Evaluations

When it comes to evaluations, don’t wait until the end of the year to have yours. People need ongoing encouragement and check ins to ensure that they are improving what was talked about and waiting for a yearly review will not be in anyone’s best interests. To make the review process more smooth have more ongoing discussions to prevent any problems from surfacing later. No one likes surprises when they could have learned about it, and changed it, earlier.

 

It is also important to remember that what gets measured gets changed. If you have an employee with a poor attitude, but who performs well and the only that is measured are sales, then they will probably not change their attitude. If the attitude needs changing, make it a larger part of the weighted total.

 

Set specific goals. Make sure to really get to know the person, what their job is, what they think their job is and what goals they have. Use this information to customize their job description to accurately reflect them as an individual. Then, set specific goals for them to achieve and measure that progress on an ongoing basis. When people feel that they are understood and involved in the process, they are more likely to succeed.

 

Align their personal goals with organizational strategy. Once their job has been customized to reflect them and you know what their personal and career goals are, you can put that in context to the larger strategy. Work with them to see how their performance interacts with the organization. This can create better engagement and make them feel more valued in their role when they see how it relates to the bigger picture.

 

The review process is not meant to be done only once or twice a year. It is a time to really discuss the job, the concerns and work together to solve problems on an ongoing basis. As people and relationships grow, so too should the process. Waiting until the next review to let someone know how they are doing is not going to improve trust, efficiency or success for anyone. Getting to know people, their insights, their values and their goals and working with them consistently will have a positive impact on everyone.