How to Document Employee Performance
Documenting employee performance can help managers write concise performance reviews without spending hours trying to recall each project an employee worked on throughout the review period. Should legal issues arise involving an employee or a project that an employee worked on, the documentation may also be used to substantiate claims made by an employee or the company. If done two to three times a year, documenting employee performance generally takes an hour per employee.
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Instructions
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Observe the employee's leadership and communication abilities, including the employee's negotiating and conflict resolution skills during team meetings. For example, you can observe the employee while they address peers, subordinates and senior staff during team meetings. You can also observe the employee while they speak with customers during in-person sales pitches or train a newly hired staff member. Write down strengths (i.e. ability to motivate colleagues to complete a project two weeks ahead of schedule) and weaknesses (i.e. arriving ten to fifteen minutes late to three out of four weekly staff meetings each month) that the employee displays. Create a file folder with the employee's name on it. Place your written observations in the file. Copies of two to three major projects or reports that the employee worked on should also be included. If the employee received letters of commendation, awards or disciplinary notices, place these in the file as well.
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Schedule 10 to 20 minute meetings with internal and external clients that the employee supports. For example, if the employee is a technology programmer, for internal clients, you could speak with department managers inside your company who received a new technology software program that the employee created. If the employee is a bank loan officer, you could schedule meetings with external clients by speaking with small business owners that the employee generated a loan for. During these meetings, write down specific examples that clients provide regarding the employee's performance. Next to each noted item, write the date that that the event occurred so you can identify trends in the employee's performance. For employees who do not work with internal or external clients, refer to emails from the employee's colleagues, subordinates and senior managers that comment on the employee's involvement on a project or assignment (i.e. travel reservations for secretaries, quarterly budgets for finance specialists).
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Write the employee's name and the date that you are recording for the performance evaluation at the top of the document. Focus on the employee's strengths in the beginning of the document. Categorize performance areas. For example, you could categorize performance under communication, leadership, team work, project management and client service. Include the comments that the employee's business clients made during your meetings with them. For example, you could write down that a customer service representative was commended for resolving an irate customer's bank loan error in such a way that the customer not only calmed, but stated that they would encourage others to open an account at the bank due to the way the employee handled the situation.
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Categorize areas for improvement that the employee needs to address below their strengths. Include the dates on which errors or performance setbacks occurred. For example, a bank manager could document that a bank teller's drawer was short $100 for the third time within the performance period and list each date that the drawer was short.
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Write down dates that you met with the employee to discuss a particular conduct, behavioral or business error that was detrimental to the company. Note whether the employee's performance has improved since the last performance discussion that you had with them. If an employee has not shown improvement in their performance, list the next steps you will take to address the matter. These could include scheduling the employee to meet with a human resource professional, placing the employee on written probation or signing the employee up to attend a course that addresses gaps in their performance. Write down that you recommend that employees who excel (i.e. finish assignments ahead of schedule, complete projects $10 thousand or more under budget) receive a promotion, award or commendation for their work.
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