Managers and Performance EvaluationThe fact that so many managers dislike performance evaluation is as old and common as human nature itself. Performance evaluation is so disliked by so many because it requires that one take a long and hard look at oneself and engage in the process of problem-solving and making changes. Finding solutions and making changes are two of the most difficult challenges to face human beings because it forces them to dig deep and engage in a process that doesn’t always have the clearest of steps and which may or may not be successful. However, performance evaluations are necessary because they force leaders in the workplace to make necessary changes and to find solutions for problems that are undermine the growth, development and success of the company. Regardless of a manager’s discomfort, performance evaluations at regular intervals are crucial to the success of the company. This paper will examine other reasons connected to managerial resentment towards performance evaluation and what the research indicates about this trend. This paper will also look at why there is such marked dislike for performance evaluations and what the research can illuminate about this resentment. This paper will also examine the key traits of effective managers, along with the traits of managers who tend to struggle with performance evaluations. Finally, this paper will discuss the key elements of a successful evaluation process, and offer a sample evaluation form and method.

Understanding the Resentment

The research demonstrates that part of the hatred connected to performance evaluations revolves around the misguided intent. “Unfortunately, performance reviews don’t always live up to their intent. In fact, one in five employees believe their bosses don’t even think about the appraisal until they’re in the room” (Pozin, 2015). Hence, if this is the belief that is present within the workplace, it’s not going to effectively motivate employees or help people pursue bigger goals or changes. The research also demonstrates that HR heads have problems in connection to these yearly or bi-yearly evaluations: “45 percent don’t think they are an accurate appraisal for employees’ work. This may be because performance reviews often end up focusing on negative traits of performance metrics rather than positive ones. It’s no wonder 30 percent of performance reviews ended up in decreased employee performance” (Pozin, 2015). This data sheds light on what might be the ultimate fallibility with performance reviews: they don’t accurately evaluate employee performances. It appears as though people in the workplace find them untrustworthy and as though they need to be discarded.

When employees and managers are asked about performance evaluations and why the hatred is so mutual, interesting and provocative reasons arise. Employees state repeatedly that they don’t think their manager knows them or their work very well. As one employee stated, “I have worked at many jobs where I would rarely be on the same shifts as my managers. How can you assess an employee when you cannot directly observe their behaviours and performance? As an employee, I did not have a platform where I could log in every task I did on my shift” (Fong, 2013). This is very common in the workplace and unfortunately...

Another reason that employees and managers cite for being resistant to performance evaluations is that many managers don’t know how to properly conduct such evaluations, because they don’t have the necessary training. For many managers, a performance evaluation is just a form that needs to be completed in order to make their supervisors happy. Manager need better training and better support on how to deal with such a large variety of issues that tend to arise during performance evaluations, including the emotional reactions of employees. What many leaders don’t understand is that performance evaluations can create negative experiences between managers and staff—and these experience can sour their relationships for all time. Employees have spoken out on the danger and damage that can occur when managers aren’t properly trained and they begin to make performance evaluations confused with the person they are assessing. “Managers go on a tangent when they do not know how to conduct a proper performance appraisal. They start to evaluate the employees’ characteristics and behaviours, instead of their work performance” (Fong, 2013). Managers need proper training regarding the necessity of professional distance and objectivity and the need to keep the personality of the employee separate from the entire evaluation.
Other managers explain that they understand it’s their responsibility to be appropriately prepared to assess twenty or so employees, but that often they don’t have adequate time to do it. Managers need to know when performance of each individual employee dips and soars and to stay abreast of all changes (Kamat, 2017). Other managers express the dislike of giving negative feedback, something that is so common, it’s almost universal. This is connected to a lack of proper training of managers: when managers are properly trained, they understand that negative feedback is necessary for improvement and that many employees actually want to improve and deeply desire such things. Managers need to know that giving negative feedback doesn’t make them the proverbial “bad guy” but rather it just means that they are helping the members of their team become better.

Effective Management and the Opposite

While nearly everyone can probably spot an effective manager in the workplace, it becomes more difficult to articulate the qualities that an effective manager. Truly well-rounded managers who have an infectious joy in their work and who make decisions with empathy and consideration for their workers and for the bigger picture, are rare indeed. But they don’t have to be. With proper vision and training, excellent managers can be molded.

Perhaps one of the most important traits of effective managers is that they have a unique love of the company, as well as the company values and culture. “Good managers are great leaders and high achievers, but the best managers? They like unique qualities about the company that might turn others off. They become invested in not only the company but the culture therein” (Hogan, 2016). Hence, the best managers are those that can sustain focus on how to improve the company and how the company can continue to develop and…