Look in the mirror...

People often compare themselves to someone or something else. The only comparison that matters is to themselves.

 

·      A subjective evaluation

·      Of someone’s performance

·      Is often fraught with mistakes,

·      Inconsistencies, and inaccuracies.

·      No wonder nobody likes or trusts them.

 

Companies hold on to old-fashioned performance evaluation processes that nobody likes doing them and even fewer like getting. The problem is that they are too subjective. They’re usually a composite of what a supervisor remembers about what they saw in the past. They’re not based on any objective criteria like well-defined and expected results. If someone is expected to make eye-contact and smile at every service opportunity – that can be seen and documented. If someone is supposed to finish something within a well-defined timeframe – that can be tracked. But general performance is too vague, and that’s where the mistrust and unhappiness begin. Set a baseline of expectations and then judge a person by that. Better yet, consider asking the person being evaluated how they did against these objective criteria. Maybe even ask them how much more they learned and how much better they performed against the last time they were evaluated. Show your support by making it a positive experience: coach them as needed or praise them when appropriate.  Don’t just check a box – figure out a better way to evaluate your employees today.

 

Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939): Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies originating from conflicts in the psyche.