Performance Evaluation Is Fuel for Your Staff

Human resources management and personnel management in particular consist of developing the company’s employees and recognizing the work they have accomplished. To do this, it is necessary to set SMART objectives that are:

• Specific: a specific action
• Measurable: with an indicator
• Achievable: with the steps to be taken
• Realistic: in terms of resources, people, budget, equipment
• Time: in a given time frame

so that individual employee performance can be assessed on the basis of these objectives.

Employee Evaluations: why do it?

Performance evaluations are meant to assess not only performance in general but also progress on specific objectives. The performance evaluation is an opportunity to

• Recognize the employee’s work
• Identify areas for improvement
• Agree on professional development, the objective, and the training required to achieve it

When evaluating the performance of the staff is part of everyday worklife, including positive acknowledgements, training proposals, time spent, and explanations to unblock difficult situations, the end-of-year performance evaluation is not a surprise for either party.

Evaluating an Employee’s Performance: how to do it?

• Choose a quiet place, without a phone
• Plan sufficient time to be attentive and relaxed
• Prepare the meeting and note the specific points to be discussed.

After doing the preparatory work, focus on the following guidelines to ensure a thorough evaluation that allows for dialogue.

• Start with an assessment of the main points and be factual: have the objectives been properly achieved? Has performance declined? If so, in which area? Give examples.
• Review the employee’s objectives one by one. To what extent have they been achieved? What positive points can be highlighted? Where are there areas for improvement? What can be done next?
• Be open to discussion and propose solutions.
• Focus on professional development and planned evolution.
• Address the objectives for the next period: ensure that they are both measurable and achievable, with specific deadlines. Engage your employee to take ownership of the actions.
• Summarize your assessment and note the new objectives for the following year. After documenting this material, you and the employee must sign the document. This document then serves as a reference for the next evaluation.

Many managers think that performance evaluations are a waste of time. And yet, evaluation is an essential tool for

• Rewarding success
• Improving performance
• Establishing areas for improvement and progress

Make Your Evaluation Successful

Here are some tips for making the evaluation as successful as possible for both parties:

Meet regularly: Review and formalize what has already been said once or twice a year, so that your employee is not surprised by your feedback.

• Be prepared: This is a way to show interest in your employee and exchange ideas constructively. In fact, you can ask employees to prepare their own evaluations as well.
• Be fair and consistent: Implement the same interview guide for everyone.
• Be positive: Start with positive comments; then address problems, focusing on solutions.
• Be objective: Avoid personal opinions and present an objective summary of employee performance, including positive and negative comments.
• Use foresight: Together, identify measurable and achievable objectives to maximize the chances of success in the future.
• Be precise: Be clear and make sure that your employee understands you

Make it timely: Don’t wait until the time of the evaluation to let your employee know his or her performance level. Praise the employee when it’s warranted, and intervene in case of difficulties. Evaluations are crucial, but regular feedback contributes to continuous performance improvement.

On the same theme, find more information about your staff list, vacation management in the company or training scheduling.