performance appraisals
how to Write a Performance Appraisal: 10 Tips for Developing Your Staff
Ready to learn how to write a performance appraisal that is effective? Just follow these simple steps.
Performance appraisals are a necessary evil that many people don’t want to do. Writing a performance appraisal is difficult, but they are also offer an opportunity to make sure you’re doing the right thing for your employees. The following tips will show you how to write a performance appraisal to help develop a more efficient and effective workforce:
1. Build Trust
Build trust with the person being reviewed by providing clear expectations and rewards for success. As you build trust with your employees they will develop the desire to gain your trust as well. Trust is a two way street and interpersonal relationships are more cohesive when it is established.
2. Establish Expectations
Talk about the company’s expectations. Make sure they know what is expected of them, and how their performance will be evaluated in relation to those expectations. Setting these expectations early gives the employee a roadmap they can follow to be successful in the upcoming appraisal period.
3. Be Honest
Give detailed feedback on both strengths and weaknesses so that employees know what needs improvement. Your employees need to know that they can trust you and depend on you to lead them as best you can. Developing trust with your employees leads to a more productive workforce who is happy to come in to work. Not only will they perform to their highest abilities but will feel like part of the team.
4. ask what they need to succeed
Ask them what they need to succeed. This will help you understand how their appraisal can be improved for the future. As a result, asking them what they need to succeed it makes employees feel like you have their success in mind. They see you are willing to listen to what they need in order to be successful. Employees who feel valued develop higher levels of brand loyalty and are typically more productive.
5. Give Feedback
Give feedback every six months, or at another interval that works best with your company’s culture. Providing regular appraisals provides a chance to make any corrections in behavior, allows you to set expectations, and provides a timeline in which those expectations should be met.
6. Provide Training
Provide training on performance appraisals if necessary and appropriate. Letting your employees know how they will be graded and what their expectations are is a simple way of letting your employees know what is expected of them.
7. Choose your words wisely
Choose your words wisely. Ensure that communication is clear and concise. When setting expectations, it is important to provide a clear message so the employee is not confused about what needs to be improved.
8. Do it in person
Performance appraisals should be conducted face-to-face whenever possible. Conducting the appraisal in person is more comforting to employees who are lack certain skillsets and may feel more comfortable asking questions in person. Also, knowing that you set aside time for them specifically makes them feel cared for and valued. Conducting the eval in person gives you and the employee an opportunity to connect. The last thing an employee wants is to be evaluated in secret or through email. Employees respond well to constructive criticism when they can look you in the eye and ask questions.
9. Include an action plan
Include an action plan for improvement by providing a list of behaviors or skills that need work so employees can self-assess where they currently stand against your organization’s requirements. Provide specific examples of how to improve in each area during the next review period to show them tangible ways to grow their skillset. Give a specific timeline of what tasks are to be improved on and how they will be evaluated so the employee can set specific goals. A good way to do this is by helping the employee pencil in dates in the quarter in which you will meet to ensure that goals are being met.
10. end on a positive note
End on a positive note. Performance appraisals are nerve wracking to begin with. Walking into a room to be judged on your performance all quarter is not the ideal situation for anyone. However, by ending on a positive note you can motivate the employee to strive to do better.Firstly, the employee will be clear in the areas they need improvement. But also, by ending on a positive note they will not feel like they are under attack. This shows employees that you also see the good things they do, and not just the bad.
Key Points
Build trust with the person being reviewed by providing clear expectations and rewards for success. This will make it easier to provide feedback on strengths and weaknesses. By building trust you can be honest and the employee attacked or discouraged from trying their best. Because you are honest they sense that you have their best interest in mind.
Give detailed feedback on both strengths and weaknesses so that employees know what needs improvement, as well as how they might improve in each area during the next review period to show them tangible ways to grow their skillset. Giving people something concrete is a more effective way of showing your appreciation than vague platitudes like “good job.” This also gives some direction about how they can get better at certain tasks. Finally, this helps them be successful within your company’s culture going forward.
These tips on how to write a performance appraisal can be used to develop your workforce in a way that helps create better employees with deep organizational loyalty and a hunger to succeed.
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