How to Conduct a Professional, Fair Employee Evaluation
As much as employees dislike performance evaluations, supervisors also struggle with this task. The ability to conduct a professional and fair employee evaluation starts with preparation and continues through the performance evaluation meeting with the employee. Conducting an objective and well-meaning evaluation not only strengthens the employer-employee relationship. It also provides a foundation for giving recognition where it's due and guidance in areas where the employee needs to improve.
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Instructions
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Attend leadership training or research ways to conduct performance evaluations objectively. Companies that provide leadership training for supervisors often focus on how essential performance management is to employee development and how fair evaluations promote better performance, motivation and job satisfaction. Employees are entitled to know whether they are meeting their employer's expectations, and an evaluation conducted in a fair, professional manner is a routine, yet effective, method for clarifying job roles and expectations.
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Review the employee's complete personnel file. The ability to conduct a professional and fair employee evaluation rests on your knowledge of the employee's work history, as well as her performance during the entire evaluation period. Supervisors who look only at the most recent documents or who observe their employees' performance for just part of the evaluation period cannot provide a fair assessment. Recency error and bias render supervisors unable to judge employee performance fairly.
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Look at the employee's performance with an analytical eye. For example, if the employee's performance declined for part of the evaluation period, determine whether there were factors that could have affected his performance. Factors such as having the proper equipment and technology, collaboration from team members and adequate training and orientation impact an employee's ability to perform well.
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Ask the employee to give you input on her performance. One-sided employee evaluations from a supervisor's point of view might overlook performance matters the supervisor didn't observe or record. Therefore, giving the employee an opportunity to provide a self-assessment or feedback from her perspective can result in a balanced evaluation. Aid the employee in completing an assessment form, if necessary, and give her the tools to assess her own performance, such as a copy of her past performance evaluations and documents from her personnel file.
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Conduct the evaluation meeting in a private office, away from disruptions. Use this time to focus solely on the employee and give constructive feedback without interruptions or distractions that detract from the importance of the meeting. Refrain from reading the written evaluation without explanation of how you arrived at your assessment. Discuss the employee's evaluation in a way that encourages a two-way conversation. Make the evaluation about the employee -- not your ability to compose a narrative essay about his performance. Engage the employee in discussing the assessment as well as identifying goals for future performance.
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