The performance appraisal

• Informs the employee about the quality of his or her job performance
• Clarifies goals and expectations as job responsibilities and procedures change
• Provides official documentation of communications between employee and supervisor
• May be used by internal and external offices during the separation process

• A record of accomplishments and performance issues should be kept by both the employee and supervisor
• Record keeping should be a year long process
• Supervisors should engage the employees’ participation in setting goals and developmental opportunities
• Before the evaluation, supervisors should ask employees to submit a list of accomplishments achieved throughout the year and goals for the upcoming year

• Try to avoid using the same comments as the previous year
• Be specific --use concrete examples both for praise and for areas needing improvement
• Recommendations for improvement will be received better if stated in a positive manner
• Remember to review goals set during the previous evaluation period and address progress towards those goals

• Select a neutral space that provides a comfortable, non-threatening setting
• Move to a conference room or other quiet area to avoid distractions such as ringing phones and walk-in traffic
• Be flexible--allow the employee to select the time and place for the meeting
• Combine the evaluation with a lunch or a walk around campus

• Goal-setting should be an ongoing process throughout the year
• Encourage the employee to set individual goals
• Goals should be realistic (achievable) and limited in number
• Use the face-to-face meeting to formalize what the employee and supervisor can do to develop employee growth
• Promote professional develop by identifying training and meetings the employee should attend
• Utilize the Performance Management Worksheet to document expectations

• Positive feedback should be addressed first, then discuss where improvements are needed
• Be prepared to provide an explanation for a questionable score
• Award the appropriate score based on the employee’s performance
• Avoid the ‘halos and horns’ syndrome by referring to the documentation accumulated over the year rather than just what happened most recently
• The supervisor and employee should decide which categories of the evaluation are most important

• Pay attention to your phrasing--use non-threatening words
• Use a collaborative approach to problem-solving
• Be sensitive to generational differences in how employees may hear recommendations for improvement
• Use encouraging comments in your written appraisal and the face-to-face meeting

• Remain in control of the meeting
• Appropriate humor can sometimes defuse a tense situation
• Stop and reschedule if the employee is too distraught to continue