Conducting Effective Employee Performance Reviews · •Performance reviews are typically the employer’sfirst, and in some cases, only formal and written communication to the employee

Conducting Effective Employee Performance

Reviews

By: Ju l ie T. B ittner

Attorney

MWH Law Group LLP

© COPYRIGHT 2016 MWH LAW GROUP, LLP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Benefits of Conducting Employee Performance Reviews▪ They motivate employee work performance.

▪ They can highlight areas that need improvementsuch as efficiency and productivity.

▪ Employees feel engaged in their work and how itaffects the overall organization.

2©2018 COPYRIGHT 2018 MWH LAW GROUP LLP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


Risks of Conducting Employee Performance Reviews

Poorly executed performance reviews can increase litigation risks byproviding evidence employees can use in discrimination, retaliation andother employment-related lawsuits against employers.



Why are Performance Reviews Important?

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Performance reviews help employers make decisions.

Performance reviews help support an employer’s decision to:

promote an employee.

increase an employee’s base compensation.

pay incentive compensation to an employee, such as a bonus.

place an employee on a performance improvement plan.

take adverse action against the employee, such as:discipline;demotion; ortermination of employment.

©2018 COPYRIGHT 2018 MWH LAW GROUP LLP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


▪ An employer can learn valuable information by comparing theperformance of all employees reporting to a particular supervisor orin a particular job category.

▪ Comparing groups of employees can also help employers identifydisparate treatment discrimination.

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Comparing Groups of Employees orJob Categories



Disparate Treatment DiscriminationIf all employees in a protected class (age, race, sex, national origin, religion,veterans status etc.) receive worse reviews from a particular supervisorthan employees who are not members of that protected class then theemployer should investigate whether the poor performance reviews are inany way tainted by unlawful bias.



Performance Reviews in Employment Litigation▪ Unsatisfactory performance is one of the most common reasons

employers discharge employees.

▪ Therefore, performance reviews frequently are used as evidence inemployment litigation to show that the employee’s performance waseither inadequate or satisfactory.


© COPYRIGHT 2016 MWH LAW GROUP, LLP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 8

• Performance reviews are typically the employer’s first, and insome cases, only formal and written communication to theemployee about job performance.

• That’s why it is SO IMPORTANT to learn how to conduct aneffective employee performance review.



Who Should Review?The reviewer should be a supervisor or manager with first-hand knowledgeof the employee’s work performance and any other factors considered inthe review, such as the employee’s:

• strengths;

• weaknesses;

• attitude; and.

• goals.



What can you do to ensure that the performance evaluations you conduct don’t become problematic for your employer in the future?



Assess the Employee’s Performance Using SPECIFIC Criteria

Reviews should be as objective and specific as possible.



The Review Should Assess:• Particular job duties and responsibilities.

• The employee’s achievement (or lack of achievement) of specific targets andgoals.

• For example – If you are in a position to manage someone in a sales role –instead of saying “John Doe’s sales have been good this year” - use specifics.John Doe has met his quarterly sales goal of 30 new customer accounts. Ineach of the preceding three months John Doe has exceeded his sales goal by10 customers.



The Review Should Also Address:• Other aspects of the job such as:

▪ ability to take instruction;

▪ ability to communicate and work effectively with co-workers;

▪ whether the employee demonstrates initiative; and

▪ attitude in the workplace.



Assess each aspect of the employee’s performance independently.Do not allow good or poor performance in one area to influencethe assessment of other criteria.

For example - You may have someone who is a great communicatorand loved by the members of his team. You could give him highmarks on his ability to interact with others. However, if he isn’tclosing deals and that is one of his assigned job duties that alsoneeds to be addressed. Don’t let his Mr. Nice Guy attitudeovershadow the fact that he isn’t meeting the company’sexpectations in terms of work performance.



Be Straightforward and Honest▪ Straightforward and honest reviews give employees the information

needed to improve their performance.

• People tend to avoid confronting employees who are underperforming.However, failing to provide constructive criticism does a disservice to both theemployer and the employee.



Consider This Example▪ You are John Doe’s supervisor. You and John Doe golf together on golf league every

Thursday night. For all intents and purposes – you and John Doe are friends.

▪ John Doe begins consistently coming into work late, taking two-hour lunches andleaving at noon on Fridays.

▪ You are friends with John Doe and therefore you’ve let this slide for the past couple ofweeks because you don’t want things to get awkward between the two of you.

▪ You are a manager. As such, you need to enforce your company’s policies equally –across the board. Just because you and John Doe golf on Thursdays doesn’t changethat.



