A performance review is a major part of the performance management process. It is a method by which an employee’s job performance is evaluated in terms of quantity, quality, cost, and time, by a manager or supervisor.

 

A performance review is the process of obtaining, analysing, and recording information about the relative worth of an employee to the organisation.

Performance reviews are an analysis of:

 

Employee's recent successes and failures

Personal strengths and weaknesses

Suitability for promotion or further training.

 

Performance Reviews are also the judgment of an employee's performance in a job based on more than just productivity.

 

There are no laws requiring performance reviews. But there are laws requiring your employment actions to be non-discriminatory.

In addition to discrimination charges, employees increasingly are suing employers for other reasons such as:

1. Unfair termination
2. Wrongful termination
3. Defamation
4. Confidentiality
5. Progressive Discipline

The documentation supporting performance, including performance reviews, becomes critical in such cases. The quality of your performance reviews are important. More important is that you even have them!

If you don't do performance reviews and are legally challenged, you are vulnerable to having difficulty in supporting your employment actions. If you do performance reviews, your program needs to conform to the expectations of the laws regulating employment actions.

 

Performance management encompasses everything managers and supervisors do to plan, monitor, evaluate, and improve the performance of those they supervise. Each effective management program includes a thorough performance review process.

Performance Review/Appraisal process:

 

Reviewing performance-related documentation

Obtaining feedback from the employee and others

Evaluating the employee's performance over the review period

Creating a written review/appraisal of performance competencies and goals.

 

Holding the review discussion:

Discussing an employee’s review involves meeting with the employee to discuss performance and the performance review document, and planning for the next review period by working together to create development plans and set goals.

The performance management process can serve one or more of the following purposes, depending upon an organisation's needs. It can assist in:

 

Providing the basis for performance

Giving an employee feedback.

Setting goals for employees

Determining employee merit Increases (promotions, wage increases etc)

Identifying training and development needs

Documenting employment actions (logs of staff activity)

Identifying special skills, abilities and interests of staff

Providing individual recognition to deserving staff

 

A good performance management program provides numerous benefits to employees, managers, and the organisation as a whole.

 

Improved performance

Better manager/employee communication

Organisational goal clarification

Performance problem documentation

Obstacle identification

Compensation action support

Personnel action support

Training plan and program development.