Performance evaluations are a critical management and professional development tool for supervisors and organizations.  They impact all aspects of employment.  Performance evaluations are important in three primary ways:

First, they are an important tool for managing employee performance through communication. Performance evaluations are a method of communicating with employees, both to recognize good performance and to identify performance deficiencies.

Second, performance evaluations and other performance documentation are often important in supporting termination or other forms of employee discipline.  While some employees overcome performance issues raised in their evaluations and other documentation, when they do not, discipline and sometimes termination from employment is the next step.

Third, solid performance evaluations and other documentation help defend against litigation involving employment issues.  Performance evaluations and other documentation that contain a documented history of performance deficiencies will provide strong evidence to support employee terminations which are challenged in court or other venues, such as the Labor Commissioner or the California Civil Rights Department.

Topics Include:

• Why We Avoid Giving Accurate Performance Evaluations
• The Impact Of Not Giving Accurate Performance Evaluations       
• The Ten Basic Steps In Evaluating Performance  
• Different Evaluation Methods   
  • 360 Evaluations
  • Peer Reviews
  • Self-Assessments
• The Basic Rules For Writing Evaluations 
  • Supervisor’s Log Or Notes
  • Observations
• The Evaluation Meeting
• Follow-Up: If Improvement Is Needed