Three Focus Areas in Depth

Focus Area 2: Writing the Performance Appraisal (cont.)

Sections of a Written Appraisal

Various forms and formats are used across campus.  This often depends upon your classification and what form your unit has developed.  Building on the ideas in the previous section, there are six primary components, irrespective of the form when writing the appraisal.  These are:

1. Identify the review period. While most will be one year, some are shorter and some reflect multiple years.

2. The appraisal needs to accurately reflect the employee’s work during the full review period. This includes articulating the person’s strengths and areas of improvement.
• It is recommended that a supervisor keep a folder for each employee that includes objective performance measures on a quarterly basis. This helps ensure that the full length of the review period is addressed, not just the most recent quarter.
  
  
3. Professional development or focused areas for learning. Employees who are engaged in learning, pay attention to their personal and professional development usually perform better. Additionally, as a job evolves or different business needs emerge, you may direct an employee to learn a particular skill set to perform their job.
   
   
4. The general direction or specific goals for the upcoming year that will direct the employee for the type of work that will be continuing and any new work the employee is expected to do. 
• It is common that a separate document addressing the goals and objectives in more detail is kept.  This is often written by the employee in conjunction with the supervisor.
• If there are identified areas that need improvement, these should be clearly documented.  On some forms, an “improvements” section is clearly marked.
  
  
5. Review the position description (PD). Because business needs evolve so do positions. The PD should be reviewed and changes made so that the PD accurately reflects what an employee is expected to do. A specific statement as to whether the PD was reviewed should be made in the written review.
• Lastly, a place for signatures of the supervisor and employee. The actual signature will be requested after the formal meeting. The employee’s signature reflects that the employee has seen and had an opportunity to review the document with the supervisor. The employee’s signature does not mean s/he agrees with what is written.