What Is a Performance Evaluation?

A performance evaluation serves many purposes for an employee, supervisor and organization. Evaluations are utilized to determine whether employees are meeting certain criteria and to recommend appropriate follow-up actions. An employee's supervisor will normally administer the performance evaluation.

Preparation

A performance evaluation is a document prepared by someone in a position of authority and presented to an employee to see if he is performing the job duties as outlined by the organization.

Measurement Tool

Evaluations are also used to determine whether an employee is meeting individual goals and objectives. If there is a negative variance, the supervisor will implement an action plan, with input from the employee, designed to corrective the situation.

Advancement and Promotion

A performance evaluation also helps detect whether additional training may be needed to help the employee fulfill the obligations of the organization, and it judges an employee's readiness for advancement and promotion.

Benefits

A performance evaluation is a tool used to help improve or maintain an individual's work ethic, job satisfaction and personal development.

Objective

Whenever possible, performance evaluations should contain objective measurements that allow an employee to see how his job performance ranks in relation to what is expected.

References

• University of Tennessee: Performance Evaluation
• East Tennessee State University: Employee Performance Evaluation