Conducting Effective Performance Reviews: Top 5 ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ All Managers Should Know!

If you’re in a management position and have direct reports, writing employee appraisals is an essential component of your job.
Anything less than a completely honest performance appraisal will only cheat the employee out of personal development, plus it could set the stage for a discrimination lawsuit.
Business Management Daily highlights the top ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ for giving and writing effective performance appraisals.

1. DON’T fall prey to ‘halo effect’

Managers sometimes allow a single characteristic to influence their ratings of other unrelated factors. Say an employee is willing and capable of taking on any project. That outstanding trait can cause a manager to ignore a worker’s shortcomings. Advice: Eliminate the halo effect by considering each performance element independently.

2. DON’T be overly lenient

Less experienced managers often feel uneasy about criticizing employees’ efforts. And seasoned managers may allow emotion to cloud the judgment of their long-term employees.

Leniency hurts company performance because it fails to flag weaknesses. Plus, in court, employees fired for poor performance will point to positive reviews as proof of discrimination.

3. DON’T be overly strict

The opposite problem—overly harsh assessments—is just as demoralizing for workers who make consistent contributions. When a manager believes that anything an employee does is part of his job description, it leaves the employee with no incentive to excel at his job.

Managers need to define their expectations and identify behavior that falls short of or exceeds those requirements. This should be done through consistent feedback—not just on review day—so that the review process becomes a simple task of matching behavior to established standards.

4. DO go high and low

“Central tendency assessment” occurs when a supervisor gives all workers average ratings. This attitude can depress employee morale and indicate that the supervisor isn’t doing his or her job.

Keep detailed employee logs and record instances of superior and inferior performance.

5. DON’T contradict yourself

The most damaging mistake managers can make during a review is to send the employee mixed messages. Know what to say, put it on paper and talk it through in advance so that any errors in logic can be caught ahead of time. Contradictory messages erode credibility and do nothing to improve the employee’s performance.

For more information and the full article containing complete list of top ‘8’ do’s and don’ts in giving employee performance reviews, please visit http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/12012/writing-and-giving-performance-reviews-8-dos-and-donts?src=SONAR-RCLP-LM-10SecretsPerfRevw.