Employee Evaluation | How to best measure employee performance in 2021?

Searching for the best practices on employee evaluation? Here is a comprehensive guide on how to go about evaluating employee performance. Read on!

Employee evaluation

An employee evaluation is the formal assessment of a worker’s performance done by their employer. These evaluations are generally done at the year-end by reviewing the overall performance of the employee for the concerned year. Most companies tie their annual raise to employee performance evaluations.

A typical employee assessment would include the manager’s feedback and whether the employee has been able to meet the expectations. The Manager’s take noted throughout the year to cite particular examples where the employee is exceeding, and which areas need some kind of improvement. Employee evaluation is integral to a company’s success.

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What is performance evaluation?

What is performance evaluation? Performance Evaluation is a measure of how well an employee is performing in their job. The performance evaluation process is the process by which managers evaluate and examine their employees work based on their job responsibilities. The result of work performance evaluation is used to provide feedback to the employees and show the areas that could be improved.

Employee performance evaluations also determine an employee’s chances of getting a raise or a promotion. Regular and not just once a year evaluation of team members is suggested to enhance the employee effciency and productivity.

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Benefits of employee performance evaluation system

Here are the benefits of employee performance evaluation system,

1. Improved Communication – Staff performance evaluation helps in open and honest communication between managers and employees. It also provides the space to bring out issues that the employees might be facing.
2. Get feedback for yourself – Employee evaluation meetings are a great place to not just provide feedback but also get feedback from employees on your performance. Understand the gap areas to be a better mentor.
3. Build a Career Path – Employee evaluations help employees know what their future goals are and what is expected of them to get there.

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Psychology connecting employee evaluations to productivity

Employee evaluations must be done on a regular basis as they directly impact the productivity and efficiency of a team. Managers must keep an eye on what their employees are working on and appreciate them if something goes right. Also, managers should provide constructive criticism once they see an issue and should not wait for annual evaluation meetings.

This creates a healthy working environment for employees where they are constantly improving. The team will stay highly motivated and work in the right direction. 360-degree feedback is great to understand if your team is facing any issues which are impacting their work. Evaluations are a great way to boost employee’s morale and appreciate them for the good work.

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Challenges faced in conducting employee assessment

The top three challenges faced in conducting employee assessment are,

1. Determining the evaluation metric – The evaluation criteria selected by top management should be in measurable terms for the purpose of employee performance assessment.
2. Errors in Rating and Evaluation – Rating and Evaluation are prone to errors that may arise due to personnel bias like stereotyping, favoritism, halo effect, etc.
3. Resistance from Employees – Employees might feel threatened with the assessment due to the fear of negative ratings leading to pay cuts and demotions. Ensure that the purpose has been communicated and explained clearly beforehand.

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5 indicators showing signs of the inefficient employees evaluation process

Here are the top 5 indicators showing signs of the inefficient employees evaluation process,

1. Lack of regular employee evaluations may lead to inefficiency as the employees remain oblivious to their mistakes for a longer time.
2. Biased performance rating from managers in the absence of performance data and metrics.
3. Comparing one employee to the other instead of the set job description standards.
4. Unclear job expectations and how to meet them would make it difficult to assess whether the employee has met the desired standards.
5. Lack of solutions and measures after feedback.

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Important metrics to include in work evaluation 

Let us look at some important metrics to include in work evaluation,

1. Work Efficiency – Overall efficiency is the best indicator of an employee’s performance.
2. Teamwork – Teamwork is an important trait that helps the entire team to perform better. Solving complex problems as a group can get comparatively easier and faster.
3. Quality of Work – Quality is an important metric to consider as poor work quality can result in lost customers and inferior products.
4. Learning Ability – Employee’s ability to learn new technologies and tools.
5. Adherence to Timelines – Value for time is important to work effectively

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How to do an employee review? 

An effective employee review is important for the company’s success. It also helps in boosting employee’s confidence and motivates them to perform better. Let us discuss in more detail how to do an employee review that benefits both the manager and the employee,

Hold multiple worker evaluation throughout the year

While many employers conduct annual worker evaluations, holding weekly, monthly, or quarterly informal evaluations is beneficial to the employees. Frequent reviews avoid piling up information and keep employees prepared for their final assessment.

