Performance reviews are an annual ritual for many employers, but their usefulness has been debated for years.
To make sure you—and your employees—get the most out of performance reviews, follow these five tips.
- Perform formal evaluations at the same time for everyone each year. While this increases the workload of managers and supervisors during review time, it forces direct comparisons of employees and establishes a nonbiased system.
- Have regular meetings with supervisory staff. Supervisors will learn from each other’s experiences. Provide adequate training and insist on candid observations.
- Clearly communicate to employees what their duties are and what satisfactory performance is. Accomplish this through periodic reviews of job descriptions, training, and both formal and informal reviews.
- Tell employees the criteria upon which their performance will be reviewed. Develop standards and establish reasonable goals for employees. Make sure that employees understand the consequences of their failure to improve.
- Don’t wait until the annual evaluation to provide feedback; offer it throughout the year. Give both positive and negative feedback regularly or it becomes less useful.
