Evaluate Employee Performance

Question What is the best way to deal with “informal leaders” in a work group who are continuously negative, especially regarding “upper management”? These are the same people who will write letters and send petitions to the top leaders in the organization when they do not get the answers they want from their immediate supervisors. [...]

Question I have an employee who is always talking about her peers negatively and the staff is exhausted by it. They are afraid to confront her, fearing that she will become even more difficult to work with. What is the appropriate way to approach this customer service issue? Answer This is not a customer service [...]

Question I have been a pediatric nurse for a long time and I manage a children’s practice. I have excellent employees, but there is one who thrives on gossip. What can I do? I asked that person to be a leader, and to refuse to participate in any gossip she hears. My approach hasn’t worked, [...]

Question If an associate has most of his or her performing criteria fall under the high performer category, but does not come to work on time and has an excess number of unplanned absences, does that make him or her a low performer? Can someone be in both categories? Answer I would say if an [...]

Question I am working with our CEO and VP of Human Resources on in-servicing and implementing high, middle, and low performer conversations  with our officers and directors group. One of the concerns expressed in our planning meeting centered on this question: “What if an immediate supervisor views a direct report as a high performer, yet [...]

Question When classifying employees into the three categories for high, middle, and low performance, do you include an employee’s technical ability with the evaluation or just her overall attitude, willingness to be a team player, etc.? Answer You include the total package. If an employee has a great attitude but cannot perform job functions, he [...]

Question Does the CEO meet with his senior leadership starting with the highs, then the middles, and finally the lows? And if you have a low performer in the senior group, who then meets with those high directors who report to this low performer? We are struggling a bit with the process. Answer In any [...]

Question What are high, middle, and low performer conversations? I am trying to engage staff and find myself always focusing on the low performers without much success. I also worry about the fairness issue. I don’t want to be seen as playing favorites with my good staff. Answer In high, middle, and low performer conversations, [...]