The Essentials Of Employee Evaluation

What is evaluation?

An employee's professional life depends upon his/her evaluation, it could make or break the image created through years of devotion and hard work.

Employee evaluation can be done accurately and efficiently provided the feedback mechanism has gone through different phases and is transparent; so that the end product is expected and doesn't come as a shock. There are procedures where self-evaluation is a prerequisite for employers and is a constructive way of easing communications between them.

Evaluations have a direct effect on employees and a negative evaluation can sometimes be considered discriminatory and bring out evident agitation.

A more in-depth system can be a 360-degree evaluation, which involves a multi-layer assessing mechanism through managers, supervisors, colleagues, and annual reports. The process becomes truly 360-degree evaluation when someone from within the company or outside the company, including a particular customer/client evaluates the employee and hence, the circle of assessment comes to a completion.

Evaluations can be pretty tricky if not done with extra care and vigilance because one wrong move or personal conflict that could result in a bad evaluation can cause immense grief at the employee's end and would push the employee towards filing a claim against them. It is imperative that all procedures be clearly understood by both parties and avoid unnecessary misunderstandings later. Hence, any lack of communication can blow things up, so it is critical to not waste time on repetitive useless collection of data.

An employer should never come into a direct conflict with the employee by tarnishing his/her reputation by subjecting them to discriminatory attacks, something that would give them an impression that not only is this about their professional lives but it is also about their loyalty and character.

Why Is Evaluation Important?

With a wide array of evaluations done these days, it is important to understand the core value of doing an evaluation. Doing an evaluation provides a solid foundation on which any promotion or disciplinary action is taken. It is the very basics and a fundamental component of the evidence of a misdemeanor and any evaluation if not done with the right intentions or properly can bring a bad name to the company.

It is always good to follow certain criteria when evaluating an employee and a few tips an employer should take into consideration are given below.

• Follow a manual or a pre-defined policy because anything done outside the criteria for evaluation can sound shady
• An official sheet of terms is going to be a great help with to-the-point objectives
• Extremely ambiguous comments, using harsh language would not offer any support, always point to alerts and raise your concerns as discreetly as possible
• All kinds of biases should never affect an employer's ability to evaluate a certain employee; like targeting their age, sex, or physical disability and making it a central focus regarding their performance.
• The set of responsibilities and tasks should always be clearly defined and no employee should suffer a negative report coming from the employer about a job they didn't know about.
• The nature of comments should always be about their job, performance, and progress. Anything that hints towards behavior should be notified along with a note from the company policy manual
• All reports that are provided at the end of the year should include a complete year and not just a few months
• When an evaluation report is ready, it is a moral obligation of an employer to notify the employee and give him/her ample of space and time to come forward and justify their stance confidentially. Settling these claims in private can reduce any emotional instabilities and enhance workplace productivity.
• The most important aspect of employee evaluation is to bring improvements, so any encouragement and constructive feedback that appreciates their work should be included.
• Keeping track of the notified deficiencies in an evaluation is a must as they will be the sole evidence for an employee's promotion, suspension, or termination.
• Always be careful, if you have issued a handbook to an employee, then the employment can only be terminated for the cause stated there. Some organizations have a handbook given to managers only that is specific to the laws of disciplinary actions and terminations.
• The policy may state, who has the authority to take certain actions about disciplinary actions, suspensions, and terminations
• Failure to follow these guidelines might subject the employer to a lawsuit
• The employer handbook should never be shared with the employees and no promises should be made in an employee handbook regarding the kind of disciplinary actions that could be taken
• All warnings done, should be given orally first and then put in a written format, signed and dated
• All breaches of laws including extended absence or any infringement of regulations that a company follows: including wasting time on personal matters more than normal should land into an oral or written warning.
• If the violation crosses the margins of a subtle offense, it can lead to a suspension and never a termination, allowing matters to cool down.
• In case of a serious criminal offense like alcohol consumption during work hours, sexual harassment, tampering with office documents, vandalizing  office property, or carrying illegal weapons and substances may result in a prompt termination of the employee and handing the matter over to police authorities
• The disciplinary actions vary according to the nature of the business and what fits one company might not be suitable for others

There should be a space given to the employee to avail a last chance in case of a termination, this is a written document or a contract that states; "the employee has agreed to rectify his/her behavior and would comply with all rules and regulations in the future and one last chance may be given. If the problem recurs, it will be taken as proof of irreversible action against them.

What must be understood by all  this is, that an evaluation is not just a serious job but weighs a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of the people who have been given the performance evaluation task