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The first item of business is that the organization needs to establish a system of measurement to assess the employee’s performance in terms of quality, quantity, cost, timeliness, and impact on other employees. This will make the review step in the performance process most beneficial. A three-level scoring method of “needs improvement,” “average,” or “excellent” used by the manager at the end of each year doesn’t offer the employee real guidance.
Surveys indicate that a six-level rating system works better:
• 5 is Outstanding (O), Excellent (E), or Far Exceeded Standards (FES)
• 4 is Exceeded Standards (ES), or Good (G)
• 3 is Met Standards (MS), or Average (A)
• 2 is Below Standards (BS), or Needs Improvement (NI)
• 1 is Far Below Standards (FBS), Poor (P), or Unsatisfactory (U)
• 0 is Not Observed (NO), Not Ratable (NR), Not Applicable (NA), or Failed (F)
Used in concert with this six-level system, or independently, some organizations find that a numerical scale that shows percentage of the highest score (“arrives for work on time 75 percent of the time”) or a system that ranks performance in each area on a 1 to 10 scale works well. The numerical systems may also use an overall score to measure each employee’s total performance.
Quantifiable evaluations help employees improve. Consider this evaluation: “Your attendance record shows that you arrive at work on time 40 percent of the time. This needs to improve. You need to get that number to above 90 percent. What on-time attendance target can we set for the next three months?” Quantifying like this is far more effective than giving a simple “Needs improvement” rating.
Using a more precise scale puts teeth in the measurement process and helps the employee set incremental goals for improvement. Each organization must set its own metrics for measurement. Using this scale, set levels for performance in each area to the demands of the employee’s job description. Here are some words that might be used to express each level of performance.
5 Outstanding (O), Excellent (E), Far Exceeded Standards (FES)
• Aced
• Always
• Bang-up
• Best
• Brilliant
• Delivered every time
• Eclipsed
• Exceeded
• Excelled
• Exceptional
• Exemplary
• First class
• First rate
• Great
• Head and shoulders above
• Never failed
• Outdid
• Outperformed
• Outshined
• Outstanding
• Peerless
• Perfect
• Second to none
• Splendid
• Stand-out
• Superb
• Supreme
• Surpassed
• Transcended
• Trumped
• Unequaled
• Unparalleled
• Upstaged
4 Exceeded Standards (ES), Good (G)
• Able
• Above average
• Accomplished
• Consistently
• Continually
• Customarily
• Dependable
• Frequently
• Habitually
• Often
• Oftentimes
• Ordinarily
• Performed well
• Proficient
• Repeatedly
• Routinely exceeded standard performance
• Sustained a high level of performance
• Time and again
• Usually
• Well above average
3 Met Standards (MS), Average (A)
• At grade
• Average performance
• Fulfilled the job requirements
• Half the time
• Median
• Met standards
• Normally
• Not noteworthy
• Okay
• Performed at an acceptable level
• Performed to expectations
• Routinely
• Undistinguished
• Unremarkable
2 Below Standards (BS), Needs Improvement (NI)
• Below average performance
• Erratic
• Fails to perform at an acceptable level
• Infrequently
• Intermittent
• Irregular
• Must improve
• Now and then
• Patchy results
• Sporadic
• Spotty
• Underachieved
• Underperformed
• Uneven
1 Far Below Standards (FBS), Poor (P), Unsatisfactory (U)
• Almost never
• Far below acceptable level
• Hardly ever
• Infrequently
• Rarely
• Scarcely
• Seldom
• Seriously underperformed
• Unacceptable performance
0 Not Observed (NO), Not Ratable (NR), Not Applicable (NA), Failed (F)
• At no time
• Botched
• Bungled
• Completely unacceptable
• Failed
• Failing grade
• Inadequate
• Never
• No effort
• Not at any time
• Not observed/applicable/ratable
• Not once
• Totally deficient
• Unsuccessful
• Zero score
Setting goals is an important first step in improving performance. This does require some self-awareness on the employee’s part and some analysis and guidance from the manager to determine how much improvement in what time frame can and should realistically be targeted. It’s best to use an organization-wide metrics system that gives the employee quantifiable degrees of improvement for which to aim. The manager’s role includes helping to define the kinds of support and training the employee may need to reach each targeted level, and making it available.
