Evaluating Performance Evaluations
By Renée Eaton

Performance evaluations are as much a part of workplaces as the water cooler. While many an employee has worried over these necessary evaluations, so too do the evaluators. Recently we received an e-mail from a Generating Greatness reader highlighting a problem they have in their department.

As a manager of a (small) dept with great long term employees, sometimes, it becomes difficult to perform evaluations. Sometimes even the great employees can become "stale".especially if they are comfortable where they are at. What can you do to motivate these people? And how can you get more creative (effective) with their performance evaluations?

The most important thing to remember about evaluations is to communicate. Often people get caught up in the role of evaluating and ranking that they forget to communicate back to the person the reason for their overall "score." Remember to share ideas, opinions, and information with the employees. By communicating ideas on how they can improve and goals they can reach, you may motivate them to new levels.

If you feel your evaluations do little to promote this type of communication, you might want to consider switching to a different type. Alternative evaluations are more focused on growth and development and are not used so much for the purposes of raises and bonuses. This allows employees to open up more about what they need to improve their work or where they may be faltering without fear of being judged or passed over.

Here are two alternative performance evaluations:

Peer Reviews

With a peer review, employees are able to review one another. These usually have a higher level of acceptance amongst employees and are more task-relevant and accurate. This also allows colleagues to understand what each other does and allows tensions that may have been building up to be safely relieved. Overall, it creates a better work environment with less frustration.

Self-Reviews

Self-reviews allow employees to evaluate their own work. As they are the most familiar with it, their involvement in the evaluation process is important. Usually these take the form of a survey where the employee rates themselves on a number of criteria and then give their own suggestions for improvement.

This allows the employee to have a stake in their growth and development and a responsibility in their work. They also help the employee clarify their goals and weaknesses. For employees who need a little motivation, this might bring to light areas where they are that are lacking. It isn't necessary for the manager to be involved, but a sit down afterwards to discuss it can help.

If you have a topic you'd be interested in seeing more about in a future issue, please contact the editor, Renée Eaton at reaton@bizxcel.com.

Source: "Alternative Performance Reviews." Toolpack.com. Toolpack Consulting. 22 Sept. 2008 <http://www.toolpack.com/performance.html>.

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Renée Eaton is a Communications Specialist, researcher and writer for BizXcel Inc. and editor for Generating Greatness.