THOUGHTS ON PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND LEAN MANAGEMENT

Annual performance evaluations are an institution at most large companies, but are they an ideal complement to Lean management? At certain locations, including TMMK in Georgetown, Kentucky, Toyota no longer performs annual evaluations. Instead, an “Individual Development Plan” is used to review employees’ contributions to Toyota and position them for professional growth.

Like TMMK, your company or facility may be poorly suited for a traditional review process. Take Toyota’s example as motivation to look deeply into how you evaluate employee performance.

Why Should Companies Reexamine Performance Evaluations?

According to recent surveys, nearly half of employees today feel disengaged from their jobs. Because employee engagement correlates strongly with company performance, Lean managers should take these figures seriously and move to change factors limiting employee engagement. A Lean culture depends upon broad buy-in from employees, who must accept the philosophy of continuous improvement and integrate it into their daily tasks. Improved performance review processes can increase employee engagement while improving the success rate of employee advancement decisions.

performance evaluation

 

Evaluation Options to Consider

A traditional evaluation, conducted annually, may be the right choice for your company. If so, your employees will, by and large, report feeling fairly treated in annual reviews. If that’s not the case, your current performance evaluation structure may be less than ideal.

An individual development plan like Toyota’s may be a better selection for companies that (like TMMK) do not tie annual evaluations to compensation, whether by choice or because economic factors currently do not permit merit increases. If you use an IDP, take time to learn about each employee’s goals for both personal growth and career development. Direct managers to construct development plans that position each employee to set genuine self-directed goals and achieve them.

360-degree evaluations are another possible alternative to the traditional process. In this model, each employee is evaluated by managers, peers, and (if applicable) subordinates. Apply this structure to Lean management by encouraging evaluators to focus on contributions to team efficiency and value.

Performance Evaluation Mistakes: What Not to Do

 Annual evaluations and other performance review processes are important and valuable, but bungled reviews will rapidly demotivate a team. Strive to avoid these all too common mistakes:

Detailed reviews with no rewards. Rewards do not have to be in the form of pay increases. Advancement, responsibility, prizes, bonuses, time off, and internal awards can all be incorporated into the review process. Do not subject employees to detailed evaluations that will not affect their compensation in any way.

Excessive subjectivity. All performance evaluations will be to some extent subjective, even those ostensibly based entirely upon verifiable metrics. However, review structures primarily or entirely dependent upon subjective opinions of employees’ performance will be demotivating and encourage employees to interpret a poor review as “politics” rather than a cue to change.

Individualized reviews focusing on team performance. If individual employees’ contributions cannot easily be separated from the performance evaluation of their teams, structure evaluations to focus on teamwork and collaborative results.

5 Steps to a Performance Evaluation System

Keep your staff productive and motivated by conducting regular performance evaluation.

Performance Evaluation

Performance evaluations, which provide employers with an opportunity to assess their employees’ contributions to the organization, are essential to developing a powerful work team. Yet in some practices, physicians and practice managers put performance evaluations on the back burner, often because of the time involved and the difficulties of critiquing employees with whom they work closely. The benefits of performance evaluations outweigh these challenges, though. When done as part of a performance evaluation system that includes a standard evaluation form, standard performance measures, guidelines for delivering feedback, and disciplinary procedures, performance evaluations can enforce the acceptable boundaries of performance, promote staff recognition and effective communication and motivate individuals to do their best for themselves and the practice.                                   

The primary goals of a performance evaluation system are to provide an equitable measurement of an employee’s contribution to the workforce, produce accurate appraisal documentation to protect both the employee and employer, and obtain a high level of quality and quantity in the work produced. To create a performance evaluation system in your practice, follow these five steps:

•     Develop an evaluation form.
•     Identify performance measures.
•     Set guidelines for feedback.
•     Create disciplinary and termination procedures.
•     Set an evaluation schedule.

It is also advisable to run the finished system by your attorney to identify any potential legal problems that should be fixed.

KEY POINTS

   +A performance evaluation system can motivate staff to do their best for themselves and the practice by promoting staff recognition and improving communication.

   +Evaluations should be conducted fairly, consistently and objectively to protect your employees and your practice.

  +An effective performance evaluation system has standardized evaluation forms, performance measures, feedback guidelines and disciplinary procedures.

Employee Performance Evaluation Form

Performance Evaluating of an employee is one of the most important things for keeping the performance of your company or organization maintained. Employee Performance Evaluation Form Word Template helps you in evaluating the performance of your employee. It also plays an important role in keeping the morale of your employee high. Here you can rate your employee on the basis of his performance in number of aspects. At the end of the rating section you can make a general evaluation about his overall performance. The following is Employee Performance Evaluation Form Word Template for your reference:

 

PREVIEW:

 

performance evaluation

Performance Evaluation Guidelines

The Performance Evaluation has two objectives: 

1.    Review and record the past year’s performance against the job description and against the goals and objectives laid out in the previous year’s evaluation;

2.    Discuss and record goals and objectives for the next year as based on a current job description, department goals and career development.