Easier Said Than Done, Right?• What you need to do is sit down with John and have a candid discussion. Tell

him that you enjoy his friendship but just because you are friends doesn’t meanthat your expectations of him at work are going to change.

• Tell him that your company’s attendance policy requires that he arrive to workon time, take only the authorized amount of time for his lunch break and thathe has to work until 5 on Fridays. Tell him that if he continues to violate yourcompany’s attendance policy you will have to write him up.

• Be firm but fair.



Reviewers may disregard or inflate an employee’s performance in aparticular aspect of the employee’s job, failing to give the employee:

Clear information on how to improve their performance

A warning that improvement is necessary.

WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF THIS INFORMATION, EMPLOYEES MAY BESURPRISED OR EVEN LITIGIOUS WHEN THEY ARE LATER DISCIPLINEDOR TERMINATED FOR POOR PERFORMANCE.



Although it is difficult and time consuming to conduct detailedperformance reviews, vague performance reviews ARE NOTHELPFUL to either the employer or the employee.



How Do I Avoid Giving a Vague Performance Review?

Most importantly - Carve out anadequate amount of time to focus onthe performance review and devotethoughtful consideration to the variousaspects of each employee’s jobperformance and other criteriaconsidered as part of the evaluation.



Performance Appraisal Form

Employee Name: Position: Supervisor Name: Department:

Date of employee self-assessment: Date of manager assessment:

Instructions: Employees are to complete a self-assessment and submit it to their manager no later than INSERT DATE. Managers are to complete their assessment and submit it to Human Resources by INSERT DATE.

▪ Rating scale:

▪ 5 Excellent (consistently exceeds standards)

▪ 4 Outstanding (frequently exceeds standards)

▪ 3 Satisfactory (generally meets standards)

▪ 2 Needs improvement (frequently fails to meet standards)

▪ 1 Unacceptable (fails to meet standards)

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SECTION 1: OBJECTIVES:Overall Section Rating: INSERT SCORE

Objective Action Items Outcomes

Employee Rating: INSERT SCORE Manager Rating: INSERT SCOREEmployee Comments: Manager Comments:


SECTION 2: GENERAL PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS:Overall Section Rating: INSERT SCORE


1. Job Knowledge (Applies the technical and professional skills needed forthe job.



2. Communication Skills (Listens effectively and provides information andguidance to individuals in an appropriate and timely manner.)



3. Management Skills (Guides team to achieve desired results. Delegatesresponsibilities appropriately and effectively, while developing directreports.)



▪ 4. Organizational Skills (Sets appropriate objectives to meetcommitments within budget. Establishes priorities and organizesworkflow to meet objectives.)



5. Initiative (The degree to which an employee searches out new tasks andexpands abilities professionally and personally.)


SECTION 3: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:Section Rating: INSERT SCORE


Insert goals set for last year and determine whether they were met thisyear.


Overall RatingSection 1 (40%): SCORE

Section 2 (40%): SCORE

Section 3 (20%): SCORE

Total Score: INSERT

Employee Signature: Date:

Supervisor Signature: Date:



Be as Detailed as Possible• Give the employee detailed examples of:

▪ the employee’s positive performance; and

▪ specific ways to improve performance.



Use specific projects or assignments as your guide. Perhaps look back atyour calendar to refresh your recollection of specific tasks that have beenaccomplished. Use those tasks to guide your discussion.

For example –

I required each member of the marketing team to provide me with a detailedproduct portfolio two times each month. Jane Doe went above and beyond thecall of duty. In the past 6 months she has provided me with 18 new productportfolios – each of which has been utilized to earn new accounts.

Rather than – Jane Doe met her marketing goal for the past 6 months.



Identify any instances of poor or underperformance by the employee,including specific examples.

For example – instead of writing Bill Jones hasn’t meet his goal of closingthree accounts each quarter state.

Bill Jones marketed to ABC, DEF and GHI accounts in Quarter 4. BillJones has yet to close ABC, DEF and GHI accounts. Bill and I met sixweeks ago to discuss ideas on how to close these accounts and Billhas failed to implement any of the suggestions given.



Discussion About Poor or Underperformance by the Employee Should:

• Be non-confrontational;

• focus strictly on DOCUMENTED performance problems;

• be open to the employee’s comments; and

• identify ways to address or improve problem areas, if possible.



At the end of the review, give the employee clear andconcise:

expectations;

specific goals;

strategies for meeting those goals;

timeframes; and

consequences for not meeting those goals.



