Why performance evaluations are important

I understand that this consent is not required to purchase goods or services. What is a Performance Evaluation? Performance Evaluation Benefits Evaluations are often seen as documentation of past performance.

Top-down Review : This approach puts the direct supervisor in charge of the process, although business unit managers or executives can also be involved. Peer Review : In this case, employees are evaluated by other co-workers. However, there may be a risk with this type of method, as work rivalries and jealousy can cause some co-workers to review others more critically, particularly if they are in competition for a raise or promotion.

The Degree Review : This process solicits reviews from all perspectives — superiors, peers, subordinates, and sometimes even customers. Typically overseen by the HR department, these reviews are often done anonymously. The risk with the degree review is that anonymous input can lead to excessive negative criticism and be counterproductive for the employee. Self-Assessment : Allowing employees to assess their own performance can also be a beneficial review method. Not only can this provide a clue to managers as to some areas where employees feel they can improve and expand, but it may make it easier for employees to accept constructive criticism from managers.

However, if employees and managers diverge substantially in their performance reviews and perspectives, this process can present challenges. This focuses managers on what they can accurately assess and allows the company to manage pay using compensation expertise. When other companies eliminate performance evaluations, they still spend many hours agonizing over compensation decisions. For us, time invested in performance reviews is time saved on compensation.

People want to know where they stand, and performance evaluations offer transparency. They help employees understand how their contributions are seen in the organization, and they make it easier for the organization to effectively recognize and reward top performance.

Many companies that are abandoning performance evaluations are moving to real-time feedback systems. That is an excellent way to help people repeat their successes and learn from their failures.

Long before he won the Nobel Prize in economics, psychologist Daniel Kahneman worked with the Israeli army to evaluate hundreds of cadets. The people who had fared better under the old system were, understandably, the most miffed. But when conversations about professional growth are near-constant and untethered by ratings, people get overwhelmed.

Facing a barrage of feedback, employees often struggle to figure out which information matters most and what to ignore. A comprehensive analysis of studies showed that more than a third of all feedback interventions backfired, decreasing performance instead of increasing it. When people receive negative feedback, they often fixate on small points.

Without ratings, they can spend weeks pruning a few trees while the forest is on fire. If a manager receives multiple pieces of feedback about being late to meetings but misses the larger issue of prioritization, she might become the timeliest person to deliver mediocre results. Performance evaluations allow for an overall assessment that helps people prioritize. Employees learn what their key strengths are and where they should focus their development efforts.

Evaluations also serve as a forcing function to make sure that tough feedback is delivered rather than swept under the rug. Critics of performance evaluations have suggested that ratings automatically produce a fight-or-flight response.

Actually, many people have stronger reactions to not being rated. Neuroscientists have found that highly anxious people have more-intense neural reactions to uncertainty than to negative feedback. Some people may react strongly to ratings, but they can learn to respond differently.

At Facebook we are trying to build a culture in which people approach ratings with curiosity and a learning orientation. When our senior leaders receive performance evaluations, they often share the feedback with their teams, normalizing the fact that even people who consistently deliver strong results sometimes have lapses.

With this feedback, an employee can take the necessary training programs or educational classes to improve job performance and achieve greater productivity in the workplace. Performance appraisals can also be an effective way to identify potential in an employee. During a performance appraisal, managers have the opportunity to sit down and talk directly with employees to determine where they stand and where they see themselves in the future. With this information, managers can help their employees map out a successful career path that involves enhancing their performance and developing new skills.

Performance appraisals can be highly useful in the talent management process and can help ensure that employers are doing their best to retain high-performing employees. Performance appraisals can be a practical way to share new information with employees regarding changes within the workplace. Whether the business is introducing new technology, developing new products or offering new services, it is important for employees to be aware of these changes.

A performance appraisal provides employees the chance to ask questions about changes in the workplace and how these changes will affect their role.

Managers are able to explain new responsibilities in a clear and concise manner, set goals based on these new responsibilities and schedule training to learn about new products or technology.

A performance appraisal can do more than just encourage staff development. Appraisals can also be used to challenge employees to improve their performance through goal setting. Performance goals aim to encourage workers to increase their productivity and work more efficiently.