On Evaluating Employee Performance (From a Manager to an Employee)

I admit it. I have a love/hate attitude about performance evaluations. I love it when you do great work and I get to tell you, and perhaps reward you for your contributions. On the other hand, I hate it when you don’t do great work, and I not only have to tell you, but also deal with your objections, disappointment, and even hostility.

Doing performance evaluations is a basic responsibility of management. It’s necessary to ensure we all get the feedback we need to keep our performance on track. But it’s a part of the job I’m not always comfortable with. Think it’s easy to play judge and jury over someone else’s work? Trust me, it isn’t – especially if my assessment affects your salary…and your future. And the more people I have to appraise, the tougher it gets.

Most people think they do great work. Many of them are right…but not all of them. In the end, I must call it like I see it. That’s all I can do. That’s all you could do if you walked awhile in my shoes.
 
On Performance Evaluations (From an Employee to a Manager)

From my perspective, both the best and the worst thing about performance evaluations is that they usually only happen once a year. Why best? Because they tend to be tedious and sometimes painful processes – similar to annual trips to the dentist. Why worst? Because all too often, they’re the only time I get any detailed feedback on how well I am (or am not) doing. And sometimes even that doesn’t happen “constructively.”

Evaluations represent “scaryland” for me because they are subjective in nature. Your opinion is going to affect my future. And there are no guarantees that one evaluator (and most of the time it is just one evaluator) really knows my job and how well I do it. So sometimes I can’t help but worry that my rating will be based solely on how well you like me. I worry you’ll forget the good and remember only the bad. And I worry that my input won’t be considered in the process.

I understand that performance evaluations probably aren’t the most favorite part of your job. But they are important to me…I’ve got a lot riding on them. Maybe you could consider periodically giving me a little more informal feedback – the kind where there’s not so much on the line. Have strong feelings about performance evaluations? Walk awhile in my shoes!

Excerpt  from Walk Awhile in My Shoes: