PRACTICE What Would You Include in the Performance Evaluation?

Objective Supportive communication and reflective listening are useful tools during the performance review, but managers need to remember that the performance review is only useful if it is part of a larger performance evaluation process. This exercise gives you an opportunity to think about the role of the performance review in planning the next cycle of performance evaluation.

Directions Review the guidelines for developing an effective performance evaluation system. Then think about the suggestions you had for redesigning Max's midyear review of Sue.

$1.$ What elements would you include in a performance review of Sue? What kind of feedback should you give her? What skills will you suggest that she develop? What other issues will you raise?

$2.$ In dyads, role$-$play the conversation that occurs in Max's midyear performance evaluation review of Sue.

Discussion Questions Answer the following questions:

$1.$ During the role$-$play, how successful were you at conducting a successful performance evaluation? Do you feel that you achieved a successful outcome? Why or why not?

$2.$ Which of the guidelines for giving and receiving feedback did you follow? Which did you forget? What were the outcomes?

$3.$ To what degree did your performance review focus on Sue's technical skills, and to what degree did it focus on her role as a member of the process design group? To what degree was Max's role in helping Sue develop as an employee in the process design group part of the performance review?

$4.$ What did you learn from this role$-$play?

Reflection Evaluating employees' performance is a complex task that is made more complicated when we see it as having conflicting objectives. We want to motivate our employees by giving them "positive" feedback. On the other hand, we often need to give them "negative" feedback that they may not agree with and will not be happy to hear. Similarly, we want to be supportive and provide employees with the opportunity to raise concerns. However, we also want them to take responsibility for problems or issues that arise. Instead of seeing these as conflicting objectives, emphasizing the goal of employee development helps us transcend this paradox. Employee development focuses our attention less on what has happened in the past and more on what we are working to achieve in the future.