Employee Evaluation Forms

Annual employee evaluations are two-sided coins. On the one hand, they help employees by giving them constructive feedback on their job performance and thus a clearer road to moving their careers forward. On the other, they help employers stay in tune with employee concerns and out of legal trouble. But this is putting the cart before the horse.

Effective Evaluation Systems: Three Characteristics

The first step in the evaluation, or appraisal, process is to have a formalized system in place. There are two components common to any evaluation system, regardless of company size or type. First are company goals, and, as a subset, individual goals, which should be established for each employee and each job. Second are performance standards, by which management measures progress toward company goals. Performance standards should be established as company-wide policy, and apply to every employee no matter his or her rank or level of responsibility.

A performance evaluation system "works" when three conditions are met. The first is when employees get regular and constructive feedback throughout the year on their work. The second is when managers are trained in giving appraisals and to be open to discussion and collaboration with employees. The third is when employees and managers work together to identify goals, training, and development.

Standardized forms are undeniably useful in guiding the evaluation process. Typical questions should include identifying the employee's job accomplishments over the period under review, the employee's key strengths, key areas for professional development, possible problems at work since the last review, and the employee's teamwork. A rating checklist might include initiative, overall attitude, dependability, organizational skills, and sense of responsibility. These factors are just a beginning. To be effective, however, any appraisal form should be tailored to the specific job.