What Are 3 Reasons for Appraising Employee Performance?
- For new employees who are still on their probationary period with the company, a performance review is a measurement tool for gauging a worker's learning skills compared to others in similar jobs. In addition to assessing how quickly an employee masters the various tasks necessary to perform the work, the review looks at whether the employee is compatible with others as a team player and constitutes a good match for the corporate vision. For long-term employees, quarterly and annual performance reviews evaluate adaptability to new technology and procedures as well as the initiative to surpass prior performance records and sales quotas. This, in turn, influences decisions regarding promotions and salary increases.
- Employee performance appraisals draw valuable attention to the need for additional training. This can either be training that was lacking or insufficient at the time the employee was first hired, or remedial instruction to brush up on skills that are currently falling short of company standards and expectations. The evaluation also can identify relevant training courses and workshops that will enable employees to operate new equipment that is being introduced or transition to different levels of responsibility within the organization.
- In order to take disciplinary actions against workers who are not honoring their employment contracts, it is critical to produce written documentation that demonstrates every effort was made to correct the situation. The employee performance review identifies problem areas, defines specific remedies and provides a time frame within which to show a marked improvement. If the conditions are not met, the employer has legal cause to initiate a demotion, suspension or rejection from employment.
- An employee appraisal is only as effective as the thoroughness of the document itself and the willingness of both sides to discuss its content in a comfortable and nonthreatening context. Whether a worker is performing beyond expectations or falling woefully short of them, it is important to provide specific examples rather than resorting to vague generalities. To accomplish this, consider jotting down notes and observations as they occur rather than trying to rely on your memory the day before an evaluation is due.
