Tag: performance review

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A guide to writing employee performance reviews

oil painting of a hand writing on paper

Summary

  • Provide employees with clear, constructive, and actionable feedback.

  • Give employees an opportunity to offer valuable peer and managerial feedback with performance management software. 

  • Use objective, measurable criteria when reviewing or setting performance goals.

  • Focus where an employee has room for growth and opportunities to improve.

Without regular performance reviews, an employee’s work may not align with the job they’re paid to do. This can negatively impact managers, from missing early indications of underperformance to losing out on opportunities to celebrate an employee’s achievements. 

Annual performance reviews can also have a significant impact on your company culture. These assessments help confirm that team members’ overall performance supports the company’s goals. They also strengthen working relationships by ensuring a continual feedback loop with your employees. 

When conducting performance evaluations — especially for the first time — it helps to work from an established template to ensure your evaluations are thorough and your performance review period goes smoothly. In this guide, we’ll review some critical areas to cover in a performance review. When done right, performance reviews can keep employees motivated and engaged while resulting in higher achievements for the team.

1. Evaluate how the employee’s current duties fit with their job description

As a starting point, compare what an employee does daily to their duties as outlined in their job description. This provides a baseline for determining if the employee is doing their primary job functions as assigned.

If an employee isn’t meeting the duties of their job description, you can begin to plan the next steps to address performance issues. If they’re performing their job duties as expected, you can move forward with your standard process for evaluation.

Comparing an employee’s current duties with their assigned duties also helps identify who might be going above and beyond in the workplace. If an employee has taken on more responsibility than their job description, they may be on track for a promotion or a raise, or they could be at risk for burnout.

2. Be comprehensive in employee evaluations 

Performance appraisals are about more than whether or not an employee is fulfilling their daily responsibilities. Evaluations also help address their competencies holistically. Below are various areas to consider including in your performance review template.

  • Attendance and punctuality: Is the employee working their assigned days and shifts? Do they consistently arrive at work on time and stay until their scheduled end time?
  • Quantity of work: Is the employee completing the amount of work they’re supposed to? Are they meeting productivity requirements?
  • Quality of work: Is the employee’s work being accomplished to your expected quality standards? Are there frequent errors? Are they going above and beyond?
  • Achievement: Is the employee meeting other standards or metrics for success?
  • Problem-solving: Does the employee help solve problems and find solutions when faced with challenges?
  • Time management: Does the employee meet deadlines as assigned?
  • Communication skills: Is the employee communicative about the status of their work and proactive with issues that arise?
  • Teamwork: Does the employee work well with the rest of the team and clientele?

3. Be specific and use objective criteria

Vagueness can create uncertainty and confusion in performance reviews. Use specific language and examples whenever possible. 

For example, instead of relying on general phrases like, “Is usually good with customers,” try, “Excels at helping customers find the product they need and find alternatives when a product is out of stock.” Do point out where someone makes mistakes in their work but frame it as constructive criticism. Help employees understand how to do better, especially if it involves a skill they already have and could further develop.

Use objective, measurable criteria when you review or set performance goals, such as deadlines met, tardiness and absences, or sales goals. You should have solid data to support your performance assessments. This can also help when considering promotions, bonuses, and other incentives.

4. Use relevant data when applicable

As mentioned in the previous point, numbers are essential. Broad discussions about performance goals tend to go nowhere, especially when conducted too frequently. It helps to back up your performance reviews with concrete, historical data. 

For hourly staff in general, this could take the form of attendance points. When conducting a review, ensure all the points an employee has accumulated for attendance infractions are clearly laid out for them. Visualizing these numbers brings urgency to the conversation and helps employees better understand where they fall short with attendance and how to improve. 

Webinar: Points-Based Attendance

For sales associates, relevant data could be closed deals, while for retail workers, it could be something like time taken to serve a customer or sales per labor hour. No matter your industry, there is almost data to back up a staff member’s performance. Just be sure that your performance review does not hinge entirely on data – account for the human behind the numbers as well. 

5. Cover areas of improvement and where the employee has already improved 

Review areas where employees need performance improvement and provide constructive feedback. Also, offer positive feedback on areas where they’ve shown improvement since their last review. 

