Performance Appraisal Mistakes Managers Must Consciously Avoid

Published December 11, 2007

 

As the song says, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." That is, unless you're a manager preparing to conduct annual performance evaluations. Just the idea of critiquing employee performance is enough to make some managers' hearts race, palms sweat, and heads throb.

Wanting to overcome this feeling of panic can result in managers unknowingly succumbing to performance evaluation traps, which tend to make the process albeit "easier," but certainly not beneficial to the employee, or, in some cases, not even legal!

Give your managers the gift of knowing what to be conscious of not doing this evaluation season.

Trap #1: Using stereotypes, rather than first-hand observations, e.g., rating male employees higher than female employees in leadership skills based on gender alone.

Trap #2: Letting personal feelings influence the assessment, e.g., rating employees favorably because they are friendly with the manager outside of work; rating employees poorly because they've previously butted heads with the manager.

Trap #3: Inflating the ratings of poor performers. Some managers assume an inflated rating will motivate employees to improve their behavior. Others do so to avoid having a confrontation.

Trap #4: Equating long tenure with positive performance. An assumption that an employee has been with the company for a long time because they are a good worker can be erroneous.

Trap #5: Failing to explain reasons for the ratings. An evaluation with no comment fields completed is unacceptable. So, too, are comments that aren't specific.

Trap #6: Making backhanded compliments. Think of Sen. Joe Biden "complimenting" Sen. Barack Obama: "You got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy."

Trap #7: Interpreting motives behind behavior instead of just stating the behavior, e.g., "Shane isn't committed to the job. That's why he was late to work 21 times."

 

Related Topic(s): Discipline & Performance Issues/Performance Appraisals