4 Best Practices for Conducting Employee Evaluations

The beginning of the year is a popular time for employee evaluations in the Twin Cities. Whether your company holds once-a-year “performance reviews” or relies on more informal evaluations held more frequently throughout the year, using best practices to conduct these evaluations can help your employees improve on their weaknesses and stay productive year-round.

Here are four ways to improve your employee evaluations:

1. Do your homework before talking to the employee. Trying to refresh your memory on each employee’s performance and goals to date as you speak to the employee wastes both your time and the employee’s time. It also makes it more difficult for you to give the targeted advice your employee needs. Instead, make time before each evaluation to reacquaint yourself with the employee’s work and the goals set at the previous evaluation.
2. Ask the employee or other staff members to weigh in. No matter how focused and objective your review, when you are the only person providing it, your employee has the opportunity to dismiss your words as “just one person’s opinion.” Help curtail this urge by asking the employee to perform a self-evaluation, or asking all employees on a team to evaluate one another (anonymously). Use the “common points” of agreement in these evaluations and your own as a starting place to discuss both successes and improvements.
3. Complete this sentence: “The one thing I want this employee to understand when the evaluation is over is ___.” By setting a single communication goal, you make it easier to focus all of your communication during the evaluation on that one goal. This makes it more likely that the employee will hear you. It also makes it easier for the employee to focus his or her attention on improving quality of work and reaching that goal before the next evaluation.
4. Build up. Start by praising the employee for the one thing they’re doing best. Emphasize how this is done well. Then, discuss areas that need improvement by talking about how they can be brought up to the standard of the best thing the employee is currently doing. This approach helps the employee stay receptive to feedback and see how her own strengths can be utilized to make real, concrete improvements.

At THE RIGHT STAFF, LLC, our experienced recruiters can help you find the right people to advance your company’s goals in 2016 and beyond. Contact us today to learn more about our recruiting services in Minneapolis and beyond!