Review All Performance

Review all performance-related documentation and information, identify positive and negative achievements, and formulate constructive criticism.

Preparation is the key to an efficient and effective performance evaluation meeting.

Without preparation the process will be slow and frustrating for both the staff member and the manager/supervisor. Good preparation ensures that both parties thought through any potential difficulties and have followed a reliable process that is both fair and objective. As manager/supervisor, you should spend at least one hour doing preparation in this way.

Both manager and staff member should review the performance planning and agreement document in preparation to the performance appraisal. Adhere to the following procedure when preparing for a performance appraisal:

• Review the relevant business and team performance plan.
• Take note of individual goals and objectives that were agreed upon.
• Place emphasis on both performance and development objectives.
• Have the objectives been achieved or not and to what extent?
• Identify negative achievements and identify possible reasons why goals and objectives were not achieved.
• Identify positive achievements and identify possible reasons why goals and objectives were achieved.
• Identify gaps and possible reasons for these gaps.
• Formulate constructive criticism in advance, focusing on both good and poor performance.
• Plan ways in which you will maintain and enhance self-esteem throughout the discussion.
• Think about how to create a positive atmosphere in the meeting (by not being defensive, demonstrating good ideas, listening to the other person carefully, maintain self-esteem, asking for clarification, etc).