Re-Thinking the Performance Evaluation Process

Re-Thinking the Performance Evaluation Process

by Wayne Forster, President & CEO, Forster Emerson

Organizations conduct performance evaluations with the best intentions – to improve employee performance, to help the organization achieve its goals, and to strengthen the relationship between the employee and their manager or supervisor. Unfortunately, the traditional performance evaluation doesn’t actually help realize any of these laudable intentions.

In the traditional performance review, a generic evaluation form with some type of scoring system is usually used and is typically followed by a performance review meeting.

Many times this traditional approach to employee performance does more harm than good, succeeding only in encouraging conflict and confrontation, pitting the employee on one side with their manager or supervisor on the other. It focuses on personality traits and behavioral tendencies, not actual performance.

Organizations would often be better off NOT doing performance evaluations, if they are going to continue doing them in the traditional way.

However, there is an alternative ~ an approach that addresses many of the problems that plague the traditional method.

This alternative approach, which I call the “Collaborative Method” of performance evaluation, implements a system that fosters joint accountability for the employee’s performance on the part of the employee and their manager or supervisor.

The Collaborative Method begins with the establishment of mutually developed performance expectations linked directly to the overall goals of the organization. This is established, in part, by identifying and collecting information from various sources related to performance factors for the position and by eliminating meaningless scoring systems based on arbitrary definitions of performance.

The best place to start is to review the overall goals of the organization and the job description for the position to ensure it remains relevant. Together with the employee, develop a set of performance expectations for the position, ensuring each expectation contributes to the achievement of the goals of the organization.

Three times a year, hold a “Performance Discussion Meeting” with the employee to discuss progress on achieving the position’s performance expectations, ensuring a collaborative discussion based on mutual accountability for results. At the end of each meeting, review the position’s performance expectations to ensure they remain relevant to the goals of the organization and the actual position itself.

Following each Performance Discussion Meeting, collaboratively develop a Performance Plan for the position for the next four months. Ensure the Plan:

- Identifies what the employee needs to do to achieve the Performance Plan.
- Identifies what the employee’s manager/supervisor needs to do to help the employee achieve the Performance Plan.
- Identifies what the organization needs to do to help the employee achieve the Performance Plan.

If done properly, performance evaluations done the right way will indeed be time well spent – helping improve employee performance, helping the organization achieve its goals, and strengthening the relationship between the employee and their manager or supervisor.