Goals are helpful to
• Improve critical work processes and procedures
• Raise core skill levels, personal skills, and modify personality traits through training
• Reduce errors in quality
• Build stronger customer/client relationships and partnerships
• Improve peer and departmental relationships and coordination
• Increase innovation in work methods and processes
The value of using positive reinforcement can’t be overemphasized. Praising the employee while he is doing something well goes a long way toward improving his overall performance. It helps the employee to self-correct and generally raises morale and motivates. It also reduces the need to emend bad behavior. Use this on an ongoing basis, along with positive recognition for improvement and work well done, to garner the best results.
Setting a schedule of monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or yearly performance reviews will depend upon the job and the employee’s performance. Reviews should be frequent enough to help the employee and manager perform their jobs optimally in today’s rapidly changing and challenging workplace. Regardless of when performance reviews are set, ongoing collaboration and discussions between the manager and the employee are needed to help the employee continue to make progress and achieve increasingly higher performance levels and job satisfaction.
It’s important that all performance reviews demonstrate the organization’s practice of providing fair and accurate evaluations. Before each new review, you should carefully examine the employee’s prior performance reviews as a point of reference and benchmark against which progress is measured.
Use your employee journal and previous employee performance records during the review to cite examples of both good behavior and behavior that needs improvement. Be candid and explicit, and use constructive criticism where necessary. It’s important that the organization’s records show a pattern of careful documentation of employee reviews, and counseling, where needed. The records should include—in clear, objective language—your observations, praise, counseling, and any corrections or warnings given to the employee, along with the dates and any corrective actions taken.
Avoid legally actionable statements and references. Do not include vague or derogatory language; and do not include references to age, gender, race, or other prejudicial terms.
Other objective records should also be used to back up your conclusions; things like attendance records, production reports, and disciplinary reports are examples. You must be clear about how your conclusions were reached.
It’s important to keep a complete and accurate record in the rare event of legal action by a terminated employee. It’s also important to note that raises should not be given to employees performing at a marginal level, since a history of raises can be used in a legal dispute to argue that the employee was doing a good job.
Ultimately, the employee’s job description is the standard upon which the performance review is based. The pace of business and changing roles of employees dictate that job descriptions must be modified periodically. Each modification needs to be reviewed and agreed upon by you and the employee, and the written job description needs to be altered to reflect the new scope of duties.
It can be beneficial to have the employee complete a self-evaluation as part of the performance review. This helps the employee take responsibility for his performance, invests him in the process, and gives him a real stake in making sure improvement occurs. Cross-departmental, subordinate(s), and customer/client evaluations should also be used, where appropriate, to help ensure objective and complete evaluations.
A face-to-face meeting should be a part of every performance review. It helps to promote a supervisor/employee connection, build the relationship, and promote the partnership between you and the employee.
Nonverbal communication during the face-to-face review process is as important as the verbal exchange—often more important. It can help create openings for further discussion. And for the employee and manager who are reading the cues of the other person, it can promote real dialogue.
Really hearing what the speaker—employee or manager—is saying during the performance review is key to having an effective outcome. To be an effective manager, listen carefully for clues during the employee’s self-evaluation. These can trigger questions asked by the manager, to clarify and expand on what the employee has said in order to get to core issues. Careful listening will give you the opportunity to create dialogue that can springboard into making significant improvements.
It’s the manager’s responsibility to help the employee listen effectively, too. After giving each item of review, you should ask key questions:
• What do you think about that?
• What’s your response?
• Do you understand?
• Do you have anything to add?
Questions like these should be followed up by other questions or statements that both put the employee at ease and help him to express his opinion. This will go a long way toward making the process effective. Ask enough key questions to be sure the employee understands, and be sure to get his input. If you discern that the employee doesn’t agree but isn’t saying so, you might ask, “I’m sensing you don’t agree; what would you like to say about that?” or “If you believe this is inaccurate, please say so.” While it’s important for you to control the review process, it’s also vital that you discuss each item until you and the employee can agree on setting a new goal for the next performance time frame.
The manager and employee should form a partnership aligned to the organization’s planned outcomes and the employee’s professional development. Getting to that place of consensus or connecting—mutual understanding and agreement between you and the employee—is key. It requires that you and the employee have mutual respect and support, a mutual commitment to reach a common goal, careful listening and comprehension skills, and the desire and will to improve. An effective performance review that is part of a well-planned and well-orchestrated performance management program will go a long way toward making that mutual effort happen.
When the performance review is conducted to accurately measure performance against the job description, past performance, and performance goals, the review becomes an effective management tool.
