always remember: fix the problem, not the blame. Your team member will appreciate your compassion, and work that much harder for you next time.