Performance Evaluations…Blah!

It still amazes me when I hear about organizations that do not have a formal performance evaluation or appraisal process in place. This is in a world that is being asked to do more with less—where performance, efficiency, and perfection drive our utmost decision-making. So, I say to myself…that just doesn’t make sense.

But after realizing that I may be making too much of a pre-judgment, I know I must understand why—why don’t these organizations have performance management programs? Below are a few common answers I heard along with my thoughts on each of them.

1)  We don’t have time to do performance evaluations. While we all are busy, performance evaluations don’t take that much time out of our day if we have the right tools in place. Having regular conversations with employees and taking a few notes about them can significantly speed up your composition of the performance evaluation—providing your performance evaluation is designed on actual measures that align with what the organization values. A simple 15-20 minute conversation each week can prove to be useful in communicating performance measures.

2)  Performance evaluations are a waste of time; all I do is check the boxes. Performance evaluations can sure feel like a waste of time, especially if your review form has nothing to do with your business or departmental objectives. This is where many organization’s performance evaluation programs fall short. We all know you can buy generic performance evaluation forms from major office supply companies—but this is one case where one size does not fit all. Each organization has different values, competencies, and behaviors it holds to be important. These are the items in which employees should be measured. When you check the box next to “communicates well” on the generic form, what does that mean to you, the company, the employee?

3)  Employees want their pay increases; they don’t care about their performance. Right on! But what if you link employees’ performance to pay, would they care then? Ask yourself the question, “What is an employee’s incentive to perform well?” If you are giving an average performer the same increase as a stellar performer, you may be sending the wrong message of what the company values. Pay for performance is not new, and in fact, it has been around for quite some time. By linking an employee’s pay increase with his or her ability to perform their job well, you create a direct reward to performance, efficiency, and perfection. Give employees a reason to “work hard for the money.”

If you don’t have a formal performance evaluation process in place, I encourage you to draw out your plans and begin construction. Performance evaluations are a GREAT tool for you to set expectations, measure performance, and increase your employee’s productivity levels. Plus, if you link performance to pay, you’ll incentivize employees to go above and beyond.

Image: Michal Marcol