Three Focus Areas in Depth

Focus Area 3: Conducting the Appraisal Meeting and Follow-Up (cont.)

What to Avoid

1. Surprises
   When done in a respectful manner, employees welcome constructive feedback.  It motivates people to perform better.
   
   Supervisors who save up “chips” to “get” an employee during the evaluation lose their credibility.  It builds fear and shuts down communications.  Employees are confused and ask “Why didn’t you tell me before?  If you’d told me, I wouldn’t have done that.”  They are left to feel that there is something else that the supervisor has not told them and waiting for the other shoe to drop.
   
   
2. Inflated Performance Reviews
   An inflated performance appraisal gives an employee a false sense of security and deprives the employee of the opportunity to improve.  This occurs when a supervisor is uncomfortable with giving honest feedback and simply gives a positive review.
   
   If performance issues need to be addressed as part of a progressive disciplinary progress, inflated appraisals will cause delays or could negate the discipline.
   
   
3. Lack of Back-up Documentation in Negative Reviews
   A common error is that deficiencies are not documented on the performance evaluation, so when the situation worsens and a manager wants to take disciplinary action, there is no documentation that the issues have been previously addressed.
   
   
4. Personal Issues
   Information that relates to OFLA/FMLA, ADA, or personal problems should not be included in the performance appraisal.  Focus the appraisal on job-related behavioral and objective information.

What to Promote

1. Treat it Like it Matters
   If the appraisal accurately and fairly reflects on-going conversations, then treating this conversation as an important matter makes a difference to the employee.  Plan for the review as you would for a key meeting.  The more thoughtful, organized, and prepared you are, the better the review will turn out.
   
   A litmus test for the conversation is to have the employee leave feeling that you have their best interest at heart, care about them, believe in them as an employee, and demonstrate that you believe that they can succeed even if you need to address areas needing improvement.