Don’t just tell an employee what is going wrong — provide examples and make it a conversation. In addition to telling them about potential solutions you see, ask for their ideas and feedback. Invite them to collaborate and offer their own ideas.

Cover both strengths and weaknesses of the employee throughout their review. You might tell a direct report, “Your knowledge of our add-on products could be more thorough, and I know with your demonstrated work ethic that you can master those.”

Review areas where the employee has shown improvement and reflect on their growth. Discuss how these improvements have positively impacted the employee’s work, team, or company, if possible.

6. Set realistic, actionable goals and plans

Create plans that include specific goals for employees with clear expectations for their professional development.

Wherever possible, use SMART goals — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. If you’re setting goals for an employee who is frequently late, a SMART goal might be for them to arrive to work on time for every shift for the next quarter.

Be transparent about what’s needed from employees so they understand what they’re doing well and what they need to work on. Provide a written plan at the end of the review or send them a follow-up later. Include potential development opportunities where they can grow in their position and their career.

7. Consider adding self-evaluations and other employee feedback.    

When you include a self-assessment as part of the performance review process, you may capture insights that would be otherwise missed. Employees may have ideas for their own development that help support their career goals and the company. This participation can increase employee engagement.

You can go beyond a manager-to-employee review and self-assessment by incorporating 360-degree feedback. With this Workforce feature, employees can provide feedback to each other at all levels. Peers can review each other, employees can review managers, managers can review direct reports, and more.

Performance review periods also present an opportunity to ask employees to engage in other types of assessments. If there are business processes you want to improve, for example, consider sending a survey to employees for their feedback. Or, promote employee recognition by asking your team to offer positive feedback to their coworkers.

Make use of tools that can help you track ongoing performance.

While formal performance reviews typically happen on a fixed schedule, be sure to connect with employees regularly. Workforce.com can help you do both with performance management software that’s mobile-first, non-intrusive, and designed for shift-based workforces.

To find out more, get in touch with our team today.

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What is a performance management system? A detailed guide

Summary

  • A performance management system (PMS) is a combination of tools and processes that companies use to measure and monitor each employee’s performance. 

  • A PMS lets you schedule reviews, set expectations and goals with employees, monitor their performance in a collaborative way, and recognize good performance. 

  • A PMS is beneficial to your company and your employees because it centralizes the performance review process, helps you address training needs, and promotes self-motivation.

A performance management system (PMS) is a combination of tools and processes that companies use to measure and monitor how each employee contributes to the success of the company. 

A strong PMS enables you to easily work together with managers and employees to achieve goals and recognize good performance. Implementing a PMS helps guarantee that everyone across the organization is aligned on and contributing to overall business objectives.

Benefits of a performance management system

A PMS is beneficial to your company and employees because it centralizes performance management, helps you address training needs better, and promotes self-motivation.

Centralizes performance reviews

The PMS acts as the single source of truth for measuring and reviewing staff performance. Everyone from HR directors down to frontline workers can use the same system to submit feedback, schedule reviews, and set development goals. 

With a centralized performance management system, there’s full transparency. It creates an environment where everyone knows what’s expected of them and what they need to improve upon. Without one, it is easy for an organization to lose sight of how individual performances impact one another across teams and departments. It also limits the degree to which management can audit the history and development of an employee’s performance. 

Allows you to better address training needs

A PMS also gives you more accurate insight into the training needs of your employees, so you know what areas they can be upskilled in, what new abilities they need to develop, and how they can otherwise boost their performance. 

Information like skill reviews, feedback, and performance metrics gets logged into the PMS. HR and managers can then use the PMS to identify gaps in knowledge and skills for each employee and recommend certain training or courses to individual workers rather than a blanket suggestion for everyone.  

Helps promote a culture of self-sufficient employees 

With the help of a PMS, HR can work with managers to set expectations for their employees and delegate important tasks based on skill sets. This way, employees understand what is expected from them and work self-sufficiently. 

With a PMS, all employee skill sets, goals, and objectives are in a central spot — either in a tool, database, or spreadsheet. With this information, managers can empower employees by delegating important tasks they know they can handle, recognizing positive behaviors that they want to reinforce, and building a culture of transparency and trust. 

A culture of self-motivated employees can also mitigate the need for tattleware so that HR and managers don’t have to micromanage their employees. 

What to look for in a performance management system

A performance management system lets you work with managers to schedule reviews, set expectations and goals with employees, monitor their performance in a collaborative way, and recognize good performance. 

Performance review features

Perhaps the most critical function of a performance management system is its ability to schedule performance reviews. These reviews may occur as often or as little as you like. Some organizations may only conduct formal reviews on an annual basis, while others may schedule routine, informal reviews every week. Some may even schedule impromptu reviews as needed, based on attendance, scheduling, or teamwork issues. 

No matter the method, the physical process of scheduling reviews is the foundation upon which a performance management system is built. A solid performance management platform should feature a calender, notifications, and a streamlined process to set up reviews. 

Goal-setting or planning features

Goals are essential to help employees understand what is expected of them and how they can perform to meet company objectives. A performance management system should help you facilitate goal setting and planning so there is a clear roadmap to meeting goals that you, managers, and other employees can use and reference. 

HR and managers should have the ability to input OKRs, KPIs, action steps, and more into the PMS system. These are the foundational components of each employee’s goals and the benchmark for measuring their performance.  

The process of goal setting and planning should also be collaborative. Involve employees in their own goal-setting and planning so that they are more likely to buy into their goals and achieve them. 

Monitoring features

Use your PMS to monitor performance so you can help managers remove roadblocks for employees and motivate them. A PMS should let you see what all employees’ strengths and weaknesses are. Based on this information, you can work with managers to help employees improve on certain aspects of the job, like attendance — or skills, like customer service or communication. 

Look for the capability to input important talent metrics into your PMS so you and the managers can monitor them, compare them to previous performance inputs, and help employees understand what they can improve upon. Track talent metrics like attendance, retention, engagement, and quota attainment. 

Recognition features

Prioritizing recognition can go a long way toward increasing engagement. In fact, employees who receive adequate recognition are four times more likely to be engaged than employees who don’t. 

And remember: engaged employees are more productive and profitable to your company as a whole.

Your PMS should help you identify top performers and people who have picked up extra work and properly recognize them. Look for employees who have the fewest absences, complete all their tasks regularly, and have good customer feedback. All of this information should be in your PMS so you and your managers can easily recognize high-performing staff members. 

3 best practices for a performance management system

With a PMS in place, you want to encourage managers to act on the insights they receive, use it to provide ongoing feedback, and leverage it for succession planning. 

1. Encourage managers to act on the insights from your performance management system

Insights mean nothing if managers don’t use them to communicate regularly with employees about how to improve their performance. In fact, 55% of workers said that standard annual reviews do nothing to improve their performance. Instead, they need more specific insight into their performance on an ongoing basis. 

Set up regular recurring meetings between employees and their direct manager to discuss their performance, career plans, and growth based on data from the PMS. A good cadence for performance reviews is bi-weekly or once per month so that employees are always in the know about what they should improve on and what they are doing well. 

2. Use your performance management system to provide ongoing 360-degree feedback 

Feedback helps employees understand what they’re doing well and what they could improve on. Not only that, but employees whose managers offer them daily feedback are three times more likely to be engaged with the company they work for than those who receive feedback only once per year or less. 

To incite ongoing feedback, employees should be able to get feedback from managers, peers, and customers so they know how they’re performing. Collect feedback from comment cards, peer reviews, and manager one-on-ones. Then log all feedback for each employee into the PMS so everything lives in one place. 

Managers can look at the PMS to identify patterns in feedback — either to recognize the employee or to make a plan for improvement. 

3. Use your performance management system for succession planning

Succession planning can help you avoid any gaps in positions when an employee leaves or retires. This can make it less stressful or urgent when someone leaves because you already know which employee will fill the position from within and have a plan in place. 

Use an organizational chart to document promotions, positions that employees have an interest in, employee skill sets, and more. Identify current employees who would be good candidates for positions that are opening up in the future. Keep track of positions that are likely to open up for which you don’t have an employee to fill the role. 

By inputting all your succession information into a PMS, you have a better idea of when you need to start hiring externally. You’ll also be able to see which of your current employees need to be trained on certain skills in order to prepare them for their career growth.

Implement the right performance management system

Decide how you want to set up your PMS based on what works for your budget, the data you need to collect, and what tools or processes you’re already using. 

