How Can I Use the Evaluation to Set Employee Development Plans for the Next Year?
At the same time that you share your year-end written appraisal of an employee, lay the groundwork for the next year’s performance by working out an employee-development plan.
Too often managers talk only about the financial consequences of the employee’s performance and just pay lip service to the developmental side of the appraisal process. But the year-end meeting is an excellent time to discuss skill weaknesses evident in the employee’s previous year’s performance and create action plans to strengthen these areas.
Employee development is for outstanding performers, too. If an employee has consistently exceeded expectations and done so for several years, she is probably frustrated with the lack of opportunities for promotion or new challenges. This is the time, then, to discuss training programs she can use to develop skills that could increase employability.
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This meeting shouldn’t be the only time during the year that you address these issues. At every quarterly review, be ready to work out development programs with employees to minimize any shortcomings responsible for their falling behind in the goals set.
At the development meeting, however, most of the time should be spent, in your role as coach, discussing how the worker can improve performance or develop skills that will enable him to advance to a position of greater responsibility.
If opportunities for promotion don’t exist within your organization, or are of little interest to the employee, then you may want to discuss new assignments that would challenge the employee. Or if the employee is not interested in new responsibilities, discuss ways he or she can operate more independently.
For outstanding employees, your mutual goal is to answer the question, "What can we do to help you accomplish more?" For other employees, the goal is another question: "How can we make it easier for you to meet and exceed this year’s goals?"