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Five Rules for Rating Employee Performance
RATING PERFORMANCE IS NOT A GAME |
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When you rate your employee's performance, does it feel like you're playing a game?
Are you picking the numbers like in Roulette or do you have a systematic way of determining the ratings? The ratings you select may be on a numeric scale (one to five) or a range of verbal descriptor (Exceptional to Unacceptable). Regardless, there are five rules to follow to avoid playing the rating game.
1. All levels of the scale should be used. When you tell employees that they have to "walk on water" to get the highest rating on the scale, you are really just avoiding your responsibility for clearly defining performance expectations. If your organization's scale has five levels, it's important to define what behavior it takes to earn each of the rating levels. Likewise, if an employee's performance is not satisfactory, you are doing them a disservice by rating the performance acceptable. Call it like it is.
2. Specific examples should be provided to support each rating. Rating performance without explaining why the rating was assigned turns the performance evaluation into a popularity contest. While there will always be a level of subjectivity in the rating of employee performance, you can make it a more objective process by providing examples of performance that justify the rating you've selected. For example, if the employee is below standard, specific examples of how the employee performed that were not up to your expectations will validate the rating. Likewise, when performance is rated as exceptional, you can reinforce it and encourage the same level of performance in the future when you clearly describe what the employee did to earn the high praise. It's reinforcement, plain and simple.
3. There is no correlation between last year's and this year's ratings. Rate this year's performance only. Performance evaluations should be a summary of the previous year's performance. They are not a reflection of performance that has occurred over the employee's career. When you reach for the previous year's performance evaluation and use it as a basis for the current year's evaluation, you are considering performance that is outside the scope of the current evaluation. Focus on this year only.
4. Ratings should be discussed between managers and supervisors prior to the discussion with the employee. When you present your evaluation, ratings and all, to the employee without getting your boss's buy-in, you are setting yourself and the employee up for a potential bombshell. Your boss is a key player in the management of your direct reports. Without their support and input, you are a lone paddler in the middle of a big ocean. Before you "finalize" an evaluation for an employee, make sure you have the backing of your manager. If anything goes awry with the evaluation, you will need your manager's support.
5. You are responsible for defining the rating scale. Your Human Resources Department might offer you generic definitions for each level of the rating scale. However, only you can translate the generic definition into something that is meaningful for the employees you lead. For example, commendable performance for a Firefighter will be defined differently than commendable performance for a Customer Service Representative. Because the jobs are so different, the ratings must be applied differently. That's why only you, the manager, can define the scale specifically. The more descriptive your expectations for the job, the clearer your expectations will be for the employee.
Rating employees doesn't have to be a hazy, nebulous proposition. It certainly shouldn't be a game. A little structure and some clear expectations can help you turn a painful exercise into one that is painless.
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Finish your Performance Evaluations!
NEW PERFORMANCE EVALUATION TOOLKIT |
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Completing a performance evaluation can be a daunting task. Where to begin? How to rate the performance? What to write? How to deliver it to the employee? Wouldn't it be nice to have a roadmap to guide you through the process? Wouldn't it be great to have a coach lead you through the steps?
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Final Footnotes
NEWS & EVENTS FROM MARNIE
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Join me on September 22, 2011 at the League of California Cities Annual Conference & Expo. I'll be presenting "Engaging Public Employees in the Midst of Uncertainty" at 3:15 PM at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, CA. If you are in the area, please stop in and say hello.
As always, I'm grateful for your feedback and your support. Drop me a note and let me know what's on your mind.
Sincerely,
Marnie Green, IPMA-CP
Principal Consultant
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