The right performance management system should make life easier, not harder. It should be unintrusive, fitting seamlessly into employee workflows, and it should add value to your organization in the long run. 

Oftentimes, you’ll find performance management platforms falling short in one, or even both, of these requirements. This is a pitfall that major white-collar agencies can tolerate, but for the majority of businesses out there with hardworking, hourly staff, choosing the wrong kind of performance management can be costly. 

Find out how to properly navigate employee performance by checking out our platform – we promise it’s worth your time. 

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5 ways to inspire employee engagement today

employee engagement tips

Employee engagement is not something you can achieve overnight. 

It takes time, dedication and leadership commitment for those HR leaders who want their workplaces to become a great place to work. Even Jim Harter, chief workplace scientist for Gallup, admits that seeing a significant change in engagement scores could take years. 

But don’t be discouraged. There are many things that can be done immediately that will start moving the needle on employee engagement. Here are five places to start.

1. Say something shocking. 

“Engagement is like a river,” said Greg Barnett, senior vice president of science for HR consultancy Predictive Index in Boston. “Sometimes you have to do something dramatic to change the way it flows.”

To do that, Barnett suggests leaders figure out what is missing from their culture, then make a grand gesture to demonstrate that things are going to be different. It could be sharing previously guarded company information, publicly celebrating employees for their hard work, or discussing the bad news that everyone has heard rumors about but no one is willing to discuss. “Shocking them with transparency is a great way to get everyone’s attention,” Barnett said.

2. Practice gratitude. 

“Showing employees that you value what they do is critical for engagement,” said Sarah Hamilton, senior director of HR for North America at Workhuman in Framingham, Massachusetts. “It shows them that what they do matters and helps them see how their work drives the company forward.”

Showing gratitude doesn’t require a sophisticated reward system or official gratitude program. It can be as simple as congratulating teams on the company’s social media platform, sending a personal note of thanks, and acknowledging their hard work in every conversation. “It feels good to be recognized but it also feels good to recognize others,” Hamilton said. “It is a powerful experience for everyone.”

3. Help them plan their careers.

Fully 94 percent of employees say they would stay at a company longer if the organization invested in their development. The ability to learn new skills makes them feel engaged and appreciated and shows them that the company is willing to invest in their future, Barnett said. “Managers can quickly make a short-term impact on engagement simply by paying attention to employees’ career development.” 

He encourages managers to build training plans around employees’ goals even if they extend beyond a career at the company. “Start by listening to what employees want for the future,” he said. Then if possible, help them find the training, mentoring and career advice to make it possible.

Some companies are tackling this goal head on. For example, Amazon’s Career Choice program covers tuition for employees who want training in any in-demand field — even if it has no relevance to the company; and McDonald’s new career exploration app, Archways to Careers, offers employees career advice to help them map out their professional career wherever it may take them. 

“Building an entire career development program requires coordinated effort,” he admitted. But taking the time to ask what employees want to do with their lives then offering to help is a great first step. 

4. Provide constant feedback.

The annual performance review is unofficially dead. If you want people to see the connection between their hard work and the company’s success, then constantly talk to them about it, Hamilton said. Workhuman uses the company’s Conversations platform to enable easy regular check-ins between managers and employees and between peers. 

She noted that teammates and colleagues often have a better sense of how work gets done and who is contributing than managers. Encouraging peer-to-peer feedback creates a culture of engagement and ensures hard work gets acknowledged. “A continuous feedback loop motivates and empowers employees, and makes everyone feel appreciated,” Hamilton said. 

5. Don’t stop.

All of these strategies can have a short-term impact on employee engagement, but the change will be fleeting unless you stay committed to these actions. That means continuing to be transparent, support career development, provide feedback and practice gratitude on a daily basis. “Engagement programs often fail because after a few months everyone moves on to the next thing,” Barnett said. 

So don’t do it unless you are willing to make changes that will stick.

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Interpreting and Improving Performance Reviews of Multicultural Employees

Have you ever encountered a performance review in which a manager criticizes a behavior that’s tied to an employee’s cultural norms rather than to performance issues?

As more multicultural employees join the workforce, organizations are challenged to identify, interpret and assess potentially biased evaluation input on these workers. According to a recent Harvard Business Review article, “while biases can affect any of an organization’s talent decisions, they can be especially harmful when it comes to diversity and inclusion efforts.” And there is perhaps no setting that shapes careers, salaries and lives like annual performance evaluations.

