In business management, performance evaluation is very key in assuring productivity of your employee or team. Without performance evaluation, how then can you discern the ghost workers or reward productivity? There are so many other benefits that come with evaluating performance in your team or organization. It helps in identifying strengths and weaknesses of each member in the team so that each member is assigned to a role that best fits their abilities. Doing this alone can double productivity in the team.
Now that you have learned how important evaluating your team’s performance is, how then can you carry out performance evaluation? Read on.
Carrying out Performance Evaluation
The team’s performance evaluation must be done right and should not be rushed so mistakes wouldn’t be made. There are certain key indicators for evaluating performance and tools as well that you must use to assure that you evaluate accurately.
Let’s look at some of the tools used in evaluating your team’s performance;
360 Degree Feedback
With this tool, you receive anonymous feedback about these team members from both internal or external customers, supervisors, direct reports, salespeople and subordinates. 360 feedback appraisals are most trusted because of their confidential nature.
>> Recommended reading: 360-Degree Feedback: A Great Ally In Your Companies Management
Balanced Scorecard
This involves combining quantifiable information i.e. sales quotas, with performance standards particular to the position. Balances scorecard utilizes key performance indicators to track how well members of the team has reached their goals; both short and long-term.
Management by Objective
This tool/technique involves drafting objectives for members of the team using direct reports and at year’s end, you evaluate the member based on the objectives achieved.
Involve the Employee
Implore the employee to suggest any updates to the job description while you create inputs in the appraisal.
Ensure that they record their input in their own sheets while you do same on yours concurrently. The in the review meeting, you both could exchange your written appraisals or reviews for deliberations and evaluation.
Don’t Forget the Power of Conversation
How you approach this conversation with the team matters a lot and would determine if it would be effective or not.
If your intent is to help the team improve and you have a cordial relationship with them, then the conversation would be easier and effective. Team members have to trust you and believe that you are interested in improving their performance and not just criticizing them.
Ensure that the team members are communicating back because if you’re the only one doing the talking then it’ll be less effective.
>> Recommended reading: How data can help you make performance assessments more accurate
Offering Feedback
After performance evaluation has been performed using any of the aforementioned tools and techniques, you must relay your information or feedback to the team through:
Score Sheets
This scoring tool allows you to assess and quantify the team’s performance and rank each team member on a scale of 10 on different criteria integral to the team’s objectives.
Be Specific
Entrepreneur advises that while delivering the results, you must specifically address each criterion and let them know which needs more improvement or which is doing well. Don’t just give generic statements, be specific during your delivery.
Offer Direction
Avoid public criticism of team members- always. Eventually, you will have to call each team member and discuss their performance ratings with them. While doing this, avoid being too critical of their performance when pointing out weaknesses.
Also, give them directions on how to improve and achieve their objectives. You could further outline a schedule for training, mentoring and other growth steps. Always end the conversation on a good note by providing directions while avoiding negative comments.
>> Recommended reading: Win/win/win, Using Conflict Management to Reduce Workplace Tension
It Goes Both Ways
While giving feedback, ensure that you also get feedback from the team because evaluation is difficult, hence, must be done with care and in a proper manner.
Always give team members the opportunity to speak up in review meetings or get in to see you about it afterward. This will help you identify where your efforts were effective and also re-strategize for the next work season/ team project.
Assume their Shoes
Before you give feedback, put yourself in their shoes and imagine if the roles were reversed. How would you react if you were to receive feedback the same way you dish it out?
Would you be happy if your weaknesses were thrown in the open? Have in mind differences in personality of each team member. If you can honestly agree that you won’t be offended receiving your own feedback, then it’s a good sign that you have planned well for your delivery.
Avoiding Turnover
This is something that every organization experiences because employees come and go but you must reduce turnover especially if it’s high. This is where performance evaluation comes in.
Using Performance Evaluation
You can use performance evaluation to hire employees that best fit a job. Also, the results of your evaluation can also help reshuffle team members to ensure that they are properly laced in their areas of expertise so members don’t quit in a case where they are assigned roles that differ from their skill set.
Training
Constantly arranging for training and development of team members either locally or internationally can reinforce their sense of value, improve their skill sets and reduce turnover because they feel that their development is of your importance and wouldn’t want to leave.
>> Recommended reading: Team Collaboration: Making a more cohesive team
Instilling Positive Culture
Establishing a series of values such as honesty, transparency, teamwork, respect, attitude, excellence, etc. as the foundation for culture in the team helps create the right culture and will attract and retain skilled team members.
This will reduce the chances of turnover because if members love the team culture, why would they ever want to leave?
In conclusion
Never use performance evaluation as a weapon against the team for criticism or blame rather see the results as a way to identify weaknesses and improve them to ensure increased productivity in the team. Now that you know how to evaluate your team’s performance, why not use what you’ve learned to increase your team’s productivity?
Use data to improve your ability to evaluate your team’s performance and make your decision-making process more efficient. A management tool like Runrun.it can be of great help in this process.
Runrun.it collects data on each activity performed in your company to track the hours worked and provide performance reports so you can gauge the productivity of each employee. Also, view the most important metrics in a custom dashboard. Sign up for a free evaluation of this innovative work management tool at: http://runrun.it
