Evaluating Employees for Excellence (part II)

Part one of this comprehensive piece regarding employee evaluation covered the “dos and don'ts” to be used prior to the evaluation actually taking place. In order for the process to be a constructive one, those elements lead up to the actual evaluation and without them the process is meaningless and most likely will be disregarded and not lead to a positive outcome or even change in behavior in the case of negative areas or areas needing improvement.



There are several tenets of good management that should be utilized during all performance evaluation sessions. A few worth mentioning and remembering when conducting evaluations are:

1. Remember the “sandwich method” of reviewing the negatives! Try and sandwich a negative, as relevant as it may be, in between two positive “slices” even though they may be less relevant or even inconsequential.

2. Try and conduct the session in a private area and in the morning or evening when the employee is not scheduled to be “on the clock.”

3.There is no need for four or five grades in each item on an evaluation such as A thru E or 1 thru 5.



In the writers’ opinion, the most productive grading method is “Excellent,” “Satisfactory” or “needs improvement.” Each time a “needs improvement” is issued, a corresponding definitive plan for improvement should accompany the grade possibly in a separate area of the written document.



There should be an overall grade for the employee given for the specific period. Again if the employee received a “needs improvement” as an overall grade, a time and action plan should accompany the evaluation. Essentially, the overall grade of “needs improvement” is conveying to the employee in question that improvement is necessary if he or she is going to remain in the employment of the organization. It becomes critical that the time line is clear along with the action expected and of course that another evaluation or separation take place at the end of the time line.The evaluation session is formal. With that in mind the session should be conducted formally, not in casual clothes, in a casual environment with a casual attitude!



Outstanding managers are those managers that use the performance evaluation session to learn more about the employees’ aspirations and their likes and dislikes of the position and the organization. If not already known, the manager can become more aware of the subject’s family, home life and outside interests as this side of the employee will invariably have an affect on their performance at work. A skilled and confident manager can utilize this session to learn and ascertain what more the manager can do to improve the company as well as themselves as leaders and representatives of the organization. However, there is a fine line, as the Evaluation session will lose meaning and credibility if it becomes a “bitch session.”



Preparation mostly on the part of the manager is tantamount to a productive evaluation session. A well-prepared manager has thoroughly reviewed the previous performance evaluation with an eye towards reviewing for improvement or digression. The manager should briefly cover the highlights of the last evaluation prior to embarking on the current session. The manager should keep an evaluation file on each of his or her direct reports and keep notes and reminders of situations that are performance or behavior related throughout the period even if they have been addressed as we say “on the spot.” After all a year has gone by and no one can remember every instance of situation that has taken place.



Last, but not least, the overall grade of the evaluation should be directly linked to the subject’s remuneration be it in the form of salary increase or bonus. The importance of the performance evaluation will lose significance if it is not in correlation with the raise in salary or the level of bonus. A good performance evaluation, ideally, should end with a statement such as, “Due to your contributions to the company and an outstanding performance, you will receive the top level or salary increase which is --%.” Conversely, a “needs improvement” or bad review should conclude with something to this effect, “you did not have a good year nor review. With this in mind, there will be no salary increase and hopefully, we can discuss your performance improvement and possibly a salary increase in –- months at your next review.”



In closing, even though a manager wants the employee to know that improvement is crucial, and necessary for continued employment, they must feel they have a chance to not only continue their employment, but to improve their salary as well! If their confidence is totally destroyed or they see no hope and leave the session completely irritated, the session may have done more harm than good!There are many resources for those of our readers seeking employment in sales! A few worthwhile websites are: retailmanagerjobs.net, retailjobs.com, customerservicejob-jobs.net and of course, this website, salesheads.com!



The author, Randy Snyder has designed evaluation formats for major companies as well as participated in the implementation. He is a regular writer for Salesheads and can be contacted for consultation at (p) 828 625 4932 or e mail at rsnyder921@att.net.