Bringing up improvement areas as soon as a problem is witnessed provides employees to change their behavior immediately. The informal evaluations also alleviate some of the pressure off the employees for annual work evaluation.

Prepare all feedback ahead of job performance evaluation

Be prepared for the meeting before actually going for the job performance evaluation. Review your documentation and prepare a note of what you want to discuss with the employee. The employee performance review should mostly be about positive elements and healthy advice on how they can work on improving further and grow their career. Work with each employee to understand problem areas and improvement steps.

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Set performance standards for the work evaluations

It is important to set clear expectations in the beginning that outline what an employee is expected to accomplish in the given time frame and how the work should be done. All work evaluations should be done with respect to the set deliverables.

The performance standards should be real and achievable and directly relate to a person’s job description. The same job standards should be applicable to people in the same position.

Provide employees a copy of the completed personnel evaluation form

The purpose of employee evaluation is to provide them with honest feedback about their professional performance. Most workers value the feedback given by the managers and would appreciate it if they can get a copy of the personnel evaluation form.

This would help them stay on track with the outlined improvement areas. They would also be happy and motivated to see the positive remarks you have given for their performance.

Keep your remarks clear and concise during staff evaluation

Be honest and straightforward while giving your feedback to the employees during staff evaluation. Sugarcoating or downplaying the situation might confuse the employee and they won’t understand where their performance was lacking.

Giving clear examples from work during staff evaluations is helpful. Managers should also provide helpful and specific advice on how they can improve further and perform better in their work role.

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Do not compare employees during the performance evaluation process

Avoid comparing employees with another as it would lead to resentment and unhealthy competition between the team members. The performance evaluation process should be focused on measuring employee’s performance with the set of standard performance metrics.

Always keep in mind the evaluation framework while assessing an employee. Each employee has their own strength and comparing them to each other would affect the team’s productivity and efficiency.

Document performance throughout the year for personel evaluation

Track the performance of each employee separately throughout the year. Record any notable accomplishments, or incidents whether they affected the project negatively or positively.

Remember that this documentation would come in handy during personel evaluation and you can quite specific examples to support your feedback. Managers can also provide immediate feedback if something stands out and not wait for the yearly evaluation meetings.

Do a work performance evaluation, not a personality evaluation

Managers should focus on evaluating an employee’s performance rather than personality traits. Judgments based on personality can often bruise the ego of a person and conversations may turn hostile.

Make sure that the work performance evaluation is not personal and is also tied back to the work done by an employee. Employer evaluations must include examples of employee’s actions in the workplace. 

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Discuss follow-up action plan after writing employee evaluations

Managers must discuss a follow-up plan for improvement in the areas that are lacking from the employee’s end. After writing employee evaluations and giving them feedback on what went wrong and what went right, it is also important to discuss the next step. Employees can undergo training or learning sessions to further enhance their skills or work on improving on the existing ones.

Make employment evaluation a two-way street

Employment evaluation should be a two-way street where the managers not only give feedback to the employees but also take their feedback with respect to the team and the management.

It helps managers to understand where they are lacking and work on their leadership style. The purpose of employee evaluations is to have an honest conversation. Understand employee’s goals and guide them through the career path.

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How to evaluate an employee in remote teams? 

Covid times has forced many companies to work remotely, but very few had any experience in managing remote teams at such a large scale. Evaluating employees who are working from their homes get slightly challenging. Let us see how to evaluate employees working remotely,

Evaluating employee performance should be output based 

Evaluating employee’s performance should not be focused on the process but more on the overall work output. Remote Employees should be given the flexibility to work at their own convenience as they have personal commitments to take care of.

This would mean everyone has their own process of doing things and managers should primarily focus on the quality and quantity of work done and not the number of hours spent working. 

Give regular feedback via frequent staff evaluations

Do not wait for the annual appraisal cycle to provide feedback to remote employees. Regular staff evaluation helps in improving productivity and allows you to provide constructive criticism when you see a problem.

