LS-625 Module 6 Josh Cartwright

The growth of any business is directly correlated with its ability to develop its employees

and maximize its capabilities over time. It is important for any business to realize the strengths

and goals of its employee pool so they can best utilize them, as well as help them reach their

goals. It is just as important to find employees who are not performing at their full competency

and help them get on track or dismiss them if they are unwilling to work to a level that is

satisfactory for company standards. Though dismissal is never the goal, sometimes it may be the

final option. One of the best ways a company can assess and develop its employees is through

employee performance appraisals.

An employee performance appraisal is a periodic assessment of an employee’s abilities

compared to the standards the company has set (Valamis, 2023). The benefits of an employee

appraisal have several benefits, both for the employee and the company.

For the employee it is a way for them to feel heard and recognized. Employees that feel

that they are lost in the shuffle of everyday business, it is a way for their hard work to shine

through. It can also be a way to get an employee back on track who may not be performing to

the level needed. Either way, it is designed to help the growth of a business and not to hinder the

daily operations. An employee appraisal can also be a perfect time to discuss pay increases and

milestones that should be met for future pay changes. This will give employees a clear road map

to what success at the company looks like and how they can achieve future success.

For the company, an employee appraisal can be a time to identify non favorable work

conditions. It can be a way to get feedback from the employees on what management tactics are

working and which need to be addressed and reevaluated. Maybe the most important benefit for

a company performing an employee appraisal is to help identify individuals for internal

promotions (Valamis, 2023).

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Never Alone see the value in employee performance appraisals, so we have decided that

we will begin to implement them as part of our standard operating procedures starting January of

2024. This will give us two full months to fully create an appraisal system that will be align with

our goal to be properly trained and qualified to give superb services to our clients, as well as

inform and prepare the employees of what is to come. It is far less daunting and more relaxed if

the employees know what to expect from an appraisal (BusinessBalls.com, n.d.). For this reason,

we want to make sure we fully prepare our staff so that everyone gets the most out of the

appraisals.

The purpose of the appraisal is to be of benefit to the entire company and we want to

have the right people handle the appraisals. We have come up with a plan that HR and

department management will jointly handle the appraisals. This will insure a few things. First,

having HR present will give appraisals legitimacy and a solid paper trail of what was discussed.

Next, because department managers know what the strategic goals of their department are they

can make sure that questions are aligned to match that purpose. Lastly, having two members

there to listen and ask questions can aid in making sure nothing is missed and that the employee

feels their opinions are fully understood and appreciated.

We have decided that the best way to do the appraisals is to break it down into four

quarterly check ins and one end of year more in-depth appraisal. We think it will be best to

make the check ins a small informal meeting to go over progress and a chance to raise any

concerns that may have popped up over the past 90 days. This frequency should yield the most

accurate responses and make the employee feel at ease and comfortable with the process. Then

at the end of the year we will do the more in-depth meeting where we can set goals for the next

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year, go over past years performance, address pay raises, and cover any issues that may not have

been dealt with fully during the past year quarterly check ins.

Quarterly check in meetings will consist of three questions designed to engage the

employee and give them a sense that their opinions are important to our organization, because

they are. We decided to keep it to a minimum because we want to keep it somewhat informal

and relaxed. The idea is to get a sense of what is going on with our employees and address

minor issues now before they become major problems. These questions will be 1) What do you

think have been your strengths at work over the last 90 days? 2) What do you think you could

have improved upon in the past 90 days? 3) What concerns or suggestions do you have for the

betterment of the company? Once the employee has answered these questions, we will go over

their time clock, address any schedule issues, and go over any upcoming changes to the

workplace. We want to make sure we make the time as valuable to the employee as it is to the

employer.

For the end of the year employee performance appraisal, we want to make sure we go as

in-depth as possible and recognize the contributions from the past year and set reasonable goals

for the upcoming year. This is also a chance for us to go over the previous check ins to make

sure that the company has addressed issues brought forth from the employee, as well as insuring

the employee has followed up with any suggestions that HR and their manager came up with.

The primary goal for the year end assessment is to make sure that the goals for the next year are

clearly defined and that all parties understand what the expectation for success looks like. The

benefit of this for the employee is that they know exactly what is expected of them and that there

will be no surprises for what they need to do to be successful. For the company this is the

chance to let the employee know what has been going well and what needs to change, if

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anything, for future success to be achieved. Below is an example of the questions and

information that we will go over during our end of year appraisal.

Employee Performance Evaluation

Date of evaluation/ Who is conducting evaluation:

Employee name:

Hire Date:

Job Title:

Manager/Department:

Current Pay:

1. What are your current job responsibilities?

2. How do you contribute outside of your given responsibilities?

3. What do you think the biggest strength you bring to your role?

4. Do you feel you have the tools you need to be successful in your current role?

a. What tools and resources do you wish you had access to?

b. Is anything preventing you from doing your job better?

5. What aspect of your job do you find hardest to overcome?

6. Does your manager give you constructive criticism?

a. What takeaways do you have from this criticism?

b. What could your manager do better?

c. Does your manager meet your needs as an employee?

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7. In the last 12 months have there been any concerns your have brought up that have not

been addressed?

a. Do you have any new concerns?

8. What is a personal goal you have set for the next year?

a. How can we help you reach this goal?

9. Why do you like working here?

a. What can we do to be a better place to work?

10. Do you feel that you are valued as a person and an employee?

11. What motivates you?

Once the questionnaire is complete, we will go over the last 12-month time clock to address any

lapses with tardiness or no shows. We will go over current pay and what the annual pay increase

for each employee will be; if funds are not available we will look at other things we could do to

help our employees (i.e. more time off, more flexible schedule, or employee specific requests).

We will go over training and continued education to make sure they are fully prepared for their

role and roles they may look to step into in the future.

Finally, we will go over the expectations for the next 12 months. This will consist of

what milestones the employee should hit to gain their annual pay raise for the next year. We will

cover a road map of expectations if they are looking to move up in the company. We want them

to have clear and concise goals so that they know what they need to accomplish to be promoted.

This will also fully define what their current role is and if the expectations for that role have

changed in anyway. Our main goal is for there to be transparency from top to bottom. This is so

that everyone knows what is expected, and what is the overall goal for the company.

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We know that we will have to amend our appraisal program as we move forward and

continue to grow. Though, we do feel that this is a great starting point for us. This gives us the

ability to better understand our employees and a way for our employees to better comprehend

what is expected of them.

References

SafetyCulture. (2023, July 27). 360 degree evaluation: a

quick guide | SafetyCulture. https://safetyculture.com/topics/how-

to-conduct-an-effective-performance-appraisal/360-degree-

evaluation/

Performance Appraisals – BusinessBalls.com. (n.d.).

https://www.businessballs.com/team-management/performance-

appraisals/

Valamis. (2023, June 18). Performance appraisal. Valamis.

https://www.valamis.com/hub/performance-appraisal