For both employers and employees, performance evaluations can be an intimidating process. However, effective and consistent performance management practices can help establish and maintain performance excellence within an organization, according to Deborah Stallings, CEO of HR Anew Inc.
“Performance management should include ensuring that the employer sets clear and specific performance expectations for each of their employees and provides them with periodic formal and informal feedback about their performance related to those goals. I believe performance feedback should be ongoing, so in a performance review, there should be nothing unexpected,” Stallings said.
Stallings said employers often do not associate the performance evaluation process with their organizational strategy.
“That’s a very important component. To manage an employee’s performance properly, it’s important to ensure that the program is aligned with the organization’s strategy, its policies, procedures, and practices, so the employee’s performance can be measured properly,” she said.
Performance evaluations should be conducted after an employee’s first six months at an organization, their anniversary of employment, and every year thereafter, Stallings said. She added that there are other times when it may be necessary to conduct a performance evaluation. For example, if an employee is under performing and you would like to develop a plan with them to help their performance improve, you should conduct an evaluation. Stallings also recommended adding a self-evaluation step to the process so management and employees can have the opportunity to clarify any misunderstandings.
Stallings said she recommends using a performance management tool that will help employers navigate through what questions to ask and strategies to use to manage performance. Also, ensuring all management personnel conducting evaluations are well trained in performance management procedures and practices is imperative.
“Providing training to anyone that is involved in the performance management process is important. The really important thing to this process also is to ensure that the employer uses the same process consistently for all of their employees within the organization so they can limit claims of discrimination, disparity or adverse treatment in the work place,” Stallings said.
Finally, another important step to the performance management process is auditing the performance management system to ensure that the procedures and practices in use are effective.
“Sometimes employers will think their performance management system is functioning very well but when you look sometimes at some of their business practices, you talk to employees and gather feedback from them, it might become apparent that there might be some concerns there,” Stallings said. “So I do recommend employers are continuously evaluating the system and what works well, what doesn’t work well, and what can be changed.”
For more information about Deborah Stallings and HR Anew, click here.
