Steps to a More Effective Employee Review Process

Many employee reviews take place in the final two months of the year, or at the very beginning of January. While that may still seem like distant tasks, employee evaluations should be on the mind of managers year round. Understanding what your employees do on a daily basis, and do well, is the foundation of effective management. A business management software program can help you do this effectively.

When the time comes for a review, there is some anxiety on the part of both the manager and the employee. While the evaluation process is meant to be a constructive endeavor, many employees approach it with a defensive mindset. There are ways to soften the review procedure while still accomplishing the objectives of overall change, praise and improvement.

Here are some steps to take to ensure that your employee reviews go smoothly and garner the most benefits for employees and managers.

Send the employee a copy of his or her benchmarks one month in advance.

Make sure employees have a copy of their job description with individual benchmarks included. You may also want to include departmental goals and objectives. Recommend that the employee read through it carefully and add in anything that might be missing. Encourage them to approach you with any inaccuracies, especially if there is a task that no longer belongs to them. Ask for the corrections and modifications back within three to five days.

Give the employee the updated version of goals and benchmarks two weeks in advance.

Once you are sure that all of the job goals are accurate, give the employee the latest version of goals and benchmarks. This time ask him or her to address each item and elaborate (in writing) on how they accomplish them. Leave some space at the end for additional comments from the employee that may not have fit within the context of the benchmarks and goals. Ask that these comments be returned within one calendar week.

Thoroughly examine the remarks from the employee.

Even the most hands-on managers do not have a full grasp of what each employee does on a daily basis. Take the time to read what employees have to say about themselves and their work. Jot down some notes on what items stand out, whether you agree or disagree, and gauge the employee’s general feeling about his or her work. This is an important step because it will likely bring up points that you had not considered, like possibly hiring someone new to help the employee out, and gives you guidance on where to open up the review and what topics should be the focus.

Allot enough time for the review.

As a general rule, do not schedule employee reviews on very busy days in the office or at the end of the day. When possible, make an employee review the first item of the day and set aside more time than you believe it will take. Go through each part of the review with the employee, pointing out strengths and areas for improvement. If an employee is in danger of being on probation or you feel that some difficult issues will arise during the review, face them calmly and provide suggestions for improvement. Be honest but give a fair amount of time to both criticism and praise.

Put yourself in the employee’s shoes.

Remember that no matter how nerve-wracking the review process is for you as a manager, it is even more anxiety-ridden for the employee. Try to put all employees at ease through your calm attitude and an open approach to the process. Chances are that you were once in the same position as the person you are reviewing, so tap into those memories in order to make everyone in the room feel at ease.

Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She writes on the topic of small business tips and small business news. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.