Employee Performance and Evaluation

Organizations use employee performance evaluations, commonly referred to as "performance reviews," to provide employees with feedback on their job performance and formally record that performance. Although each company sets its own evaluation cycles, the majority of them carry out annual employee performance reviews (William, 2020).

Benefits of employee performance evaluations (Question Pro, 2022)

For employer 

Protection against litigation:

Having accurate records of an employee's performance is important in incidents when current or former employees are suing the organization. This is particularly important when an employee is let go or isn't given a promotion. In these situations, the performance review can act as true evidence that backs up the business' choices.

Encouragement of good work:

Given the stressful life of many organizations, a performance review may be one of the rare occasions where employers formally compliment and motivate their staff. This improves employee morale, demonstrates what they should keep doing, and maintains a good working relationship between the employer and employee. Employee turnover may be reduced as a result of employees being able to clearly see how their work is valued.

Informing hiring practices:

When taken as a whole, employee performance reviews can provide important information about previous hiring and/or recruitment procedures and guide future procedures. For instance, a corporation can add additional questionnaires for a particular skill set to the hiring process if it observes a pattern of individuals with underdeveloped talents in that area. The quantity and type of recruitment required for rehiring are determined by estimating the number of persons who are likely to be retained and the number who are likely to be fired as a result of their evaluation.

For employees:

Growth and development:

Managers can devote time to focusing on individual performance and opportunities for growth and development during employee performance evaluations. Employees should take advantage of this opportunity to talk about their pay, career objectives, and what they need to do to get there. Employers and employees can create a growth plan that enhances the employee's skills and benefits the business by identifying the employee's areas of strength and areas for progress. This may pave the way for career growth and the accomplishment of long-term objectives.

Senior leadership visibility:

There could be senior-level managers who are difficult to reach and don't contact with staff members often. These executives can learn more about the workforce, including who the top performers are and where to support promotion chances, through the performance evaluation process.

Potential for a pay increase and/or bonus:

Employees who perform well on evaluations may receive merit-based pay increases and/or incentives from some employers. Opportunities for development within the organization may arise as a result of a strong performance evaluation. This may involve receiving a formal promotion or being given managerial responsibility. 

Improved communication:

An employee performance evaluation's structured format encourages strong partnership. It provides tools to direct the dialogue and offer highly detailed comments for both valuable feedback and appreciation. When talking about something difficult, this can reduce tension. In some cases, this approach also makes it possible to communicate more deeply outside of the context of evaluation.

Conclusion

Performance reviews involve more than just evaluating a person's performance and assigning rewards or penalties as a result. Instead, it aims to better align and enhance a person's performance in order to achieve the organization's goals.

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References

William, C. (2020). Employee Performance Evaluation: Definition, Benefits and How To Prepare. Indeed [Online] Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/employee-performance-evaluation#:~:text=An%20employee%20performance%20evaluation%2C%20also,performance%20evaluations%20once%20per%20year [Accessed on: 17/07/2022]

Question Pro, (2022). Performance evaluation – Definition, method, survey questions and example. Question Pro [Online] Available at: https://www.questionpro.com/blog/performance-evaluation/  [Accessed on: 17/07/2022]