Evaluating Performance

The top concern for employees is how they are perceived and how their efforts are recognized. Unfortunately, this area is often mishandled, despite being one of the most manageable aspects of a manager's role. Why do managers fall short? They often rely solely on performance appraisals as the primary tool for evaluating their teams. However, assessing employee effort, progress, and achievements is an ongoing process—this is known as performance management.

Evaluation involves determining an employee’s merit, which reflects their worthiness for rewards or recognition. While the performance appraisal is the formal output, performance management is a continuous effort, addressing notable events as they happen. This ongoing process results in either gratitude or accountability—outstanding performance deserves appreciation, while poor performance requires corrective action. While notable events may not happen daily, it’s essential to recognize them when they do. Document the event's details and assess the employee’s performance based on the following criteria, both for positive and negative outcomes:

• What led to the event? Was it related to task execution? Behavior? Were the results of the event desirable?

• How did the event reveal the employee's level of customer care, teamwork, quality, ingenuity, knowledge, and loyalty?

• Did the employee demonstrate improvement, understanding of expectations, ownership and accountability, and self-awareness?

Feel free to adjust the criteria as needed, but make sure to document important observations as they happen, including all relevant details, especially the date and time. This practice, known as contemporaneous record-keeping, will prove invaluable when you need to reference past data. It will also be crucial for the organization when addressing performance issues.

Appreciation

If the observed behavior is positive, then demonstrate appreciation as soon as possible. A simple thank you costs nothing and is often all that's needed. If a team member regularly achieves superior results, you may need to look for a more substantial reward. Maybe there's already an award system in place, if you are unaware of one, ask your boss.

If there is no existing reward system, suggest one. There are many ways to handle this. Example: a monthly MVP award. The reward can be something small, like a gift card. A plaque with the names of past winners mounted in a common area is an added plus. Just make sure the criteria for winning are clear and fair. Another thing you can do is assign ad-hoc awards. For example, thank someone by taking them to lunch. Be fair; ensure the entire team understands why an individual received a reward, and that everyone gets an equal chance. In any case, you'll need the support of superiors and probably HR to implement a reward system.

And finally, exceptional performance requires a proportionate response. If one of your subordinates is regularly exceeding the expectations of their job, you need to react. If you feel a promotion is justified, then present the case to your superior—document exactly how the employee surpasses current expectations and meets the requirements of the position you are suggesting. You might not get approval; such moves are usually budgetary and will require time to implement. If possible, get a commitment you can share with the employee, so they know you're trying. The quickest way to lose the best people: treat top performers like everyone else. This may seem counter to fair, but fair means treating everyone equally under the same circumstances. In this instance, you have an employee exceeding expectations, which changes the dynamic. Allowing such performance to go unrewarded would, in fact, be unfair.

Accountability

You must address problem areas swiftly. Ignoring failures within your team is one of the worst mistakes you can make. Mistakes happen—they're part of the learning process. However, if an individual fails to learn or refuses to improve, their performance will negatively impact teammates, customers, and the organization as a whole. By not holding them accountable, you're not helping anyone; in fact, you're harming them, the team, and yourself.

First, determine whether the issue is part of a pattern. Problems typically fall into two categories: execution or behavior. Execution issues may include declining work quality, missed deadlines, repeated mistakes, or negative stakeholder feedback. Behavioral issues encompass deliberate policy violations, negativity, refusal to accept accountability, insubordination, inflexibility, or inappropriate communication. When investigating, remain objective—avoid assumptions, even if your instincts suggest otherwise. Stick to the facts and ensure they are confirmed and unedited, not only for fairness but also for legal reasons. Stay calm and non-judgmental during your inquiry to get clearer, more honest answers. Ask closed-ended questions, and follow up with "why" until you're confident you're dealing with facts.

Always adhere to your organization’s policies when taking next steps. For minor or first-time issues, you may have the authority to handle the situation directly with the employee. In more serious cases, you may need to involve HR to manage the process. Regardless, it's your responsibility to fully understand the issue, gather all relevant details, and form objective conclusions..

Consider whether the problems stem from poor management, either now or in the past, such as inadequate training or lack of resources. If so, you may need to share some accountability. However, if the issue is recurring, such as poor work quality, or a willful violation like inappropriate communication, it must be addressed through a formal performance improvement plan (PIP). The specifics of developing and managing this plan will depend on your organization’s policies. In cases of severe misconduct or based on company guidelines, immediate termination may be necessary.

No matter the policy, the PIP must be treated seriously. It’s not just a process to push someone out the door, even if that may be the expected outcome. The plan must be achievable based on the employee’s abilities, time-bound, and must clearly outline the criteria for success or failure. Ideally, the employee will correct the issue and improve; keeping a current employee is far more productive and cost-effective than hiring a replacement. However, if the employee fails to meet the expectations of the plan, termination may be the result.

Performance Appraisals

When it’s time for a formal review, you’ll be assessing both goal achievement and behavior. Evaluating goal achievement should be straightforward since the employee was assigned SMART goals, and you’ve been tracking their progress. Additionally, because you’ve kept contemporaneous notes, behavior will also be easy to evaluate. If you’re tasked with appraising someone with pre-existing goals you didn’t set, seek guidance from your manager, who should already be prepared to assist.

Formal appraisals come with a set completion date, and employees are aware of it. **Do not be late.** Timely reviews are critical to employee engagement. Missing the deadline sends a message that you don’t care, undermining trust and morale. There are no excuses—regardless of how busy you are. You've been aware of the due date and have tracked performance and behavior throughout the year. If you can’t manage this responsibility on time, it’s a sign you need to reassess your time management skills.

When providing feedback, be objective and accurate. It may feel easier to give someone a perfect score, but that’s rarely the reality. If compensation is tied to performance, it might be tempting to inflate grades, but your role is to help team members grow, not just make them feel good. If you intend to give someone top marks (which usually means exceeding expectations), be specific about what they did to earn it. If you can’t clearly explain how they exceeded expectations, you shouldn’t give them the highest rating. The same goes for negative feedback—be clear, specific, and ensure it’s understandable to the employee and others.

Finally, formal appraisals should never be the first time an employee hears either positive or negative feedback. If this happens, especially with bad news, you’ll lose credibility, damage trust, and weaken your ability to effectively lead that employee in the future.

If There’s Bad News…

Delivering bad news is never easy, but there are ways to make it less confrontational. When giving critical feedback, always start with something positive. Beginning with the negative can make the employee defensive, preventing them from hearing anything else. Present the feedback constructively and focus on the issue, not the person—remember, they failed at a task, but that doesn't make them a bad employee.

That said, don't tiptoe around the problem. Clearly explain what went wrong, describe the desired outcome, and ask the employee how they can achieve it in the future. Collaborate on setting a SMART goal for improvement, and follow up regularly to monitor progress. Offer praise or additional constructive feedback as necessary. As previously discussed, cases of recurring issues or significant failures will require a PIP, though hopefully, this is rare.

As you can see, evaluating your team requires effort. Employees want to know where they stand, and you need to help them perform at their best. Neither is possible without thoughtful and consistent performance management.