Evaluating Employee Performance

by Don Tyler, Tyler & Associates

For many livestock operations, the end of the year means Employee Evaluations are just around the corner. The process creates anxiety, sweaty palms and sleepless nights—and that’s just for the supervisor who has to do them!

Regular Employee Evaluations are a critical management tool in establishing accountability and expectations. When done correctly, today’s employees appreciate evaluations and the opportunity to have one-on-one time with their supervisor.

To be most effective, evaluations should occur at 90 days after the start of employment (earlier if necessary), again after 6 months, and at least once per year, every year thereafter. The 90 day evaluation should focus on how well they have performed to date, provide encouragement for the new employee, and outline remedies for performance deficiencies.

It is critical that the employee’s immediate supervisor play a key role in the evaluation for the process to have any credibility with the employee. A person from a higher level of management could be involved if the supervisor is new to their position and could benefit from some coaching.

Managers are reluctant to do Employee Evaluations if there is no standardized form. Without a form to use as a guide, the evaluator will be inconsistent and must take large amounts of valuable time developing each employee’s review from scratch.

Some of the most common elements to use in a standardized form would include: Adherence to Policy; Time Management; Work Level; Competence; Observation Skills; Organization; Safety; Record Keeping; Cost-Consciousness; Animal Care; Dependability; Communications; Decision Making; Problem Solving; Teamwork; Attitude; Achievement of Production Goals; etc.

It is advisable to use the achievement of established production goals as the most important factor in an evaluation. Using these goals provides a specific, measurable, and verifiable method for tracking performance of individuals, even if more than one employee is responsible for a production target. Emphasizing these goals stresses the importance of teamwork and cooperation.
For sample Evaluation Forms, send a request to dhtyler @quixnet.net, or give me a call and I will fax some to you.

Traditionally, Employee Evaluations have used terms such as; Poor, Fair, Good and Excellent to rate performance. These terms carry with them a sense of personal criticism. A more effective rating system uses the terms; Exceeds Expectations; Meets Expectations; and Does Not Meet Expectations. Few managers are willing to call an employee’s performance “Poor,” even if the rating is warranted.
Numerical scores have some drawbacks, unless this system has been in place for several years and is meeting the needs of the company and the employees.

Using terminology based on expectations focuses the process on the employee’s performance, rather than the individual. Excellence in every category is no longer the goal, ‘Meeting Expectations’ is the desirable level of performance. Many times when an employee’s performance is inadequate, their excuse is that they ‘Don’t have time to do it right’. In this case, the employee can be encouraged to take some time from the areas where they are ‘Exceeding Expectations’, and use that time in the areas where they are not meeting expectations.

A few days prior to the evaluation session, the employee should be provided a copy of the evaluation form, and required to do the evaluation on themselves. The employee then brings their completed form with them to the evaluation session. The evaluator exchanges the form they have completed on this employee with the person being evaluated at the beginning of the review session. They each review the other’s responses, and focus their discussion on the areas where there were differences of opinion.
The review session should focus on clarifying expectations and the remedies needed to overcome deficiencies. Every opportunity should be taken to encourage employees, highlight their strengths, and recognize their accomplishments. The final part of the discussion should be a review of what was discussed and the employee’s personal and occupational goals for the next review period.

Evaluators must be certain to review the employee’s performance over the entire previous review period, rather than just the last few months that are most familiar.

The completed form, signed by the employee and the reviewer, should become a part of the employee’s work file. In some cases, the Evaluation Form is critical for substantiating performance issues in the event of a termination.

Generally, the Employee Evaluation should not be performed at the same time as their salary review. This puts too much pressure on the employee and the evaluator, and may tend to skew the process toward a predetermined result. Employees should be informed of all the factors that affect pay adjustments, and be reminded that their performance evaluation is just one of the elements considered. It seems best to have Employee Evaluations one or two months prior to compensation reviews, and one or two months after the company’s annual budgeting process.

Some operations have evaluations and compensation reviews near the employee’s anniversary date. If this system has been working well for several years, I do not recommend changing it.

An effective Employee Evaluation process encourages the employee, provides the employee with a more clear understanding of expectations and reestablishes critical production goals.

For assistance with employee management issues, or for reference materials on these subjects, call Don or review his management book, “The Complete Guide To Managing Agricultural Employees ©” and his new audio series, “Introduction To Communications ©”.
They can be reviewed at www.dontyler.com, or contact Don Tyler; Tyler & Associates, at 765-523-3259