Employee appraisals sample

1. Employee appraisals sample
The end of the year seems to be the normal time for many companies to prepare
performance appraisals for their employees. All companies should have a formal
employee appraisal system.
Most well run organizations recognize the importance of having a good appraisal system.
Not only should you review performance and discuss problems, but you should also set
goals for the next period and discuss career advancement. Employees receive feedback,
input, direction and motivation. And the company benefits by having a formal
development system, a motivation system, a specified feedback system, as well as
documentation and legal protection. Hopefully you will never be involved with
complaints of illegal termination or discrimination; documented appraisals can offer legal
protection in addition to serving as a preventive measure.
A good appraisal system will include performance expectations and measurement tools.
These tools should be well defined and understood. Many systems use a numerical rating
system from one to five, others may use the grading system we remember from schools
(A-F) and a few just use textual designations. Be sure that the numerical or alphabetic
measurements are well defined. The mid-point measurement should be defined as
meeting the standards for the job. The two upper levels should be generally defined as
exceeding standards for the job and well above the standards for the jobs. The lower
levels should indicate a need for slight improvements to meet the standards for the job, or
be well below standards. Do not ever use the term average: most people do not want to be
considered average.
Some companies may use a "management by objective" system, where employees are
measured on how well they met specific goals that have been defined to them in advance.
These could be specific performance measurements, such as the number of new
customers added by a salesperson. There could also be measurement of other specific
job-related behaviors, such as attendance.
All of these measurement systems must be specific, clear, useful, fair, and consistent.
When discussing either strong or weak performance actions, use specific examples if
possible.
A corporate or departmental tally should be kept with the results of each performance
review. Calculations should be made to determine the percentage of employees in each
level, to ensure that there is not a tendency to over-rate employees. It is much more
comfortable for a manager to rate a person higher than their true performance than to be
totally honest. Approximately two thirds of your employees should be at the "meeting
standards" category. "Exceeding standards" should comprise about 17-20%, "well above"
should be about 3-5%, and about the 5-8% in the two "below standards" categories. If

2. you have any employees at the lowest level, plans should be underway to terminate this
employee after they are given a reasonable and documented chance to correct their
deficiencies.
The appraisals must be designed so they are totally objective, accurate and complete. Be
sure that all employees are appraised in approximately the same, regular time frame.
When setting the goals for the next appraisal, be sure that they are measureable, realistic,
observable and based on the job requirements. These goals should be challenging and
must be prioritized through mutual discussions.
If at all possible, determine a schedule for the individual appraisals so that the appraisal
date does not coincide with the timing of pay increases. While a portion of most salary or
wage increase systems should be based on performance, it is much easier to conduct an
honest appraisal when the employee knows that there will not be a pay discussion at the
end of the meeting.
Be sure that the employee fully participates in the discussion. They must be active in the
goal-setting process and the development of the action plans to meet these goals. It is
usually quite helpful to get them to discuss their perception of their own strengths and
weaknesses. Often this can be an opportunity for the employee to discuss his/her opinion
of the company and/or you as their manager. The more you can involve the employee in
the process, the more involved they will be in designing their new goals, and the
appraisal mechanisms used to measure their attainment of those goals.
Finally, at the end of the meeting, be sure the individual understands how their
performance meshes with the company's goals, and how their success will help the
company meet its objectives. Be absolutely sure that they understand the points discussed
in the meeting. After ensuring this, ask them to sign the appraisal and offer an
opportunity for them to respond with written comments.
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performance appraisal.