Put personal biases
aside. Make a real effort to avoid letting personal feelings control the
evaluation of performance. Personality, beliefs, or spare time activities
usually do not affect job performance. Personal likes or dislikes between
employee and supervisor should not bias the evaluation of an employee’s
performance.
Keep it focused on
the individual being evaluated. A conference is personal between the
supervisor and employee. The employee is concerned about his/her own performance
and wants to know that the discussion is confidential. Comparison between
employees destroys confidentiality and implies favoritism.
Use compliments
wisely. The purpose of the conference is to plan for growth. When the
supervisor is too complimentary it gives the impression there is no need or no
way to improve. Although it may be easier for the supervisor to say nice things,
it doesn’t help the employee grow in the job nor does it help the supervisor
improve department performance.
Cut the criticism.
While every employee has room to improve, the conference should not stress
improvement to the point that the employee feels he/she hasn’t done anything
well enough. Recognition of good performance comes in part by setting
"maintenance" objectives for some responsibilities.
Forget the small
stuff. Avoiding major or difficult issues will not make them disappear.
It is the supervisor’s obligation to discuss major aspects of job performance
that are essential to the employee and the unit.
Be flexible.
Each person has an individual style and there is no "one best way" for doing
most things. Generally an employee will be happier and more productive if given
some discretion in his/her work. Unless it is absolutely necessary, the
supervisor should avoid dictating to an employee, especially when a satisfactory
means of achieving an objective has already been worked out.
Be clear about
expectations. The primary purpose of the review session is to communicate
and establish performance plans. To verify that the objective has been achieved
and to confirm understanding, the supervisor
must follow up with a written summary of the session.
Be realistic.
Before each conference, supervisor and employee should know what they intend to
accomplish and should work toward those objectives in the session. After the
session, evaluate its success. There will always be some sessions that will not
accomplish what was expected. Analyze whether goals for the session were too
high or if future sessions could be more effective.
