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Employee Assessment Guide To Help Your Business Grow
Employees are a company’s driving force to move forward. That being so, their performance highly impacts and determines an organization’s success or failure.
Finding ways to assess employee performance is very crucial. It helps bring out their best and helps an organization retain the best employees. It also allows employees to improve within their responsibilities, and through that, a company can build future leaders, especially through group assessment exercises. All this contributes to the organization’s growth and success. In this article, we provide vital input regarding how to assess employee performance.
Essential Considerations
• Task ownership, execution, and timely delivery- analyze if your employees prioritize their tasks and completion. If employees can own their duties and work to get things done, they become a great asset. See if they complete tasks promptly by checking the rates of completion.
• Trust and quality of work- review their roles in client efforts through feedback, best practices, and stability in production. You must ask yourself if you trust your staff to do their work independently while displaying company values. Do you trust them enough to self-govern themselves without much supervision and offer excellent results?
• Creativity- be attentive to how an employee comes up with solutions to challenging situations. See if they think outside the box and take well-informed risks.
• Notable and consistent improvement- since no employee will always be excellent during every assessment point, look out for constant improvements depending on your frequency of assessment; weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually.
• Feedback from peers and customers- lookout for positive feedback from colleagues and customers. Remember, these people work with and alongside the employees.
• Revenues generated and staying on budget- every company has monetary goals to achieve at a predetermined time. The revenue an employee generates within that time indicates their overall performance. Track projects such that they are within budget.
• Employee responsiveness to feedback- take note of how an employee takes and handles feedback. An ideal employee is one who critically analyzes feedback and sees what they are required to adjust. They also are open to discussing what works and what does not.
Practical Steps Towards Employee Assessment
1. Set performance standards and specific goals
These are critical as they help employees beware of what is being assessed. Have job descriptions, measurable and realistic goals. Anything that feels unachievable may overwhelm employees. Extremely easy goals demotivate employees. Therefore, find a balance.
2. Make observations
Track employee performance between assessments, for example, by having an individual performance file for every worker. Keep records, note accomplishments, positive and negative incidents.
3. Immediate action
If you see that employees are underperforming even with set goals, act by giving warnings (written and verbal). They will know the severity of a situation, work to improve performance, and be more productive.
4. Prioritize job satisfaction
Employees will perform if they feel that they are working in a positive and beneficial environment. They do not want to feel like they are not getting maximum benefits for their efforts or the company lacks resources. Therefore, offer the right benefits to retain happier employees that engage more and are productive.
5. Training and development
Poor performance may result due to a lack of skills and knowledge. Create forums for training and development to improve skills. Involve employees in the entire process.
6. Having a discussion/ conversation
Discuss both the highs and the lows (what’s going on well and what is not). Assessment shouldn’t be one-sided. Listen to an employee’s concerns too for them to feel valued and allow for self-assessment.
7. Provide feedback about performance
Employees get to know where they stand, their progress and become more comfortable with receiving feedback. They find out the steps needed for improvement. Ensure to focus more on job performance rather than personality traits. Do not offer criticism from a personal point of view.
8. Recognition and rewards
Have a recognition and reward platform to recognize outstanding work, effort, and improvement. It fosters motivation.
Final Thoughts
For any company, employee assessment is of uttermost importance. Assessment requires a standard framework against standard metrics. It helps employees better understand what is expected of them and improves work relationships for the greater goal of growth. A successful assessment needs time. Considering the factors and taking the steps highlighted above will bring excellent outcomes.