Examples of the Two Objectives:

Objective 1:

Using the job description from the previous year and the performance evaluation form completed the year before, the supervisor will rate and comment on how the employee performed against the expectations.

 

Example:  Expectation:  Complete reports thoroughly and in a timely manner.

          Performance against expectation:  Rating – ME  (Meets Expectations)

Comment -  Employee generally completed reports by the timelines established. Employee is aware of deadlines and is very conscientious about telling me if the report will be late.  Employee is proficient at gathering the numbers and is very accurate in the construction of the report.  Employee has expressed frustration that he doesn’t know where the numbers come from and how they fit into context therefore limiting his abilities to improve his reporting capabilities.

 

Objective 2:

Discussion and recording of goals and objectives for the next year as based on a current job description, performance against goals and career development.

 

Example:  Goal:  Understand context for report numbers. 

          Expectation:  Employee will arrange meetings with employees within our department and other departments as necessary to discuss the context of the report numbers.  The supervisor will meet with the employee after these meetings to discuss next steps and to answer the employee’s questions.  In addition, employee will review reports in light of information gathered to suggest changes he might recommend.

Supervisory preparation for the Performance Appraisal:

•    Review and revise the employee’s job description.  Supervisor should discuss possible revisions to the job description with the employee prior to the performance evaluation meeting.

•    Gather information in regards to the employee’s performance over the last year including reviewing project lists, training records, management file notes, etc.  Supervisor may also ask the employee to complete a review on the past year.  This gives the employee the opportunity to highlight performance and assures that the supervisor will not forget an incident the employee holds in high regard.

•    Draft the written performance evaluation review.  Tie goals and objectives for next year to previous performance.

performance evaluation

Review Session:

•    Schedule review with employee in advance.  Let them know if there is anything they need to prepare or bring with them.

•    Schedule a time when the employee will have your full attention and there is enough time to allow for employee questions or general discussion.

•    If the employee has completed a review form, reference it.  Let them know where you agree and where you disagree with their review.  If they have not completed the form, ask for their feedback.  How did the year go for them?  What were some highlights of the year? 

•    Summarize performance in the beginning, set the tone.  Proceed to discuss specifics relating to each job description responsibility and goals from previous years.  Summarize again in the end.

•    Link the employee and their work to the work of the college and to your department specifically.  Let them know how they fit into the larger picture.

•    Ask for employee feedback and questions during the review.  Listen!  Assure the employee has the same understanding of performance expectations as you do.  Do this by asking them to restate the expectation.  Gauge their questions to make sure they understand what you are saying.

•    Write up a final review making sure to incorporate employee’s questions and comments.  Give the employee time to read the review in private and let them know they can add comments.

Reviews are successful when:

•   A clear understanding of the job responsibilities and expectations surrounding those responsibilities are established at the beginning of the review period.

•    Employees understand the performance evaluation ratings assigned and the rational for the ratings.

•    There are no surprises.  Positive performance has been acknowledged.  If there were expectations that were not being met they were brought to the employee’s attention and addressed immediately.

•    The supervisor follows up on specific actions that come out of the review.

•    Employee is held accountable to expectations.

•    Plans for accomplishing employee’s development goals are made and progress toward the goals are reviewed throughout the year.

Common Performance Evaluation Errors:

•    Failing to allow time for proper evaluation preparation and not documenting examples of where performance met or exceeded expectations and where it fell below expectations.

•    Rating employees against each other versus against the expectations of the job description and goals.

•    Allowing biases to color performance evaluation

o    Halo or Pitchfork – all dimensions of performance are rated the same as a single dimension that happened to leave an impression either favorably or unfavorably.

o    Employee is just like me, or too different from me

o    Belief that positive performance was attributable to circumstances beyond the employee’s control while negative performance was only attributable to aspects under their control.

•    Unrealistic expectations – if expectations are seen as unachievable employee may stop trying.  If expectations are too low they may not see a need to increase effort.

•    All employees are rated the same.  Individual contributions are not recognized, differences between employees are not recognized.  No individual accomplishments or attributes are noted.

•    Only recent performance is evaluated.  The performance period is for the entire preceding year.  Sometimes a supervisor will neglect to mention important performance factors that occurred in the beginning of the year.  To avoid this, supervisors should maintain a management file and keep notes regarding the employee’s performance throughout the year.

 

Now, I think you know more about the performance evaluation process