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Print ArticleDoes anybody really enjoy employee reviews? As a manager or owner it can be difficult because you know the employee has only one thing on his mind: "Where's my raise?"
A review is really meant to be a meaningful exchange to better the employee personally and the company as a whole. An employee may view it as a time when they have to sit there and listen to the manager tell them everything they need to work on. Speaking from experience, I know the boss doesn't always have the whole picture.
What is the outcome? Often, no change is put into effect. This is unfortunate because an effective employee review can produce positive outcomes. After speaking with many different managers, I have found that several are facing similar problems, such as maintaining a team atmosphere, disgruntled employees spreading a negative attitude, misunderstanding of the company's goals and no sense of urgency among their employees. All of these problems can be managed when employee reviews are productive and effective.
Perhaps I've convinced you to start doing reviews. As I mentioned, these reviews can be difficult. In light of this, many companies are reviewing employees in a different way called employee self-evaluation. The idea behind a self-evaluation is different than the more traditional way of doing reviews. With the traditional way, issues such as a raise, promotion or a bonus usually are the main topic. Self-evaluation reviews are used to develop and help employees grow, such as improving communication with supervisors. Most employees know what they can do better, so let them take the first step.
Self-evaluation has many advantages. The first is self-reviews give people the opportunity to correct problems in a nonjudgmental manner. They're expressing their thoughts. It is less likely that you would get this information in a formal employee review. Many employees might find that writing their thoughts on paper is less confrontational than expressing them in a face-to-face interview. Also, as every employee is different and every company's needs and goals are different, you can tailor the questions on your review to really draw out their thoughts on issues that are important.
Below is a generic example of questions for a self-evaluation form. Take a look and you'll see what I mean.
Example Employee Personal Evaluation
GOAL: As an employee you want to perform to your best potential. Below you will see a set of questions that will help you to evaluate yourself.
Attendance
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the best, how would you rate yourself on the following :
- Missing workdays
- Being on time
- Beginning work immediately
- Resuming work immediately after breaks
You rated yourself on the first questions. How do you think you did? Below there is an opportunity to write down your thoughts. It's suggested that you do. Your opinions are valuable and helpful to us.