When it comes to developing and advancing multicultural employees, performance reviews can be a double-edged sword. Too often, reviews are either underutilized, resulting in missed opportunities to intervene, or administered with a lack of cultural awareness. This can leave multicultural employees feeling isolated and unable to make reasonable advancements, ultimately deeming them a retention risk.

After seeing more than one multicultural employee depart after a disappointing performance review, I’ve wondered if a different review experience could have prevented that outcome.

Common Review Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

From coaching many multicultural clients over the years, I’ve compiled some best practices that may be useful for HR and learning and development practitioners, as well as managers faced with these performance review challenges.

  1. No Surprises! Give Feedback Early and Often

When concerns over his clarity of speech were expressed for the first time, one multicultural coaching client said, “I had no idea they felt that way. It’s good to know now, but I had never heard that from them before.”

Negative or constructive feedback coming late in the cycle can unintentionally put multicultural employees at a disadvantage. Addressing language and communications development needs (presentations and writing skills, interpersonal communications or dimensions of emotional intelligence) requires extra time. These “higher order” skills are progressively learned and attained, so infrequent feedback, or feedback that relies too much on human memory, can limit multicultural employees’ progress.

  1. Don’t Let Comments Get ‘Lost in Translation’

Performance review comments are not always written in a way that is clear or actionable. Or they are overly nuanced, reflecting the commenter’s lack of comfort with direct, straightforward language.

For example, a consulting firm employee of Asian background was given the vague advice to “get verbal presence training,” instead of being told that he might explore speech coaching to help improve his speech clarity and articulation. Another multicultural coaching client noted, “It is always disappointing to get my work back with so many corrections — and no explanation of why it is wrong.”

A better way: Focus on clear, actionable steps, as in these recommendations excerpted from a multicultural employee’s review:

  • Speak louder — both in person and on calls.
  • Inject energy — vary tone and place emphasis on key words.
  • Be direct — clearly tell listeners what you have to say and recap if necessary.
  • Provide coherent structure — organize your points clearly so your key messages are not disjointed or confusing.
  1. Read between the Lines

Some managers are (understandably) reluctant to be too direct in their critiques for fear of giving offense or being politically incorrect. Others may display unintended bias or lack understanding of how cultural differences play into behaviors.

During a manager review feedback conversation, one Springboards coach was told: “My employee is an incredibly strong technical contributor, but accent gets in the way — wait, are we allowed to say that?”

When a senior level employee is either receiving or providing performance feedback, the process is especially delicate. It could benefit from having a neutral third party like a specialized coach who can assess communication, language and culture needs and present recommendations. A well-designed peer review tool really helps managers to articulate potentially sensitive development needs in a way that’s impartial and actionable. This tool also provides a clear roadmap for coaching follow-up.

Managers can zero in on specific employee competencies, for example:

Based on an effectiveness rating scale from 1 to 5, to what extent does the employee:

  • Speak English with clear pronunciation, appropriate word choice and proficient grammar?
  • Deliver the appropriate, essential message to the audience: high level or in-depth summary to colleagues/team as necessary?
  • Guide her audience through complex material with appropriate storytelling, leading them to a strong conclusion and clear takeaways?
  • Present analysis effectively to a range of audiences?
  • Speak clearly and at the right pace, pausing appropriately, allowing audience to absorb, interject, and engage naturally and comfortably; display a confident cadence and vocal style?
  1. Mind the Gap

In coaching engagements, we’ve often seen three to five month gaps between the review and the onset of follow-up training. By that point, the next talent review cycle is already well underway. Ideally, employees should immediately have a clear set of recommendations and goals and the appropriate resources to get there, like internal mentoring, coaching or skills training.

Given the extra time multicultural employees often need to address feedback recommendations and make training progress, for some, the writing may already be on the wall.

  1. Unintended Consequences: ‘There’s nowhere to go here’

Consider how frustrating it must be for an individual who has been given constructive feedback but has not been pointed in the right direction for immediate upskilling. “I feel embarrassed that people don’t understand me,” a multicultural coaching client recently shared. “Sometimes I think they are pretending to understand me so as not to hurt my feelings, but it is awkward either way.”

