Rating Performance

    A performance review form should be completed once each year for every employee you superviser. There are two forms  from which to choose depending on whether you are evaluating an A&P and/or Classified Manager/Supervisor OR a Classified Non-Supervisory employee. These forms can be found online on the Human Resources Training and Development webpage. It is divided into several parts, including Performance Levels, Performance Factors, Overall Evaluation, Mutually Understood Goals, Employee Comments and Signatures. 

    The Standard Performance Review Form

    To begin, fill in the employee's name, the date, the employee's EMPLID number, and job position.  Also, fill in the employee's department and the operating unit.  An example is shown below: 
     

    Name:                Sue Harper                                              Date:                  10/15/05 
    EMPLD:                  110010                                         Position:  Admin. Secretary 
    Department:            Surgery/Neurosurgery                          Operating Unit:  __MS__ 

    Performance Levels Section

    The section defines Levels of Performance which you may use to rate each Performance Factor that applies to the employee.  See sample performance factor ratings. 
     
    (E)xemplary Performance consistently far exceeds all expectations; conspicuously meritorious performance.
    (D)istinguished Performance generally exceeds job requirements; well above average.
    (C)ompetent Meets all job responsibilities in this area.
    (M)arginal Performance is below acceptable standards; requires more than average guidance.
    (U)nacceptable Performance is well below minimum standards; not performing at a fully effective level.
    (NA)Not applicable Does not apply to this position/person.

    Preparing to Rate Performance

    Before you can rate the level of performance on different factors, you should consider three things:  the job description, performance documentation, and rating errors. 

    Using the Job Description

    If you begin by defining "competent" performance, it may be easier to decide what performance meets, exceeds, or falls short of this base level.  The best tool to do this is the job description.  A current job description will include job functions, responsibilities and performance expectations.  

    Using Performance Documentation

    Performance documentation also helps you rate the level of performance. 

    Throughout the year, you have monitored your employees' performance, making notes and communicating to them about what they have done well and things they can improve.  You should have records of these meetings and your discussions. 

    This, in a sense, is your homework for a meaningful annual review.  You should not have to scratch your head to come up with examples of work well done or work that needed improvement. 

    You should have lots of records to draw upon.  For example: 

    • Attendance records 
    • Complaints or compliments 
    • Examples of poor or outstanding work 
    • Activity reports 
    • Coaching and Counseling notes  

    Avoiding Ratings Errors

    The job description helps you define job competence, and performance documentation helps you measure job performance.  Both tools can help you remain objective about rating performance, though rating errors can occur when using generalized rating scales. 

    Here are some common tendencies which you should avoid when rating the performance of your employees. 

      Halo Effect -  Rating (positively or negatively) an employee on one trait or factor and letting that rating influence your ratings for all the other traits.  This problem often occurs with employees who are especially friendly (or unfriendly) toward the supervisor or especially strong (or weak) in one skill. 
       
        To avoid the halo effect, evaluate all your people on one performance factor before going to another factor.  This way the evaluation is based on the factors more than an overall impression of one individual. 
      Leniency or Harshness Errors - When raters see everything as "good," they are lenient raters.  When they see everything as "bad," they are harsh raters. 
       
        Examine your ratings for a leniency or harshness tendency.  If you have this tendency, consider using a normal distribution - 10 percent of employees exemplary, 20 percent distinguished, 40 percent competent, 20 percent marginal, and 10 percent unacceptable. 
         
      Central Tendency - Some raters avoid using high or low ratings.  Central tendency describes what happens when you tend to put everyone in the middle of the road and rate all of your subordinates as "competent." 
       
        The problem with this tendency is it fails to discriminate between employees and offers little information for subsequent decisions.  If you have this tendency, remember that this kind of rating will not help you in assessing training needs or making decisions on raises or promotions. 
         
      First Impression - Whether your first impression is positive or negative, this should not be the basis for performance evaluation. 
       
        Again, go back to the job description and performance documentation.  This will take the emphasis away from "gut level" feelings and superficial impressions and focus your evaluation on facts and behavior. 
         
      Personal Bias - This occurs when a rater gives a higher rating because the employee has qualities similar to him or her (or a lower rating because the employee has dissimilar qualities).  Also, raters can simply like certain employees better than others, giving them higher ratings because of these feelings. 
       
        Some employees are aware of this tendency and will temporarily change their performance when they know a review is about to take place.  If you have used documentation and been involved in daily performance management, your evaluation will be based on the employee's performance during the entire time period.
    Rating Performance

    Now you are prepared to rate performance.  It's a good idea to use the comments section to document and justify all your ratings.  Any ratings of Exemplary or Unacceptable must be justified in the comments section.  Adding comments makes the ratings more meaningful - whether you are rating positive performance or performance that needs improvement.  This way your employee will have a specific example of what you had in mind when you rated him or her a certain way.  This example may either be praise or a suggestion for improvement.  You can also attach additional documents if needed. 
     

    Performance Factors Section
     
     

    Knowledge of the Job:  Possesses the knowledge and technical competencies required to perform job responsibilities; understands relevant policies and procedures and organizational structure and function. 
    Comments:                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
    Quality of Work:  Produces work to meet acceptable standards, including accuracy, neatness, and completeness.
    Comments:  

    You should assign one of the levels of performance to each performance factor that applies to the employee.  For managerial and supervisory employees, rate both performance factors and the managerial and supervisory factors. You may add optional factors in both sections. 

    If the performance does not apply to the position use the (NA) Not Applicable rating. 

    Overall Evaluation

    Use the performance levels on page one of the Performance Review Form as a guideline to rate the employee's overall performance.  You may also want to add comments to explain your rating.