Prepare all feedback in advance
It is important to plan and prepare your comments and feedback ahead of time. You do not want to enter an employee evaluation empty-handed, nor do you want to fill out the employee evaluation form in front of the employee. Instead, invest your time in compiling your thoughts and feedback beforehand and use the employee evaluation form as a framework for the meeting. By having your comments prepared in advance, you control the meeting, avoid missing critical points and ensure it stays on track.
Keep your remarks clear and concise
Those who aren’t direct and transparent with their employees during the delivery of an employee evaluation will risk confusing the employee, which may lead to misunderstandings of expectations. For clarity, specify expectations where possible. For example, if you score an employee low for time management, share with them examples of instances where they had missed deadlines or situations when other team members had to pick up their slack.
The same also applies to setting goals. Make sure all goals include a timeframe and a way to measure to help employees realise exactly how you determine success or failure.
Provide a copy of the completed evaluation form to the employee
Although employees enter an annual performance review in hopes of news about a pay rise or promotion, they also appreciate receiving honest feedback about their professional performance. By providing employees with a copy of their completed evaluation form – or at least a part of it – you give them an opportunity to reference the document to stay on track and make any necessary improvements highlighted.
Keep employee review meetings an open conversation
Instead of lecturing employees on what they can improve in and sending them on their way to make those improvements, keep employee review meetings a two-way conversation. Give an employee the opportunity to share their self-assessment, such as their identified strengths and challenges, along with areas where they should improve upon. Endeavour to provide a timeframe for them to work with, such as a month, a quarter or a year.
If an employee is reserved and appears uncomfortable opening up, attempt to engage with them by asking questions such as:
- If you could pick one accomplishment that you are most proud of from the review period, which one would it be?
- Which area do you think you’ve made the most progress in since your last review?
- In what areas would you say you need to improve upon the most?
- How can I support you to meet your goals?
End with a focus on the future
Placing focus on the negatives, such as failures or areas where an employee has performed poorly, makes both supervisors and employees uncomfortable; however, they must be addressed. After these negatives have been discussed, it is important to shift the focus of the conversation to the future by outlining new goals and sharing plans for improvement. Be sure the employee understands that you are on their side and that you want them to succeed in achieving their goals by being there to support them professionally.
By ending the conversation on a positive note that is future-focused, the employee is more likely to leave feeling hopeful and motivated to improve upon their weaknesses as opposed to feeling criticised and discouraged.
Conduct multiple employee evaluations throughout the year
While the majority of employers conduct employee performance evaluations once a year – mainly to assess whether an employee’s achievements warrant a promotion or a raise – conducting quarterly, monthly, or even weekly informal employee review sessions can be beneficial for employers and employees.
The more frequent the review sessions, the less pressure employees will feel from the annual performance review. Employee review sessions also help employees familiarise themselves with discussing their achievements and challenges while making them feel less intimidated when receiving feedback.
Plus, raising areas for improvement as soon as they are identified gives employees the opportunity to correct mistakes immediately rather than forming a bad habit by treating the mistake over and over again until the next scheduled performance review.
To conduct a successful employee evaluation, you must balance direct criticism with praise and recognition while setting challenging yet attainable goals for your employees. This helps them grow to become better professional workers, which in turn directly helps the performance of your team.
Although maintaining this balance can be tricky, providing straightforward and honest feedback – both positive and negative – helps team members to improve and act upon it. By following these employee evaluation tips, you can open the lines of communication with your employees and help them advance in their careers, which will boost the performance across your team and your company.
