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Six Steps To Creating More Productive Staff Performance Evaluations

Six Steps To Creating More Productive Staff Performance Evaluations

When you think about having a performance evaluation or review, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?  For many people, however skilled and good they may be at doing their job, the thought of an upcoming performance evaluation creates anxiety.     Expecting the worse, people tend to focus on the negative feedback, never hearing the positive feedback.  This article provides some steps that you, as a supervisor, can take to put your employee at ease, make the evaluation process flow smoothly, and ensure the evaluation is productive for both you and your employee.

1. When you hire an individual, be clear as to when and how he will be evaluated. This includes how often you will conduct regular staff meetings to monitor the employee's performance, what happens during and following his probationary period, when his annual performance evaluation will be conducted, what evaluation tool will be used, and anything else you feel would be helpful.

2. Evaluate the employee after his probationary period. Probationary periods are generally six months, but may vary depending on the organization. During this period, it is a good idea to meet weekly or every other week with the employee to ensure that he has the knowledge and skills to be successful, that he is learning and becoming proficient at his job, that he is a good fit for the organization, and that following the probationary period, you will have sufficient information to permanently employ or terminate him. Remember to document what is discussed and agreed upon during these meetings.

3. Schedule regular meetings with your employees. These meetings can be held monthly, quarterly, or on some other predetermined schedule. During these meetings, discuss the employee's goals and objectives, strengths and weaknesses, areas for improvement, training needs, and any other issues that will increase the employee's productivity and retention. Make sure you document what is discussed, areas that need to be addressed, and deadlines for when improvements need to be made. This process will help eliminate any unexpected surprises.

4. Determine the type of evaluation tool you'd like to use for the annual performance review. You can use a standard evaluation tool, with only the supervisor evaluating the employee, or you can conduct a 360 degree evaluation, where the employee's supervisor, peers, subordinates, and stakeholders outside of the organization provide feedback regarding the employee's performance. Whatever tool you use, make sure that it is current, designed to measure what you want it to, is applicable to the employee's position, and contains the employee's annual performance goals and objectives.

5. Remind your employee of his annual performance evaluation at least two weeks in advance, and how the evaluation will be conducted. This will give you and your employee adequate time to prepare. Some employers like to have the employee conduct a self-evaluation prior to the actual performance review, to see how the employee evaluates himself in relation to the achievement of his goals and objectives. During the actual review, the employer will discuss his observations in comparison to how the employee rated himself.

6. Conduct the annual performance evaluation, keeping in mind the following items:

a. To reduce the employee's anxiety level, help him to relax by discussing his family, a recent vacation, his hobbies, or some other subject that is neutral. Explain that the review is to help the employee learn and grow, and that you want an open and honest two way conversation. Disclose that any comments, issues, or concerns will be kept confidential.

b. Once you have created a warm and trusting environment, discuss the employee's annual performance goals and objectives, achievements, areas for improvement, training attended, training needs, and other issues or concerns. Always state the positive feedback first, finishing with recommended areas for improvement.

c. Once the review has been completed, both parties should sign the evaluation, documenting that they both agree with it. If one party disagrees on a specific item, this should be documented prior to signing the completed evaluation.

d. Discuss whether or not there will be a salary and/or cost of living increase based on the employee's performance and achievement of pre-established goals and objectives. Document any increase in salary.

e. Provide a copy of the completed performance review to the employee and retain the original copy for his personnel file.

f. Following the performance evaluation, turn your attention to developing the employee's performance goals and objectives for the next year.

By conducting regular meetings with your employee throughout the year, discussing progress on his goals and objectives, training needs, and other job-related issues/concerns, this keeps the communication channels open, eliminating any unexpected surprises.   In addition, remember to create a warm and safe environment to put the employee at ease during his evaluation.  All of the above steps should help facilitate a more productive and successful performance review.

Copyright 2009 © Sharon L. Mikrut, All rights reserved.





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Dave Kurlan
Dave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website

George Ludwig
George Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website

Linda Richardson
Linda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website

David Acheson
David Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns.  David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website

Stephanie Robey
Stephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals.

She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com   Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences.  Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University.

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About The Author


Sharon Mikrut
(Visit Sharon's Website)

If you want to make positive changes in your professional life, and create the job or career you desire and deserve, then working with Executive & Life Coach, Sharon L. Mikrut, is the solution. Although her specialty is in partnering with nonprofit executive directors and managers to maximize their resources in a competitive environment, she is passionate about working with all individuals committed to personal and/or professional growth. Visit her website (http://www.createitcoaching.org) or Nonprofit Professionals blog (http://www.createitcoaching.com) and sign up for her free nonprofit newsletter, which is designed to help you manage your nonprofit organization in a more effective and efficient manner.

Sharon has two BA degrees (Social Work and Psychology) from Michigan State University and a Master's degree in Social Work Administration from the University of Michigan. In addition, she is a Coach Training Alliance certified coach.



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