Personnel Performance Evaluations

Contents

• Introduction
• Articles
• Forms and Policies

Introduction

Doing a good job is important both to employers and employees. For the employing government, if its employees perform their work well, it is better able to maintain or improve the public's perception of its operation, it can accomplish its goals more efficiently and, possibly, with less expense, and it may be able to take on new tasks without adding additional staff or budgetary commitment. For an employee, doing a good job helps create job satisfaction, may allow for career advancement, and may trigger higher wages or benefits. But how does one know whether he or she is going a good job? Is the employee meeting the goals and duties of the position? Or is poor performance placing the employee's continued employment at risk? Personnel performance evaluations, if made on a continuing basis, allow the employer and the employee an opportunity to see how things are going, determine if there are problems that can be fixed, and set out goals for the upcoming year (or months). This page provides both information regarding why and how to perform performance evaluations as well as sample forms that can be used to assist the process.

Articles

The following articles discuss why performance evaluations should be performed and provide insight as to how such evaluations should be performed.

• Employee Performance Evaluations, by Janice Corbin and Janet May, Sound Employment Solutions, HR Advisor, June 2005 - Provides reason to make performance evaluations and a checklist outlining an evaluation process
• Ditch Performance Reviews? How About Learn to do Them Well?, by Maxim Sytch and D.Scott DeRue, Harvard Business Review, June 22, 2010 - Outlines the challenges of performance reviews and offers suggestions for meeting the challenges
• Management: Performance Management, North Dakota Office of Management and Budget, 2010 - Although this article includes references to North Dakota law, its basic information has relevance for other states and other employers.
• It's Hard to Write a Good Employee Performance Evaluation. Get Over It., by Molly DiBianca, The Delaware Employment Law Blog, July 20, 2008 - A short article that offers ideas how to better prepare an employee evaluation
• How to Conduct Employee Performance Appraisals (Performance Reviews), prepared by Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD, Authenticity Consulting, adapted from Field Guide to Leadership and Supervision - A well-written, short article discussing the why and how of performance evaluations, along with links to other useful articles
• How Do 360 Degree Performance Reviews Affect Employee Attitudes, Effectiveness And Performance? (), by Diane M. Alexander, University of Rhode Island, 2006 - A well-written, comprehensive article about the 360 degree performance review process
• Performance Evaluation Review and Planning (), Department of Employment Relations, State of Wisconsin, April 2001 - An excellent, 35-page manual that provides a comprehensive review of performance evaluations
• 5 Steps to a Performance Evaluation System, by Judy Kapko, Family Practice Management, March 2003 - A short, helpful paper suggesting steps to be taken in a performance evaluation

Forms and Policies

The following are forms that could be used in making performance evaluations; the materials also offer suggestions and criteria to help prepare the evaluations.

Washington Documents

• Anacortes - The following are excellent forms that provide guidance for the evaluation process.
  • Performance Appraisal - Management Employees ()
  • Performance evaluation for nonexempt employees ()
• Bainbridge Island MAP Self-evaluation form () - The term "MAP" stands for a "mutual action plan"
• Burien
• Performance and Goals Evaluation ()
• Colleague Review ()
• Mill Creek Performance Management ( 20 MB)
• Port Angeles
  • Performance evaluation form ()
  • Employee self-evaluation ()
  • Performance improvement plan ()
  • Performance evaluation criteria definitions ()
  • Instructions for using performance evaluation system ()
• Snoqualmie
• Performance Evaluation (), 03/01/2012
• Performance Evaluation Form ()
• Washington State Performance and Development Plan, Department of Personnel
• Western Washington University Performance Evaluation Manual for Supervisors (), 06/2011 - An excellent resource providing guidelines and considerations that can be used by a supervisor preparing for and during an employee evaluation. Although prepared for a university setting, it should be helpful for any employment setting.

Out-of-State Documents

• Dallas County Non-exempt Personnel Performance Evaluation form ()
• District of Columbia ePerformance Management, Office of Personnel - Performance Management Forms
• Tennessee Performance Evaluation (), prepared by the Department of Human Resources - A very detailed resource that provides ideas and guidance for preparing for and conducting a job performance evaluation
• University of California, Berkeley Performance Management Forms, prepared by the Human Resources Department - While these forms relate to employees in a university setting, most could easily be revised to be useful for local governments. The site also links to materials that are helpful to both supervisors and employees in preparation for the evaluation process.
• University of Georgia Classified Employee Performance Assessment (), 07/2008 - This form was prepared by the university, but it could easily be structured to apply to virtually any job position.
• Wright State University (Dayton, Ohio) The Narrative Performance Appraisal (), revised 01/2011 - An excellent source of suggestions and guidelines for evaluating the performance of employees

Related MRSC Resources

MRSC Index - Performance evaluation, appraisal