Employee performance reviews are very important, whether you perform them annually or every six months. The reviews provide both you and the employee with a perspective of their performance in the company. Highlighting the good gives an employee a sense of accomplishment, while pointing out weaknesses can be essential in setting new goals. It is widely understood that no one really enjoys giving or receiving employee performance reviews, but with the majority of companies they are an annual requirement, so you might as well make the best out of the situation, right?
There are a few things that should be covered in your employee performance reviews, things such as the following;
- There should be positive things on the review. Unless your employee is horrible at their job I am sure they have done a few positive things throughout the year. Be sure to praise the employee for the good things they are doing. Studies have shown when employees get recognition for the positive things they do they perform better. With that being said this positive recognition does not have to occur only at the time of their performance review. Anytime you see an employee doing a great job they should be recognized — it will fuel them to keep up the good work. If your employee does have some negative marks on their review that need to be addressed, be sure to address them in an understanding non-condescending way. Make the employee feel that you genuinely care and want to see them succeed, in most cases the negative aspects outlined in a review do not occur on a regular basis, or the employee may not have even realized they occurred.
- Be prepared. This checklist is great to use when you are preparing for an employee’s performance review.
- A copy of the employee’s performance plan
- Notes of previous meetings with the employee (remember what was discussed with the employee during previous meetings)
- Employee self-evaluation documents, which could include a list of completed projects and accomplishments prepared by the employee
- Written or recorded feedback on employee performance from other sources (these can include letters of appreciation, customer feedback, etc.)
- Appraisal program instructions that describe the performance appraisal process and procedures.
- In the end provide a few positive ways the employee can improve on the areas that were negatively affected over the past year. During this point in the review you should also give the employee feedback on how their performance is helping the company/group as a whole to achieve the goals company wide. You can also use this time to motivate them to continue to improve this is where the examples on how they can change the negative issues stated above come into play.
One major thing to keep in mind it your employees are really the backbone of the company. Without them the company would not function on a daily basis. So, it is much smarter to get your current employees to perform on a positive level rather than starting over with new employees.
