Performance Evaluations - Making The Grade More Palatable

In addition to being a (world class) business consultant and contract negotiator,  I am an educator. A teacher. A college professor, to be exact.

I tell you this not to brag (well, not entirely!), but because being a teacher means that I spend a lot of time analyzing, evaluating, critiquing and rating (grading) other people's work. It's not my favorite part of the job, but it is, unfortunately, a part of the job.

And, as will happen with anything one does for more than 20 years, over the years I've been teaching, I've learned a few things. And one of the least obvious, but most important things I've learned is that for many people, receiving an “objective” performance score (grade) on performance quality standards that include some subjectivity, is a real distraction.

Folks tend to focus first (and longest) on the number you “gave them” and the “points I lost”, rather than on the "points they earned" or the actual quality of their work. They quibble over the minutia of a point or two; ignoring the larger underlying performance issues.  I am more likely to hear “Why did you give me an 84 and not an 86?”, rather than “What do I need to do to earn an “A” next time?”

I've found this is true not only in academic grading systems, but in employee evaluation systems, as well.

It seems the more “objective” we try to make our evaluation systems, the more temptation there is for the student / employee to focus on “the number” rather than the performance underlying the number.

So how do we fix this?  How do we get folks to quit worrying about a point or two and focus on the bigger picture?

That's a good question.  And here are a few things we as individual evaluators can do to help, regardless of the performance evaluation system(s) we're working with:

First, a face-to-face meeting where you can take time to explain the evaluation, to identify specific strengths and discuss areas for improvement before giving the “score” is the most effective way I've found. It's critical here to make sure your verbal comments agree with and support your written comments and that both are consistent with the performance score.

Second, giving them time to read the written evaluation and ask questions / voice disagreements after you've verbally explained the evaluation is critical as well. In the best case, they'll have time to review it immediately following the verbal discussion.

And finally, listen to objections and complaints with an open mind, and be willing to change the evaluation comments or adjust the score when there is a valid reason to do do. None of us is perfect.

And finally, always, always, always make sure that you take the above actions before the evaluation is completed and formally entered into the grading / performance evaluation system. This will go a long way toward letting your students/employees know you're doing your best to be fair and unbiased in your assessments...and that is the biggest thing we can do to get their focus off the minutia and on to the larger issues we need them working on!

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If you need help getting your evaluation system more effective, let me help. Either leave a comment here or e-mail me at: TomFawls@Council4SmallBiz.com.