Avoid Inappropriate Factors Such as:• Absenteeism due to intermittent leave; or

• unprofessional appearance because of religious attire.



Avoid Emotional or Sarcastic Language▪ Avoid overly emotional comments and keep the discussion professional.

▪ Avoid sarcasm, jokes and other inappropriate humor in the written review and duringthe review meeting to:

• Ensure the focus remains on the employer’s assessment of the employee’s performance.

• Minimize the risk of misunderstandings or miscommunications.

For example – do not say something like “This is really hard for me, but I have to put you on aPerformance Improvement Plan.”



Conduct a Timely Performance Review▪ Your company’s handbook may include timeframes for reviews.

• – ADHERE to this schedule.

▪ Conducting the reviews late can upset employees.

▪ In the event the employee files litigation – late reviews can signal thatyou did not take performance reviews seriously.



Avoid Common Pitfalls of Poorly Conducted Reviews

There are 3 key potential pitfalls employers should avoid when conducting performance reviews:

1. Subjectivity

2. Ambiguity

3. Inaccuracy



Avoid Subjectivity▪ Performance reviews should be based on OBJECTIVE, NON-SUBJECTIVE

criteria.

▪ For example:

• Sales representatives should be evaluated based on achieving specifictargets (such as $1 million in new sales revenue in each quarter) INSTEAD ofasking the reviewer to determine whether the sales representative isgenerally effective or ineffective.



Avoid Ambiguity▪ Employee reviews should be clear and specific.

▪ Employees who receive performance reviews that are riddled withambiguity or contain blanket statements about an employee’sperformance are less likely to improve because the employer’sexpectations are unclear.

For example – don’t say “Try to do better next quarter.” Communicate aspecific expectation. “We expect you to bring in five new accounts nextquarter.”



Judges and juries are less likely to believe an employee wasterminated for poor performance when the:

• review was ambiguous; and

• employee did not know the employer’s expectations.



Avoid InaccuracyIt is not unusual for a performance review to inaccurately reflect what thereviewer or supervisor ACTUALLY considered to be the employee’s level ofperformance.



Common Causes of Inaccurate Performance Reviews Include the Reviewers:

• Desire not to hurt the employee’s feelings.

• Lack of time to complete the performancereview.

• Fear that a particularly unpredictableemployee may react strongly to a negativereview.



Although these reasons are understandable, employers should NOT allow them to translate into inaccurate performance reviews.



Inaccurate Reviews:• Fail to give the employee the specific information necessary to improve his/her

performance.

• Do not put the employee on notice that s/he needs to improve performance.

• Do not support a later decision to take an adverse action against the employeebecause of poor performance such as demotion or termination of employment.



I personally cannot tell you how many timesI’ve sat in my office with a manager orsupervisor going over performance reviewsand they admit that the former employeewas a poor performer and that is why theyterminated them but the documents do notsupport that is what happened.



Final Drafts of Performance ReviewsThe final draft of any performance review should be reviewed by a thirdparty to:

• ensure compliance with the employer’s policies; and

• maintain fairness, consistency and balance for the entire workforce.



Give Leadership Feedback▪ If you score an employee Needs Development – articulate why you chose that rating.

▪ See it as an opportunity to set goals and expectations.

▪ Specifically identify the timeframe the employee has to meet the goal or expectation.

▪ Specifically identify what the consequences will be for not meeting those goals.



Action Plans▪ Have the employee provide you with a specific Action Plan with a set

timeframe of completion such as 90-120 days.

▪ Carefully review the specific Action Plan with the employee. Edit it asnecessary.

▪ Calendar the deadline and FOLLOW-UP with the employee.



Action Plans▪ A manager’s failure to complete the items he or she is supposed to do in

an employee’s action plan can have serious negative consequences.

• For example:

▪ If the Action Plan requires you to meet with an employee weekly toreview his progress, make sure you do it.

▪ If you are supposed to observe an employee “in action,” make sure youdo it.



Action PlansIn other words, if the manager does not do what he or she is supposed todo, it gives an employee who is terminated the ability to argue that poorperformance was not the real reason for his/her termination. If it was, theemployee argues that surely the manager would have been motivated tocomply with his or her obligations under the action plan.



QUESTIONS? PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME AT

[email protected] OR (515) 453-8509.


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Documents

Conducting Effective Employee Performance Reviews · •Performance reviews are typically the employer’sfirst, and in some cases, only formal and written communication to the employee