Tips to Give Great Employee Performance Reviews

Are you struggling with looming employee performance reviews? Or worse, do you not even have formal performance review systems in place? Don’t let this daunting task intimidate you – employees need and deserve to know what they’re doing right, and what they are doing wrong while on the job.

Here are some tips to doing a performance review like a pro, courtesy of the Open Small Business Forum:

•Don’t start with a blank slate. Ask the employee to assess themselves before you sit down with them. This can be as involved as filling out the exact same form you do for their review, or simply having them come in prepared to talk about a few items. Not only does this turn the session into a two-way discussion, it reveals what motivates them, what they believe their strongest skills are and where any disconnects lie in expected daily duties.

•Don’t get too wrapped up in the form you’ve filled out. This is a time to have a discussion with the employee. Things will be revealed that you didn’t know when you filled out the form, so adjust your feedback according to their input. This is good incentive to keep your form short – which also helps keep you from procrastinating filling it out in the first place! (For links to example forms, click on the source article below.)

•Don’t get too wrapped up in the past. A good rule of thumb is split the review 50-50 in going over the past and discussing the future.

•Build them up, don’t beat them down. This doesn’t mean sugarcoated talk, but it does mean constructive criticism and helpful tips for improvement. Offer examples of expected work, set goals and remind them how achieving these goals benefits them personally and the salon as a whole.

•Finalize the review by having the employee sign it. Keep the signed copy and have an extra copy for them to keep.

Related Articles:

Dealing With Difficult People: Keep Your Cool

Creating An Employee Handbook

Source:

Open Small Business Forum: How to Give Employee Performance Reviews Like a Pro