Managing People - Performance Reviews
The Lowdown on Performance Reviews

The Lowdown on Performance Reviews

Conducting a good performance review requires careful preparation in two different ways. You need to decide what you are going to say, and how you are going to say it.

Performance review criteria

Large companies generally have highly specific criteria for reviewing the performance of employees. Small companies often let individual managers determine how they will conduct their employee reviews. The problem with this haphazard approach is that employees will discuss their reviews with one another. Unless your firm has developed a consistent review process, some employees will feel that they have not gotten the same or as fair an appraisal as others.

A simple approach to performance review criteria would be to primarily review an employee’s work based on quantity and quality relative to the job requirements. Secondary considerations might be attitude, willingness to help other personnel with their work when appropriate, and ability to get along with others.

Another approach would be to set a standard “laundry list” of factors that must be considered in reviews.

Whatever method you decide works best for your company and your employees, discuss it with your managers and make sure they are using the same performance criteria consistently.

Performance ratings

You should rate employee performance and do so in a consistent manner. Top performers like to hear affirmations from management regarding their exemplary efforts. Weak performers need to know that their performance requires improvement.

In addition, you may want to couple performance ratings with suggested annual pay increase ranges. Following is a sample rating system with suggested pay range increases.