Conducting an Employee Performance Evaluation

Additional HR Resources First Line of Defense DVD-based training for supervisors on the most critical legal issues The Plus of "Us" DVD-based diversity training for employees and supervisors creates healthy workplace A Guide for HR How to take the worry out of performance evaluations and appraisals Stress-Free Appraisals How to conduct stress-free performance appraisals A Guide to Evaluations How to conduct evaluations to boost morale and productivity How Supervisors Evaluate How supervisors deliver energizing yet fair appraisals Documenting Evaluations Guidelines on housing evaluations and other documentation What to Save How long you must keep performance evaluations and what you can shred Discipline and Documentation How to discipline and document employee behavior Evaluations for Retention Using performance reviews to keep your best employees Employment Law in Your State Where your state lawmakers and fellow employers stand

While employee performance evaluations are rarely any supervisor's favorite task, there's no getting around the fact that employees’ performance, or lack thereof, can make or break any company. Not reacting when employees are underperforming puts a company at risk of failing to meets its goals and ultimate objectives.

Employee performance appraisals, when used effectively, can be tools for identifying and alleviating potential obstacles for and inspiring employees to aim for new heights in performance.

Audit of your company's performance evaluations with the Employment Practices Self-Audit Workbook

Related articles on Performance Evaluations
Performance Evaluations tools for Employment Law Letter subscribers
What's your HR IQ on Performance Evaluations?

Should your company conduct employee performance appraisals?
The responsibility for ensuring that performance evaluations are structured and used effectively almost always sits squarely on the shoulders of human resources personnel. But before that, companies must make the fundamental decision about whether even to have performance appraisals at all. When horribly flawed, performance evaluations can be costly, time-consuming, and may provide employees with damning evidence for an employment claim of some kind, such as discrimination or retaliation.

When designed and implemented correctly, employee performance evaluations can help keep the worker and the company focused, avoid potential problems down the pike through increased communication, inspire and reward employees for their achievements, improve employee morale, help arrive at decisions regarding compensation adjustment, and provide a documented history for succession planning or a legal defense for corrective discipline actions with problem employees.

HR Guide to Employment Law: A practical compliance reference manual covering 14 topics, including documentation issues such as performance evaluations

Employee perfomance evaluations and progressive discipline
Employee performance evaluations and progressive discipline go hand in hand as tools supervisors and managers can successfully use to correct behavior, motivate employees, and set employee goals.

Employee performance appraisals, used correctly, can be an effective means of preventing employee lawsuits.They keep employees apprised of how they actually stand with the employer and prevent surprises in the future. An employee who has consistently received low ratings should not be surprised when she is ultimately fired for her poor performance.

Generally, most employers conduct written performance reviews annually or semi-annually. However, all companies should consider conducting unscheduled reviews if changes occur in an employee’s performance or duties. Some important considerations in written performance reviews include: job-related criteria, supervisor training, effective ratings, comments, honesty, objectivity, review, and raises and bonuses.

Basic Training for Supervisors guidebook series, including a guide on documentation and evaluations

View all HR topics

Related articles on Performance Evaluations from the HR Hero Line

• Document Employee Behavior Today to Avoid Lawsuits Tomorrow
  (New York Employment Law Letter, October 2009)
• How Employers Can Avoid Becoming an EEOC Statistic: Part 1
  (Vermont Employment Law Letter , July 2009)
• Giving Accurate Performance Evaluations
  (Nevada Employment Law Letter , December 2008)
• Tips for Managing the Millennials in the Workplace: Part 2
  (Virginia Employment Law Letter, April 2008)
• Are you Flunking Performance Evaluations 101?
  (West Virginia Employment Law Letter, July 2007)

HR Tools for Performance Evaluations

• Sample Policy - Performance Reviews
• Sample Policy - Suggestions
• Sample Policy - Employment Records