How do we evaluate our personnel?
Undervalued? That is how your team may feel if you don’t put in the effort.
How can we ensure that our staff are never undervalued? Some organisations use a checklist with common questions, while others insist on a handwritten report. The most common is a combination of the two with several variations.
It doesn’t matter which method you follow; the result should be the same. There are various names for the same process; evaluations, assessments or appraisals are all pretty much the same thing.
A two-way street.
The goal is to have a good two-way, semi-formal conversation during which the interviewee and the interviewer are assessed.
Pardon? Hold on a moment, what?
Well, yes, a good evaluation isn’t just about the performance and standards of the person being evaluated. It should also be the opportunity for every employee to say what is on their mind without fearing and worrying about consequences. But, of course, they are expected to remain polite and professional at all times; no personal insults allowed, sorry.
Evaluation overload.
Suppose the manager has many of these evaluations to perform. In that case, they can all too quickly become a routine with little or no added value to the person writing the evaluation and the person being evaluated.
Are they important? I mean, it’s just a perfunctory regular interview that we all must go through. It doesn’t mean anything. But, unfortunately, it can and is treated in this way, particularly if the sheer volume of evaluations seriously impacts the managers’ daily responsibilities. If this happens, potential can be missed, and a person’s talent can be undervalued and wasted.
Managers should always be kept from being overwhelmed with evaluations. The point is to assess the performance and development potential of every person in the organisation, but for that to function properly, some effort must be put in.
Spread the load.
A good rule of thumb is to limit the number of evaluations to four or five, maximum, at any one time, less if possible.
Consider a hypothetical manager who is responsible for around twenty personnel. It is unlikely that the manager will be able to evaluate every single one of his team effectively. How could anyone get to know so many different people sufficiently to produce a practical evaluation for everyone?
A possible solution, in this case, would be to split the evaluations up into four or five parts spread over the year. However, this only helps solve the problem of the number to be carried out at any time.
It would be ineffective in any case, as the manager would still have difficulty getting to know each staff member.
Another solution could be to select four more senior team members and allocate the remainder between them. These seniors would be responsible for only four evaluations each, which would be discussed thoroughly before the manager conducted the interview. And, of course, the manager would assess these four directly.
Why put so much effort into these routine appraisals? Well, because they are anything but routine for those being appraised. Instead, they are a valuable part of their professional life; it is here that they learn where they excel and what they still need to work on, and why.
It is also an opportunity for them to make suggestions and complain about inefficiencies or frustrations that they experience. If the manager is a good manager, see How to spot a bad manager. And how not to become one. They should already be aware of any potential problems within the team, and, mostly, the manager will have an answer ready. But little surprises catch us all out occasionally.
Getting to know your team.
These interviews should never be thought of with dread, as something to get through as quickly as possible. On the contrary, they offer an additional opportunity to connect, one on one, with your team and they with you. It should be a relaxed affair, thus absolutely not formal. Both sides need to be at ease and talk freely (again, within professional boundaries).
Usually, these evaluations are carried out yearly, but that doesn’t stop a good manager from taking time to have informal chats regularly. A year is a long time, and a lot can go wrong. But, also, a lot can go right, so don’t waste an opportunity for praise and show your appreciation.
It is best to keep track of your staff regularly; that doesn’t mean prying into their daily routines. It doesn’t have to be a formal invite to an appointment; call them in as they pass; for example, spontaneous conversations in a relaxed atmosphere work wonders for building the team’s spirit. They are much more effective than formal team-building days, in my opinion.
Regarding team building days.
Should you have a budget for these activities, make the most of them. Involve your team from the start with suggestions flowing both ways. Take a vote on what to do, and most of all, make sure they are as relaxed and as informal as possible. After all, you already have a great team if you are doing your job right.
Above all, avoid events that involve a lot of learning or lectures. Your team just needs to let their hair down with their colleagues. They most certainly will not appreciate being ‘forced’ into any activity.
There will always be some individuals that will not want to participate. Again, it is important that this isn’t held against them in any way, but it shows that they may need some closer supervision, mentoring or coaching to come out of their shell.
Or they could be old dogs like myself who’ve been there and done that and would rather either stay at work or take time off to go for a walk with the dog.
Just don’t fall into the trap of judging them, ok?
Addendum: See here for a US Government PDF on 360-Degree Assessment.