Dos and donts of appraisals
Nov 19, 2007
BY now, most companies have appraised their staff and the impact of the appraisals is beginning to be felt.<br>Job reviews should help employees develop. However, a survey of 2,000 workers by a staffing firm, Real Survey, found that less 49% of employees believe their supervisors take the appraisal
By Fred Ouma
BY now, most companies have appraised their staff and the impact of the appraisals is beginning to be felt.
Job reviews should help employees develop. However, a survey of 2,000 workers by a staffing firm, Real Survey, found that less 49% of employees believe their supervisors take the appraisals seriously and 44% think the reviews generate constructive feedback.
Patrick Okee, a researcher with Real Surveys, says: “Reviews seem to be stressful for most people.†He says workers would be happier if they got 52 reviews a year.
If a supervisor and employee sit down for as few as five minutes a week, they can avoid some of the angst that seems built into annual reviews.
“If the manager says: ‘Let’s look at what you did this week,’ that gives the performance review a fresh perspective and one that is less intimidating.†“You can catch a little problem before it becomes a big problem. It’s less painful for both parties.â€
Silvia Nandera, a human resource management training consultant, says employers should draw a distinction between reviews and pay raises.
Nandera says about half of workers understand the job-review, a factor that contributes to growing cynicism about evaluations.
“This makes it difficult for supervisors to have meaningful discussions with their employees about job performance,†Okee says. “It also makes it difficult for organisations to improve the performance of employees.â€
Some bosses are simply not good at the review process, while others often do not give it the attention it deserves. On the other hand, employees often think it is subjective, but there are forms that guide the supervisor and make sure they are objectively evaluating performance.
According to experts, all new supervisors should participate in a training session on performance reviews. In addition, the staffing company requires all supervisors to take refresher courses on the review process.
Okee says performance review is a two-way street: All employees should do their own self-evaluation to shed light on their needs and wants as employees.
“By having the individual do a self-evaluation, it gives focus to a manager, who may have to do 10 or 11 reviews. Some supervisors are so busy that they don’t feel they have time to put into this, but if the employee shows interest, the supervisor will usually pay more attention.â€
The more effective the review, the more credibility it will have with workers.
Yet, even with the employee taking a more active role, the primary burden rests with the supervisor who is charged with managing workers and developing their skills for the good of the employer.
“You can tell a lot about someone’s management skills by how they do the review and how much they value the process by how much they put into it,†notes Okee.
“If the performance review seems like an afterthought to the employee, its going to be taken as an afterthought.â€
BY now, most companies have appraised their staff and the impact of the appraisals is beginning to be felt.
Job reviews should help employees develop. However, a survey of 2,000 workers by a staffing firm, Real Survey, found that less 49% of employees believe their supervisors take the appraisals seriously and 44% think the reviews generate constructive feedback.
Patrick Okee, a researcher with Real Surveys, says: “Reviews seem to be stressful for most people.†He says workers would be happier if they got 52 reviews a year.
If a supervisor and employee sit down for as few as five minutes a week, they can avoid some of the angst that seems built into annual reviews.
“If the manager says: ‘Let’s look at what you did this week,’ that gives the performance review a fresh perspective and one that is less intimidating.†“You can catch a little problem before it becomes a big problem. It’s less painful for both parties.â€
Silvia Nandera, a human resource management training consultant, says employers should draw a distinction between reviews and pay raises.
Nandera says about half of workers understand the job-review, a factor that contributes to growing cynicism about evaluations.
“This makes it difficult for supervisors to have meaningful discussions with their employees about job performance,†Okee says. “It also makes it difficult for organisations to improve the performance of employees.â€
Some bosses are simply not good at the review process, while others often do not give it the attention it deserves. On the other hand, employees often think it is subjective, but there are forms that guide the supervisor and make sure they are objectively evaluating performance.
According to experts, all new supervisors should participate in a training session on performance reviews. In addition, the staffing company requires all supervisors to take refresher courses on the review process.
Okee says performance review is a two-way street: All employees should do their own self-evaluation to shed light on their needs and wants as employees.
“By having the individual do a self-evaluation, it gives focus to a manager, who may have to do 10 or 11 reviews. Some supervisors are so busy that they don’t feel they have time to put into this, but if the employee shows interest, the supervisor will usually pay more attention.â€
The more effective the review, the more credibility it will have with workers.
Yet, even with the employee taking a more active role, the primary burden rests with the supervisor who is charged with managing workers and developing their skills for the good of the employer.
“You can tell a lot about someone’s management skills by how they do the review and how much they value the process by how much they put into it,†notes Okee.
“If the performance review seems like an afterthought to the employee, its going to be taken as an afterthought.â€