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Employment Testing

Employee Performance Reviews

by Serena Berger

Employee performance reviews are generally ranked somewhere between root canal surgery and getting stuck in traffic on most people's lists of things to look forward to. Even the best employees feel that their supervisors are going to be looking for things to criticize, and this makes them feel tense and undervalued. Often, the problem is that the perspective of the supervisor doesn't take into account the big picture of what employee performance reviews can accomplish, as well as the side effects of handling them without sufficient sensitivity.

Effective Employee Performance Reviews

The important thing is to focus on employee performance reviews as a time to create a plan of action. Of course you may need to use some forms of structured testing, as there are positions that require employees to stay up-to-date on technologies or information; but there are other equally important topics to explore. Here you have more flexibility in how to approach the subjects, and it may even be in your best interest to hire a consultant to help you develop a better review process for your company and situation.

One thing you should always do is make sure an employee has the opportunity to compare his or her own self assessment with that of a supervisor, and possibly colleagues or clients. Gathering feedback from relevant third parties can become part of the review process. Then, as the supervisor, you need to be able to find the ideal balance between sharing the positive and negative feedback with the employee, so that he or she can learn what needs to be improved, but not be paralyzed by an onslaught of criticism.

Any employee needs a chance to make sure that you know what she has done for your company, as well. Things like contributions within a team are often given joint credit, and a supervisor never knows if someone is responsible for consistently high quality and creative ideas if a group is presenting them. Morale will improve significantly, and consequently performance will be enhanced, if an employee knows that you are aware of her contributions to the company, and if you take opportunities to reward those contributions.

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