Keep yourself connected with the remote team and have regular 1:1 sessions to see if there are any issues that should be taken care of immediately. This avoids prolonging a problem till annual feedback meetings.

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Conduct staff performance evaluation by establishing effective communication

Communication is the key to conducting a successful staff performance evaluation. Since your employees are remotely located, it is important to take the help of video conferencing apps such as Zoom, Skype, etc to conduct meetings.

Schedule a meeting in advance for team member evaluations and ensure that all the documents are prepared. Note down the talking points before going in for the meeting with the concerned employee. 

Provide clear and honest feedback during the employee performance assessment

Since you are not meeting the employee in person, there are chances of miscommunication. Be prepared for the meeting in advance and convey your feedback in a clear and concise manner.

Ask if the employee has any questions or concerns related to the employee performance assessment. Do not sugarcoat things as they may distort the message you are trying to convey. Keep things real and honest.

Employer evaluations should be based on clear metrics and expectations

The employer evaluations should be based on clear metrics and expectations. Set goals and objectives at the starting of the evaluation period and check whether the employee has been able to meet the expectations.

Discuss an action plan if the employee seems to be lacking somewhere. Do not compare your employees with each other as everyone has their own method of working.

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Best employee review form samples 

If you are looking for some quality employee review form samples, we have listed down employee review templates for different professional backgrounds. Employee review must contain employee information, ratings against different metrics, and feedback on the overall performance during the evaluation period. Most importantly, it should also include an action plan to be followed for improving weaker areas of an employee.

Employee evaluation template for software engineers

Here is an employee evaluation template for software engineers,

<< employee information >>

• Employee name: 
• Employee role: 
• Department: 
• Reviewer Name: 
• Reviewer title: 
• Evaluation Period: DD/MM/YY

<< Rating >>

• Poor – 0 
• Fair – 1 
• Good – 2 
• Excellent – 3

<< Evaluation metric >>

• Code Quality and code reviews: 2
• Internal communication and teamwork: 3
• Recruitment, Leadership, and responsibiity: 2
• Speed and Iteration: 3
• Collaboration: 2

Notes: Give a brief of your discussion and mention the action plan to improve further.

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Employee performance evaluation templates for banking jobs

Here is an employee performance evaluation template for banking jobs,

<< employee information >>

• Employee name: 
• Employee role: 
• Department: 
• Reviewer name: 
• Reviewer title: 
• Evaluation Period: DD/MM/YY

<< Rating >>

• Poor – 0 
• Fair – 1 
• Good – 2 
• Excellent – 3

<< Evaluation metric >>

• Job knowledge: 2
• Dependability: 3
• Decision Making/ Problem Solving: 2
• Communication: 3
• Customer Responsiveness: 2

Notes: Give a brief of your discussion and mention the action plan to improve further.

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Employee evaluation form pdf for sales personnel

Here is an employee evaluation form for sales personnel,

<< employee information >>

• Employee name: 
• Employee role: 
• Department: 
• Reviewer name: 
• Reviewer title: 
• Evaluation Period: DD/MM/YY

<< Rating >>

• Poor – 0 
• Fair – 1 
• Good – 2 
• Excellent – 3

<< Evaluation metric >>

• Sales skills: 2
• Product understanding: 3
• Goal drive attitude: 2
• Communication: 3
• Customer Responsiveness: 2

Notes: Give a brief of your discussion and mention the action plan to improve further.

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Employee evaluation form sample for call center jobs

Here is an employee evaluation form sample for call center jobs,

<< employee information >>

• Employee name: 
• Employee role: 
• Department: 
• Reviewer name: 
• Reviewer title: 
• Evaluation Period: DD/MM/YY

<< Rating >>

• Poor – 0 
• Fair – 1 
• Good – 2 
• Excellent – 3

<< Evaluation metric >>

• Call Handling skills: 2
• Protocol Compliance: 3
• Decision Making/ Problem Solving: 2
• Communication: 3
• Customer Service Quality: 2

Notes: Give a brief of your discussion and mention the action plan to improve further.

