I hope this will be useful.



· Be honest and fair in evaluating all employees. Be certain that you as the supervisor have reviewed all of your employees in an objective and consistent manner as individuals and relative to other employees in the group. The purpose of performance evaluations is to take a realistic snapshot of the employee's performance. Don't say the employee is improving if (s)he is not performing well.



· Be consistent in your approach. Don't create a situation where it appears that you create excuses for one employee while holding another employee accountable. Define your criteria for each level of ranking and use the same criteria for every employee. Don't set separate criteria for certain employees.



· Give your comments. A ranking or number used to rank an employee's performance is useless without a written comment. Comments are required for any ranking that is less than "3 or meets expectations" or rated "5 or superior." Comments may confirm achievements or be constructive depending on the nature of the ranking.



· Make your comments consistent with the rankings. Don't give someone a "meets expectations" ranking if your comment describes a substandard performance.



· Be realistic. Don't inflate ratings. Inflation of ratings only inflates an employee's expectations.



· Rate the employee's performance, not the employee's "attitude." Keep your comments job related and based on the employee's ability to perform his/her job. Avoid phrases like "bad attitude," "he's not a team player," and other subjective type comments. Explain the behavior that is a result of the "attitude."



· Set goals with the employee. Don't just criticize a deficient performer; set goals for follow up and for improvement or development. Work together to create a plan of action to help the employee in deficient areas and to establish goals for the coming year. Set a follow up period and be sure to reevaluate the employee at the appropriate time.



· A performance evaluation should motivate an employee to want to improve. The employee should feel excited about the challenges and his/her ability to meet them. If employees hear only about their failures and weaknesses, they'll start to believe they can't succeed. If employees get support and encouragement from their supervisor, they'll gain the desire and confidence to keep trying. When the supervisors' suggestions for improvement bring results - and recognition - employees are even more likely to listen to future suggestions.



· There should be no surprises. The evaluation should be a review of the past year's performance. Through previous counseling and other communications, the employee should be aware of any concerns you might have about their job performance. The annual evaluation should not be the first time the employee learns of your concerns.



· One tool that may be used is to ask the employee to review his or her own performance and expectations for the future by preparing a self-appraisal. They may complete the same evaluation form that the supervisor uses or may draft a memo or list reviewing performance strengths and weaknesses and future goals. Having the employee go through the same exercise may make it easier for him or her to understand the value of the evaluation process.



Regards,



Rajesh