Performance Evaluation Essay

In the given example, the company’s current evaluation form is inadequate and does not provide a complete picture of employee’s performance. The current evaluation method only focuses on personal characteristics of the employee being evaluated. Another problem with the current method is that only the plant manager evaluates the employee, without getting input from the individual being evaluated or anyone else. Furthermore the evaluation method currently being used focuses on perceptions and does not evaluate performance materials that can be easily measured, therefore creating a subjective evaluation.
A performance evaluation should focus on three generally accepted sets of criteria. Individual Tasks Outcomes, which measure the quantity and quality of the employees work. For this criterion, in the given example, the engineer would be rated on how successful the changes he implemented were, and how well his actual projects finished. In addition to task outcomes, employee behavior should be a separate category that an employee is evaluated in. In the example, the engineer would be rated on his attention to detail, submission of paperwork, suggestions for improvement, and how much of a team player he is. Lastly an employee should be rated on his traits, which includes his personal attitude, display of confidence, dependability and knowledge.
By evaluating the engineer on things such as friendliness, neatness of workspace and attitude the company is focusing too much on the employees’ traits which should be the least important of the three criteria an employee is evaluated on. Instead the company should primarily focus on the individual task outcomes as this affects the productivity and net profits of the company. Employee behavior is also an important area to evaluate since behaviors can either encourage or hinder other employees work performance. Although it is important to recognize and evaluate personal traits, this should be the least weighted