How to Write an Employee's Evaluation

Employee Evaluation

Writing an employee evaluation is an important part of employee development and growth. Employee evaluations provide the feedback employees need to know, such as their strongest skills; the skills that need improvement; the things they should continue doing; and the things they need to stop doing.

Instructions

1. Employee evaluations should be based on the employee's objectives. Employee objectives should have been established previously. The employee evaluation typically occurs at the end of a cycle (such as year-end). Managers provide feedback to each objective for the employee. You may use a paper process or an online electronic process.

2. Provide feedback for each employee objective. Write detailed descriptive responses to each employee objective. The response should include:

   -- an overall rating on the employee objective, such as 'goals were met', 'goals were exceeded' 'did not meet goals'

   -- specific examples that support the overall employee evaluation. For example, did the employee deliver reports on time? Did the employee help generate new business? Did the employee improve client relationships?

   -- offer additional feedback. If the goals were exceeded, should the objectives be updated to add additional challenges? If the goals were met, should the objectives be increased? If the goals were not met, what positive feedback should be provided to help the employee continue to work hard on the objectives.

3. Provide summarized evaluation feedback and comments. Employee evaluations should provide the employee with a picture of their performance. Is the employee on target with their goals to succeed? Is the employee falling short of their goals and needs assistance? Is the employee meeting the objectives but needs additional challenges? As manager, you need to provide clear and concise objective feedback that will be beneficial to the employee.

4. As manager, your job in writing employee evaluations is to document enough information in order to have a professional two-way dialogue with the employee. You will want to imagine if you were the employee, what would you want the employee evaluation to reflect such as, do I have a good idea of my strength, my areas for improvement, overall performance and rating? Avoid jargon, buzzwords and incomplete sentences. Be specific and detailed.

Tips & Warnings

• Spend enough time to write a good employee evaluation.

• Have someone else review the employee evaluation to ensure it provides good feedback and recommendations.

References

• WorkAwesome; The Good Manager's Guide: Conducting an Employee Evaluation; Joshua Riddle