straddling the fence

karenmc · May 2004

We are in the process of yearly perfomance reviews (the first time this has been done under this management). A few employees have asked for a copy. I'm on the fence. I need opinions and ugly stories please.

System · May 2004

Is the employee asking for a copy of his/her own completed performance review with their own comments? I don't know why not. Nothing wrong with it here. Are your supervisors trained on how to give them?

In fact, sometimes when I'm conducting reference checks on a candidate, (after the conditional offer, of course) I ask them for a copy of their most recent evaluation from their former employer. Many of them have one.

hrwoman · May 2004

If an employee asks for a copy of their performance evaluation, we always give them one. Some want them some don't.

HR in CA · May 2004

My current company doesn't do them. However the company I worked for before did them every six months. Copies were given to the employees after the employee and the supervisor signed off of the review.

No horror stories to report. However, we supplied training yearly to managers on how to complete them and any new manager was given the training before review time.

The spring review was tied in raises, if I had my way the reviews would have been separate from annual raises.

Gillian3 · May 2004

I don't have any ugly stories other than opinions, in general, about performance appraisal and that is ugly. Back to your question, employees should always be given a copy of the appraisal, just as they should receive a copy of a corrective action memo. It is just good business to promote an open relationship with employees and putting appraisals or corrective action memo's in files without them having a copy appears (to employees) that you have some sort of secret system not open to them.

karenmc · May 2004

I feel our managers are well trained and I have personally gone over each review that will be given. I guess I'm just waiting for something to come back and bite me.

Gillian3 · May 2004

I think that the bites are more likely when employees don't have copies than if they do - if for no other reason that resentment that they aren't given a copy.

Pork · May 2004

KARENMC: One should never hesitate to provide an ee with a current copy of the evaluation, the manager should insist the evaluated person take a copy and sign an acknowledgement of receipt of the discussion and copy. Evals are nothing more than helping and development tools. If it is done for anyother reason the evaluation program should be scrapped and flushed down the toilet to the lagoon to cook off with the rest of the manure. If anyone of our managers was fearful of giving an employee a truly honest evaluation then the manager should be hung up by his finger tips and connected to an electric battery. The manager should be kept there until he/she has learned the lesson of leadership and personal development of those we are charged with the responsibility to make their life in the company a fruitful and interesting opportunity to grow.

Horrors should come to the HR professional who would walk the line on being careful about an honest evaluation be it positive or negative; the truth is all that we humans usually want. We humans will rise to the level of expectations, if we are only told what the expectations are.

What a day and only in America can we mess this one up!

PORK

karenmc · May 2004

Our managers are well trained and the reviews were well done. But with the world in "litigation mode" its as though everything needs to be cleared through an attorney. (Which is what I was told when I said I was giving copies to the employees.) Just need your support to make a case here. Thanks.

Pork · May 2004

I would not think of giving our attorney the opportunity of turning over his sand clock to review this question. The reason the legal world id so screwed up now is because we professional HRs have not been as forceful and aggressive as we should be in taking charge of things like Evaluation as long as they are honest. If not then you better get a real good attorney and keep everything from every body and make the attorneys richer.

PORK

Brad Forrister · May 2004

I vote with Pork, Don, & the others. You should give the employee a copy. And you should get an acknowledgement from the employee.

It's better for management if the employee has a copy of an honestly written appraisal that matches what the employee was told in the review, and for management to have the employee's signature saying the employee received it. First, if the purpose of the evaluation is to provide the employee with feedback for future improvement, a written summary of the main points of the review would be good reinforcement. Second, from a legal standpoint, giving the employee a copy and getting the employee's signature means you won't have a swearing contest later on if you need to prove that the documentation is a contemporaneous record of the review.

Brad Forrister
Director of Publishing
M. Lee Smith Publishers

Don D · May 2004

I would like for some HR professional to give me a good reason why an employee SHOULD NOT be given a copy of his/her annual review. If the review is an honest and accurate portrayal of the past year's performance, why not? I have a file of my personal reviews going back several or more decades, back to the day when my review stated, "Wears his hear and sideburns longer than I personally like". Why not, for God's sakes? It's not like they can't be had by legal process anyway. What a dishonest approach to a review to hold it close to the chest, read it, and snatch it away and dismiss the employee with the comment, "Sorry, can't release this to you".

Pork · May 2004

FOLKS, With Don and I you have close to 50 years of HR experienced with both of us based in the beginning of our careers in the government services. Like "Dandy Don" I too have personal copies of every interview ever done on me. From the one where my commanding officer in VN (for you young folks out there, VN stands for VietNam) was a BG and his words which told me mountains of value in my "understanding of me and my specific behaviors", "This officer is the answer to my dreams and prayers" to the one written by a senior field grade, ready to be a flag officer, which wrote,"This is the bumbest Armor Officer with whom I have had the opportunity to lead." With this last report I knew my career in the US Army was over. I tried my best to over shadow the report and cover it with several more good reports, but in the end 6 years later and two new assignments, I had been passed over for the highest Field Grade rank and decided to change my vocation. It was the right choice and the right thing to do. I thought the 2nd senior officer was wrong in his prejudicial judgements, but in the end it did not matter, "I had not done my best work for this leader" and it cost me a career. Telling our followers exactly how we preceive their abilities and opportunities is the right thing to do for our followers and ourselves.

To heck with giving attorneys money for doing what we know is right, take charge and be open, honest, and proud that you never lead any follower in the wrong direction with dishonest evaluations.

PORK

sonny · May 2004

You are really something special Pork. I can't help but believe your early evals. were the accurate ones. But had you not left the Army, you probably wouldn't be here and that would be our loss.

straddling the fence

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