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Employer evaluation form for teaching jobs

Here is an employer evaluation form for teaching jobs,

<< employee information >>

• Employee name: 
• Employee role: 
• Department: 
• Reviewer name: 
• Reviewer title: 
• Evaluation Period: DD/MM/YY

<< Rating >>

• Poor – 0 
• Fair – 1 
• Good – 2 
• Excellent – 3

<< Evaluation metric >>

• Subject knowledge: 2
• Class Management: 3
• Interaction with Students and Parents: 2
• Implements and communicates Lesson: 3
• Time Management: 2

Notes: Give a brief of your discussion and mention the action plan to improve further.

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Employee performance review template pdf for finance professionals

Here is an employee performance review template for finance professionals,

<< employee information >>

• Employee name: 
• Employee role: 
• Department: 
• Reviewer Name: 
• Reviewer title: 
• Evaluation Period: DD/MM/YY

<< Rating >>

• Poor – 0 
• Fair – 1 
• Good – 2 
• Excellent – 3

<< Evaluation metric >>

• Managerial/Supervisory Responsibilities: 2
• Budget and Management of cash flow: 3
• Integrity and Transparency: 2
• Quality Orientation: 3
• Customer Responsiveness: 2

Notes: Give a brief of your discussion and mention the action plan to improve further.

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Employee evaluation sheet for marketing jobs

Here is an employee evaluation sheet for marketing jobs,

<< employee information >>

• Employee name: 
• Employee role: 
• Department: 
• Reviewer name: 
• Reviewer title: 
• Evaluation Period: DD/MM/YY

<< Rating >>

• Poor – 0 
• Fair – 1 
• Good – 2 
• Excellent – 3

<< Evaluation metric >>

• Marketing skills: 2
• Communication: 3
• Commercial skills: 2
• Proactive: 3
• Result-driven: 2

Notes: Give a brief of your discussion and mention the action plan to improve further.

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Employee review templates for helpdesk jobs

Here is an employee review template for helpdesk jobs,

<< employee information >>

• Employee name: 
• Employee role: 
• Department: 
• Reviewer name: 
• Reviewer title: 
• Evaluation Period: DD/MM/YY

<< Rating >>

• Poor – 0 
• Fair – 1 
• Good – 2 
• Excellent – 3

<< Evaluation metric >>

• Public Speaking: 2
• Work Attitude: 3
• Emptional Intelligence: 2
• Consistency and Reliability: 3
• Customer Responsiveness: 2

Notes: Give a brief of your discussion and mention the action plan to improve further.

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Staff evaluation template for creative jobs

Here is a staff evaluation template for creative jobs,

<< employee information >>

• Employee name: 
• Employee role: 
• Department: 
• Reviewer name: 
• Reviewer title: 
• Evaluation Period: DD/MM/YY

<< Rating >>

• Poor – 0 
• Fair – 1 
• Good – 2 
• Excellent – 3

<< Evaluation metric >>

• Creativity skills: 2
• Attention to detail: 3
• Time management: 2
• Communication: 3
• Client Interaction: 2

Notes: Give a brief of your discussion and mention the action plan to improve further.

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Things to note while evaluating an employee during Covid times

Here are the top three things to note while evaluating an employee during covid times,

1. While evaluating employees during covid times, keep in mind that for few employees working from home would have been challenging. 
2. Do not make snap judgments based on stereotypes and keep checking in regularly. 
3. Be flexible and focus more on the work done rather than the number of hours spent working. 

Things to note during new employee evaluation

Note the following points before performing a new employee evaluation,

1. Conduct the first employee evaluation of the new hire at the end of their learning curve. 
2. Help the new employee to set realistic goals and objectives to be achieved before the next employee evaluation. 
3. Make it a two-way conversation and ask for feedback regarding the team, and the company. Understand what you can do to make them feel comfortable.

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Use unremot to enhance team bonding and productivity

unremot virtual watercooler feature helps employers to stay connected to their team throughout the year. It provides a platform for managers to bond with their teams outside the working hours.

Virtual rooms can be created dedicated to different purposes such as team building, happy hours, book clubs, etc. Create one for recognizing employee accomplishments to boost employee morale. While leading a remote team, it is important to keep communicating.