Important Information and Facts About Employee Performance Appraisals

This articles reveals the importance of employee performance appraisals and how this procedure can potentially benefit the employee as well as the organization overall. The performance appraisal is basically a tool to measure employee job performance and productivity rate within a specific time frame. Consistent employee feedback is essential; in that, it gives the employee valuable information about his/her job performance and consequently set realistic goals and work patterns that improve productivity and job performance.


Positive aspects of performance appraisals

Most organizations conduct yearly performance reviews to measure employee job performance and productivity rate. And some even give its employees a performance review six months after he/she is employed with the company and another review six months later.  The main purpose of the assessment is to give the employee verbal and written feedback on whether or not he/she met or exceeded the company’s expectations.  The meeting is typically conducted by the employee’s immediate manager or supervisor and basically evaluates the employee’s productivity and job performance as it correlates with predetermined goals and objectives. The employee is advised to make improvements in certain areas as indicated by the manager during the employee’s review within a specific time-frame. Performance appraisals are beneficial as it reveals an employee’s shortcomings and thus allow him/her ample time to measure up. Ultimately, the organization exclusively benefits from employee competency and job achievements.

Keep in mind that there are unfavorable consequences for employees who fail to meet his/her employer’s job expectations. Conversely, there are benefits for those employees who meet and exceed employer expectations. Employees who fail to meet job expectations may not get a merit increase or other promotions and rewards that employees who meet and exceed job expectations reap. Poor evaluation ratings could also put one at risk of losing his/her job or could warrant a suspension or demotion.


How well did you score on your last performance review? For those employees who failed to meet organizational goals and manager expectations, you should strive immediately to make improvements where necessary. You should also start preparing for a successful review for next year or whenever your manager schedules one for you.  There is always room for improvement, even for the most competent employees.  With that said, managers rarely give an employee 100% rating or a perfect score on his/her performance evaluation because they would rather give the employee room to set realistic goals for themselves for the following year and proactively attain those goals for the betterment of the company overall.

You can prepare for your next evaluation by reviewing comments made by your manager on your last review.  Your main goal should be to improve your scores from your last review by enhancing your current job performance and productivity rate. What are your most recent goals?  How do you plan to achieve your goals?   Your manager, and possibly HR team, should work with you to help you achieve your goals.


Negative factors of performance appraisals

Some employees dislike performance reviews, especially when things don’t pan out as expected.   During review time, tensions between manager and employee normally escalate. Employees who score poorly on performance evaluations often accuse his/her manager of being biased or completely out of touch with the employee’s job performance. Some employee’s claim they never see their managers and/or have no form of communication with them until review time, and thus conclude that the information in the review is fabricated. This is why some employees who are in disagreement about their assessment refuse to sign his/her completed evaluation document. Managers must implement performance reviews properly, or they could face interrogations from employee relations and/or unwanted lawsuits by dissatisfied employees.
Another major complaint cited by employees is that managers are often late in performing reviews thus causing a delay of much-needed raises and other monetary increases. Employees also eagerly await feedback from his/her manager to learn how well they measure up to employer expectations. Nonetheless, despite the negative aspects of performance appraisals, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.