Thoughtful messaging can eliminate any stigma or suggestion that the employee needs to be “fixed.” If coaching is perceived by multicultural employees as remedial or as a last-ditch effort, their next step may well be to contemplate opportunities elsewhere. But when managers frame their feedback and subsequent recommendations to be both constructive and inclusive, performance reviews can be a positive force in advancing career development and opportunity for all employees.

 

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How’s Your Performance Review Performing?

performance review statistics

Each month Workforce looks at important statistics in the human resources sector. In this month’s edition, we explore performance reviews. The effectiveness of reviews has been been questioned before, and recent stats show that many organizations and employees are ambivalent of how accurately these reviews define employees performance.

performance review statistics by the numbers

Check out previous By the Numbers for statistics on retirement, flexible work arrangements, demographics within HR, and more.

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Sample Performance Review for Non-exempt Employees

performance measurement, performance appraisal

This form must be written in ink or typewritten

 

PERFORMANCE REVIEW AND EVALUATION

Name:
Position:

Location:
Department:

 

 

This review covers the period from __________to __________

The performance review and evaluation process requires the supervisor to do the following:

    1. Clearly establish the areas of responsibility for the job.
    2. Establish expectations, standards or objectives for the work to be done during the next review period.
    3. Periodically review progress with the subordinate concerning how well expectations were met. Maintain on-going documentation of performance.
    4. Annually review and evaluate performance.

The key to this process is clear communication between the supervisor and subordinate.

The objective of the entire process is to ensure that all employees understand:

    1. What they are to do;
    2. What the standards are by which they will be measured;
    3. How they are progressing; and
    4. What their evaluation is at the end of the review period.

Document the employee’s performance and select a rating (1-4, defined at the bottom of this document) for factors listed below:

 

Quality of Work — Consider the accuracy, thoroughness, and neatness of work performed.

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

 

Productivity — Consider the amount and timelines of satisfactory work completed and whether the employee consistently meets established or reasonable deadlines.

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

 

Interpersonal Skills — Consider the employee’s ability to work cooperatively with others, resolve conflict, and help others. Also consider customer relations, telephone technique, etc.

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

 

Dependability — Consider the reliability and consistency of the employee’s work. Also, consider the employee’s attendance record.

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

 

Initiative — Consider the exercise of independent judgment and innovation within the employee’s limits of authority and the amount of supervision required.

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

 

Job Knowledge — Consider the extent to which the employee understands and applies his/her knowledge of the techniques, methods, and skills involved in the job.

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

 

PERFORMANCE RATING DEFINITIONS

  1. CLEARLY OUTSTANDING: Clearly exceeds, by a significant degree, most of the major requirements of the job, while maintaining fully satisfactory performance in the remaining duties. Performance results are clearly outstanding. Employee regularly assumes additional responsibilities beyond those which are required. This rating usually including the top 10% of the workforce.

 

  • ABOVE EXPECTATIONS:

 

    Usually exceeds, by a significant degree, some of the major requirements of the job while maintaining fully satisfactory performance in the remaining duties. Employee often assumes additional responsibilities beyond those which are required.

 

  • MEETS EXPECTATIONS:

 

    Consistently meets and occasionally exceeds the requirements of the job. Performance results are satisfactory in all aspects of the job.

 

  • NEEDS IMPROVEMENT:

 

    Usually meets most of the job requirements; but improvement is needed in one or more phases of the job. Results are less than normally expected. When this rating is a warning that the employee’s job is in jeopardy if performance continues at the current level, Human Resources will be involved in preparing an Improvement Plan.

Discuss any other factors which relate to the employee’s work performance, such as significant accomplishments, critical incidents, or necessary improvements:

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

 

Overall Evaluation — Select one overall rating which best describes the employee’s performance throughout the review period considering the ratings and commentary throughout the above document.

Clearly Outstanding
Above Expectations
Meets Expectations
Needs Improvement

 

INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT

 

What are this employee’s strongest skills and abilities?

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

What development action(s) will be needed to maintain or improve current performance? Also, what action(s) will help prepare the employee for future job assignments?

