Making the Most of Your Annual Performance Review

Employee pointers for the 2012 round of evaluations

by Jenna Slocum

If thinking about your annual performance review causes feelings of anxiety, dread or even fear, you are not alone. But that’s not how employees should perceive the yearly performance review, say many CCA leaders.

In fact, performance reviews are the perfect opportunity for employees to have valuable conversations with their supervisor about career goals and promotional opportunities as well as evaluate the prior year’s performance.

“I think everybody, naturally, has a fear of evaluations,” says Steve Kaiser, CCA managing director, Corporate Development and Training. “But it’s important to know what the boss thinks about your performance.”

Productive, two-way dialogue that offers the employee useful feedback is the primary objective.

“Evaluations aren’t what supervisors give to employees,” explains Kevin Myers, CCA managing director, Operations (Division V). “It’s what they have with their employees.”

One of the most important components of the evaluation process is the open, face-to-face conversation between supervisors and employees.

“We hope that good conversations with staff about expectations are happening more than once a year,” says Kaiser. “The annual review is our formal process that allows employees to know where they are exceeding and where they can improve. Then hopefully that conversation continues.”

Tried and True Tips for Both Supervisors and Staff

Today’s evaluation process is designed to engage employees. Working collaboratively, employees can expect to come away with steps to improve performance and reach career goals. Here are some tips from CCA experts for those who are being evaluated and for those who are conducting evaluations.

For the Evaluatee

Be Prepared
Prior to the performance review meeting ask yourself:

• Did you receive any letters of recognition or achievement?
  
• Were any performance issues addressed?
  
• Did you complete any specialized training or certifications?
  
• Did you demonstrate exemplarily performance?
  
• Did your performance improve or decline?
  
• Did you work in a volunteer role, such as a mentor?
  

Employees have the opportunity to review the evaluation prior to the supervisor meeting. With appropriate preparation and communication, addressing these topics may influence the outcome of the final evaluation.

“In November, I asked the wardens I will review to start thinking about their personal and professional goals for 2012,” says Myers. “We have to start ahead of time thinking through our own self assessment and goals.”

Be Open
It’s difficult to hear criticisms about yourself and performance. But it’s important to be open and professional.

“Be open to the evaluation and the feedback,” says Kaiser. “If there were some items on the evaluation that were surprising, don’t overreact. Take some time to think about it.”

Lisa Cecil, CCA manager, Distance Learning adds, “Because our process is set up as a two-way conversation, it’s not final until the discussion takes place. During that discussion, they can make adjustments.”

Be Honest
While no one wants to admit their shortcomings, Myers explains why honestly is so beneficial during evaluations.

“Be honest with yourself and with the person giving the evaluation,” he says. “Without honesty, we are not going to grow and improve.”

For the Evaluator

Rating employees can be difficult and time-consuming. Be careful to avoid some of these errors.

• Personality Play – Rating an employee on his or her personality rather than actual work performance and behaviors.
  
• Positive and Negative Leniency – Rating higher or lower than the employee deserves in an effort to motivate them.
  
• Halo-or-Horns Effect – Being overly influenced by a single favorable or unfavorable action or performance incident.
  
• Recent Effect – Rating an employee based solely on recent events instead of the entire period.
  
• Contrast Effect – Making comparisons; evaluating the employee relative to other employees evaluated. Look at each employee as if they are the only one being evaluated.
  

Conduct a Professional Meeting
To ensure both the employee and evaluator feel comfortable, start by setting the right environment for a productive, performance-focused meeting.

• Hold meetings in a private location without distractions.
  
• Allow adequate time for the meeting, especially if you anticipate that the employee may not agree with your assessment. You may find it better to conduct the more challenging reviews near the end of the employee's shift.
  
• Be open-minded, and listen to your employee's input.
  

As a manager who has performed many evaluations, Myers reminds supervisors that there are two sides to every story.

“Try not to go into an evaluation with a fix set of beliefs,” he explains. “Be open and actively listen to what an employee is telling you. Consider that every story has two sides.”

Note-taking my help evaluators track the year-long performance of with multiple employees.

“I keep notes on each of the seven people I’ll review,” says Kaiser. “I’ll review my notes and request contributions from others through Performance Management & Development System. Before I draft the evaluation, I’ll take all that into consideration.”

For additional insight and support in preparing for evaluations, evaluatee and evaluator E-learning courses are available through CCA’s intranet.

Sound Out

Cathy Redding at WNC:

I find that it is difficult for my Supervisor to evaluate me fairly, because of his own inabilities with technologie. To be the best we must change the way we do things, it's not easy. It become easy when we are able to look at self, only then we will become better stewards. By introducting and adopting another person ideas, mean we can then work together and explorer alternative, which would make working together a joy instead of a job.

Linda Sevison at Idaho Correctional Center:

I initially tend to think of employee performance evaluations with fear and trepidation, regardless of whether I am the supervisor or the evaluatee. In the long run, it is a good thing because it forces me to look back over the previous year to see where I've been and how far I have come. I sometimes tend to look at each day as it happens but don't really focus on the whole picture. This is a good opportunity to do just that, and I usually find that I've come a lot farther than I thought. It also gives me a chance to think about the future as well and where I want to be headed. Fear and trepidation eventually give way to optimism and confidence.