While the start of a new year can bring joy and a sense of optimism, it can also signal something many supervisors and employees dread: performance evaluations. However, with the proper goals and execution, employers can turn performance reviews from an inconvenience into a valuable tool that benefits both the organization and its employees.
Why Performance Evaluations Matter
Obviously, performance evaluations allow employers to evaluate the workplace to determine areas of improvement, inform staffing and hiring decisions, and gauge the overall health of the organization. When properly done, performance evaluations allow an employer to communicate to employees’ areas of excellence and areas of improvement. But performance evaluations are also a great opportunity to reinforce the expected standards of conduct within the organization; which includes policies and work rules. Effective performance evaluations are a great tool when defending against lawsuits alleging employment discrimination, retaliation, and disparate treatment. It is much easier for an employer to justify an employment decision – such as demotion or termination – if it can support the decision with performance reviews documenting the performance issues leading to the decision. Conversely, deficient performance evaluations (or no performance evaluations at all), can support an employee’s discrimination or retaliation claim.
Common Errors to Avoid
Vague performance evaluations are a common mistake made by employers and supervisors. Vague performance evaluations are problematic because they do not paint a clear picture of the employee’s past performance and expectations moving forward. For example, if an employee receives a subpar rating, the employer should provide specific examples of deficient performance, providing as much detail as possible to the employee. The employer should also clearly communicate how the employee can correct the deficient performance, again using detailed examples.
Next, because working relationships between supervisors and employees can become familiar, supervisors often fail to take the evaluation process seriously. If supervisors do not take the performance evaluation process seriously, the employee cannot reasonably be expected to take it seriously either. And in the event of litigation or a dispute, a judge, jury, or a hearing officer are unlikely to give much weight to evaluations.
Lastly, employers must be actively mindful of unconscious errors that may impact their evaluations. A good example is called recency bias, where the employer or supervisor gives more weight to the employee’s last project or task rather than their overall performance during the relevant time period. Employers and supervisors can avoid this error by simply taking notes when an employee performs a task well or poorly throughout the time period leading up to the evaluation. Employers should actively attempt to eliminate errors by having multiple supervisors involved in the process, if feasible.
What Should Good Performance Evaluations Include?
Performance evaluations should include the goals and objectives of the organization which should be tied to the core values of the organization. If a scoring system is used, it must be fair and balanced, with explanations of what each score means and room for supervisors to support the ultimate rating. Supervisors should be encouraged to provide sufficient information to support an employee’s ratings or evaluation to avoid the appearance that the evaluation is arbitrary and should be trained on common errors and unconscious bias.
A good performance evaluation should also include a comprehensive and detailed review of the employee’s major projects, the employee’s interpersonal interactions with co-workers and members of the public (if applicable), and areas of improvement and expectations and goals for the next evaluation period.
Employers should also examine their evaluation process to determine the most cost effective approach that also maximizes the benefit to the organization. For example, it may be more effective for some employers to do quarterly performance evaluations, while others may only need yearly reviews.
The attorneys at Fishel Downey regularly work with employers in all aspects of their businesses, including managing employee performance. The Firm provides training for supervisors on the evaluation process. If you have a specific question or would like to discuss your organization’s performance evaluation process, contact one of the attorneys at Fishel Downey Albrecht & Riepenhoff LLP at 614.221.1216.