 

Development Objective

 

 

 

 

Action/Anticipated

 

 

 

 

Completion Date

 

 

 

 

Appraised by
Date

Reviewed by
Date

Employee Comments:

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

Employee:
Date

(Employee signature does not necessarily signify agreement with the evaluation, but that the evaluation has been discussed with the supervisor.)

The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion.

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Sample performance appraisal for exempt employees

performance measurement, performance appraisal

Performance Appraisal for Exempt Employees

 

 

Name: _______________
Position: _______________
Location: _______________
Supervisor: _______________
Reviewer: _______________
Period Ending: _______________

PERFORMANCE RATINGS:

  1. Exceptional
  2. Above Expectations
  3. Meets Expectations
  4. Needs Improvement
  5. N/A — Not applicable
PERFORMANCE RATING DEFINITION
Exceptional: Consistent performance substantially exceeding normal expectations for total job.
Above Expectations: Frequently exceeds normal performance expectations for key job tasks.
Meets Expectations: Meets normal job requirements in accordance with established standards and may exceed requirements for some job tasks.
Needs Improvement: Overall performance acceptable but improvement needed in one or more significant aspects of job.

 

All evaluations must be supported with specific comments, and all “Overall Evaluations” (see below) of Exceptional and Above Expectations must include specific examples to support the ratings given. When Needs Improvement is the performance rating, attach a written plan to improve performance to this review and enter the Next Review Date in the space provided.

 

PERFORMANCE RESULTS: Achieves expected quality and quantity of output. Places greatest effort on most important aspects of job. Does work on-time, on-budget without sacrificing performance goals or standards.

 

RATING:

 

 

 

COOPERATION/TEAMWORK: Willingly accepts assignments. Able to work on or with teams to cooperatively reach goals.

 

RATING:

 

 

 

INITIATIVE: Self-starter who willingly puts forth effort and time and performs tasks with a minimum of supervision. Begins to solve problems within scope of responsibility as soon as they are apparent. Advises supervisor of current or anticipated problems. Able to apply job knowledge to produce innovations in work process or product.

 

RATING:

 

 

 

ORGANIZING AND PLANNING: Resolves conflicting priorities and schedules with peers and other staff. Performs effectively under pressure and deadlines. Effectively uses time and resources to accomplish work. Will shaft strategy, make decisions, obtain the aid of others to achieve objectives.

 

RATING:

 

 

COMMUNICATION: Verbal and written communications are clear, concise and accurate. Appropriately documents work so others can find work in progress and historical information about the job.

 

RATING:

 

 

 

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS: Interacts productively with others in formal and informal groups both within and outside the company; is receptive to differing ideas and adjusts to the different work styles of others.

 

RATING:

 

 

 

 

For Supervisors, Managers, and/or
Sales Related positions include the following:

SUPERVISION AND LEADERSHIP: Effectively leads and develops staff. Effectively directs staff and provides ongoing feedback. Accurately evaluates performance, matches abilities and job requirements, establishes an effective working relationship, and acts as a positive model for others. Assures a positive working environment in compliance with company standards.

 

RATING:

 

 

 

SALES/MARKETING: Obtains new work (e.g. listings, corporate accounts, etc.) from both existing clients and new clients. Makes marketing suggestions and effectively implements existing marketing programs.

 

RATING:

 

 

 

OTHER (Define and rate another significant performance factor if appropriate)

 

RATING:

 

 

 

PERFORMANCE PLAN FOR NEXT PERIOD (Include expected accomplishments and measurement criteria)

 

 

DEVELOPMENT NEEDS (Areas of knowledge or skill to develop that will improve job performance)

 

 

Plan for how Supervisor will specifically assist employee to maintain or improve performance:

 

 

 

OVERALL EVALUATION:

 

EXCEPTIONAL
ABOVE EXPECTATION
MEETS EXPECTATIONS

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT (Requires written improvement plan of maximum 6 months)

Next Review Date and/or Other Actions:

 

 

SUPERVISOR’S OR EMPLOYEE COMMENTS (If needed, attach additional sheet)

 

 

(Employee’s signature indicates that evaluation has been discussed with the supervisor. It does not necessarily signify agreement).

 

Signatures:

Immediate Supervisor:
Date:

Reviewer’s Manager:
Date:

Employee:
Date:

 

The information contained in this article is intended to provide useful information on the topic covered, but should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion.