

	Management Information

Performance Appraisal Checklist: Raise Not Just Appraise Performance

It's that time again! Perhaps the most dreaded management practice is the annual performance review. Whenever the subject comes up, out comes the groans from both managers and staff no matter what industry or type of company. Many say appraisals are like having a root canal - only more painful. It shouldn't be.

The following checklist is designed to guide managers and supervisors in preparing, conducting and following through on employee performance appraisal discussions.

The Preparation:

Give employee advance notice so that he /she can prepare for the discussion.
Review mutually understood expectations with respect to job duties and standards.
Observe job performance measured against these mutually understood expectations.
Take notes and keep records so you don't rely on memory.
Avoid paying attention to some aspects of the job at the expense of other.
Review the employee's background including, skills, work experience, and training.
Focus on performance areas that are the most important.
Prepare a potential development which can include training and special projects.
Identified areas for concentration in setting goals for the next appraisal period.

The Discussion:

Begin the discussion by creating a sincere, open and friendly atmosphere.
Review the purpose of the discussion - mutual problem solving and goal setting.
Explain the agenda for the meeting.
Keep the focus on job performance and related factors not personality.
Discuss job requirements, employee strengths, accomplishments, and improvement needs.
Evaluate performance against objective set during previous reviews and discussions.
Be prepared to cite observations for each point discussed.
Reach agreement on appropriate goals, development plans and timetables.
Summarize what has been discussed and end on a positive note.

The Follow-Up:

Immediately after record the plans made and points requiring follow-up.
Provide a copy for the employee.
Evaluate your own performance. What I did well? Could have done better? Learned about the employee? Learned about myself?

Marcia Zidle, the 'people smarts' coach, works with business leaders to quickly solve their people management headaches so they can concentrate on their #1 job - to grow and increase profits. She offers free help through Leadership Briefing, a weekly e-newsletter with practical tips on leadership style, employee motivation, recruitment and retention and relationship management.

Subscribe by going to http://leadershiphooks.com and get the bonus report "61 Leadership Time Savers and Life Savers". Marcia is the author of the What Really Works Handbooks - resources for managers on the front line and the Power-by-the-Hour programs - fast, convenient, real life, affordable courses for leadership and staff development. She is available for media interviews, conference presentations and panel discussions on the hottest issues affecting the workplace today. Contact Marcia at 800-971-7619.

MORE RESOURCES:

RELATED ARTICLES

Top Ten Things About Creating a Business Vision
To visualise where you are going, is deeper and more sensory than anything you have ever done before. And these are the skills of those who are able to create a vision you can really live and breathe.

Problem-Solving Success Tip: Look For Sponsors And Solution Owners
Look for sponsors and solution owners rather than problem owners.Everyone participating in the situation owns the problem, like it or not-and nobody likes it.

Innovation Management - Innovation or Profit?
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.

Selecting Top Talent: Improve Your Batting Average
I recently gave a presentation to a group of business and community leaders on how to select talent to grow their organization. Given the expense associated with recruiting top performers and the high cost of making poor choices, you would think that those responsible for hiring would follow a systematic process that results in high quality hiring.

Downsizing in Organisations - The Real Truth
I've met and worked with many people in all sectors of the business world and found that the majority of managers and team leaders are spending too much of their time on basic administrative tasks. Tasks for which they have had no training in.

Managing YOUR Expectations
I sit on the board of an organization and at the last meeting found myself speaking with another board member named Standolyn Robertson. Standolyn is also a business owner and our conversation was about managing expectations ? both ours and our clients.

Interviewing: How to Stay Out of legal Hot Water
Some interviewers ask great questions; others ask dumb questions; and, worst of all, some ask questions that can get them into legal hot water.Every recruiter, hiring manager, executive, and department manager must realize that asking the wrong questions or making improper inquiries can lead to discrimination or wrongful-discharge lawsuits.

Inspirational Power ( Part 1 )
The Fundamentals of Strategic Marketing, Some Key Traits for Greater EffectivenessProbably, the greatest challenge to marketing management in the next five Years will be to change quick and fast enough, in order to keep pace with new technologies, new markets and new corporate valuesAccording to the definition of the AMA, "Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders. "Customer focus has nowadays become a clich� among marketers keen to win competitive advantage.

The How-Tos of Firing Incompetent Employees
CATEGORIES OF OFFENSES: Most organizations have two categories of offenses in their policies. One category is for flagrant actions which are cause for immediate termination.

Better Manager Skills - How to Learn
When you first take over a department, expectations are usually high but operations are sometimes in disarray. The staff is disorganized, goals aren't being met, and hours are spent on unproductive tasks.

Diversity in the Workplace
As you look around your office, is everyone just like you? Probably not. The demographics of the American workforce have changed dramatically over the last 50 years.

Employers - Protect Yourself from Custody Battles that Hold Your Company Hostage
Child custody? How'd that get to be an employer's concern?When an employee faces child custody litigation, it will effect their ability to do their job. And it often causes legal consequences for their employers as well.

Effective Meetings - Quick Survey
Here's an easy quiz to check the health of your meetings.1) Who leads your meetings? a) No one, b) Everyone, c) A facilitator2) What happens to the ideas in your meetings? a) If we had to think of ideas, it would be work, b) We make fun of them, c) A scribe writes them on a chart pad3) Are results obtained in your meetings? a) We eat all the donuts, b) And we drink all of the coffee, c) Yes!4) Do your meetings have an agenda? a) Is that some kind of cabinet?, b) I saw one once in an article, c) Yes!5) Who attends your meetings? a) We have bleachers to hold the spectators, b) The entire staff plus any homeless people in the neighborhood, c) Only those who can contribute6) How long are your meetings? a) I'll let you know when this one ends, b) All day, c) An hour or less7) During a meeting do you: a) Break a foam cup into bits, b) Prepare for the next meeting, c) Focus on the topic8) How soon after the meeting do you issue minutes? a) If you think I want to publicize how much time we wasted, you're nuts, b) Within a few months or so, c) As soon as possible, if not faster9) While someone is speaking, do you: a) Wonder about the strength of plastic foams, b) Plan a way to change the subject, c) Listen empathetically10) What structured activities do you use in your meetings? a) We sit on chairs, b) Everyone leaves at the same time, c) Process tools designed to gather information, make decisions, and manage participation.

Creativity and Innovation Management :- Thought Leadership
Leadership is only sustainable when leaders consistently come up with good ideas - when they are dependable thought leaders. It follows then that leaders would be more effective if they knew how to manage creativity and innovation.

Look Good on Voice Mail
Your use of voice mail tells others a lot about you. Here's how to make a good impression.

Is A Bad Attitude Permanent
Today there is great weight put on a person's attitude.It is as if this is something for which they are individually responsible and should be held to account for.

Two Critical Success Factors in an ITIL Implementation
Any IT manager who wants to pursue the IT Service Management journey by implementing the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) needs to understand two very important factors well in advance.? The first factor is to have dedicated, trained and committed process owners.

Safety Policy Sample Outline
Writing a safety manual is a tough job and most larger corporations outsource such jobs or they have someone on staff with the proper credentials in risk management. Imagine writing the safety manuals for NASA? I had the opportunity to be in the unique position of being able to imagine just such a thing when writing our company safety manuals.

Business Fit
I have been an entrepreneur for over twenty years and have absolutely embraced information that would help maintain a well managed and profitable business. We have been a part of the information era for sometime now.

The Rise of Corporate Chair Massages
Employers have rapidly begun to understand the importance of stress relief in the workplace. Stress free employees have a higher retention rate and higher rates of productivity.

home | site map