Employee Evaluation

msmith

I am the HR Manager at an Archtectural and Engineering firm. We are looking for a way to make our Perfomance Evaluation process more worthwhile. Presently the the evaluation is a two page document that rates such things as Technical Knowledge, Productivity, Dependability, etc. The managers are given a evaluation sheet to do on each staff member once a year. They rate each employee by letter grade, E - for exceeds all expectations, G - Meets all expections, A - meets nearly all expectations and I - needs improvement. The employees also receive a copy of the same form and are asked to rate themselves.
They are also asked four questions related to their job and if they are satisfied with current assigments. These evaluations are done prior to raises. I would like to find out what other professional companies use to evaluate their employees and how they use them to benefit both the employee and company.
Please include timeing of evaluations, do you preform evaluation at anniversary, once a year when increases are given etc.

PMI

We have an evaluation similar to yours (we're an insurance company), except ours is about 4 pages and covers 9 topics. An important part of our evaluation is a personal/professional development plan for the employee that includes goals, objectives, and action plans that are tied to the company's strategic plan. The development plan is written by the employee and supervisor together after the performance appraisal is reviewed. The development plan includes initiatives designed to address any performance weaknesses brought out in the appraisal (or, conversely, the plan may include initiatives designed to capitalize on the employee's strengths). The first question on the performance appraisal is related to the employee's progress with regards to the prior year's development plan.

The professional development plan is intended to serve as the employee's and supervisor's "road map" for the upcoming year. All appraisals are completed prior to a common review date (July 1). The professional development plans are reviewed twice during the year (Nov and March). This system has worked well for us because it puts the employee in the driver's seat, in terms of managing his or her own performance & development. It has helped with planning and budgeting for training, and has eliminated some of the frivolous stuff (ie, unplanned, not related to employee's job) that employees were routinely taking. Finally, this system is used as a method for development of key employees (succession planning).

Margaret Morford

One suggestion I might make is not to give the employee the same review form the manager uses to rate him/her. Rather than be honest, employees will strive to make their form match the supervisor's, otherwise they believe they did the "assignment" wrong. Some employees are also intimidated by the length and detail required by evaluation forms. I have developed a simple 10 question Self Appraisal that will help facilitate a dialogue with the supervisor about the employee's performance. The supervisor gives it to the employee prior to writing the review with the instruction that he/she wants the employee's help in writing their performance review. The supervisor should use as much information from the Self Appraisal as possible. The employee gets to give feedback for their own review and the supervisor gets help writing the review. Employees will remember accomplishments we (supervisors) sometimes forget and will set goals we may never have thought of. I'd be glad to send you a copy of the form if you like. My e-mail is [email]mmorford@mleesmith.com[/email].

Margaret Morford
theHRedge