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Tips for Supervisors

Tips for Supervisors on Navigating the Performance Appraisal Process

In preparation of the appraisal, familiarize yourself with all aspects of the process. To properly complete the performance appraisal form, it is essential that you thoroughly understand the duties and requirements of the position held by the employee. Therefore you should review the Position Description, which was distributed at the start of the performance appraisal process. If you do not have a copy, please contact the Office of Human Resources at x5470 or via e-mail at human-resources@wpi.edu.

After reviewing the Position Description and holding an initial performance meeting with the employee, complete an Employee Appraisal form and determine an overall performance rating keeping in mind the following:

• Be objective. Eliminate personal prejudice and feelings of favoritism.

• Consider each performance area independently. Do not assume that excellence in one area implies excellence in all areas or that poor performance in one area implies poor performance in all areas.

• Base your appraisal on observed performance during the appraisal period, not on what is expected in the future.

• Evaluate overall performance throughout the entire appraisal period. Do not base the ratings only on significant successes and failures. These should be considered in context with the total performance.

• Consider various aspects of the employee's performance that you want to discuss with the employee. The appraisal process should serve as a stimulus for better communication between you and the employee.

• Consider your appraisal in terms of the employee's present duties, not in terms of the duties of a future or past description.

The appraisal should reflect your fair judgment of an employee's work performance. Make helpful suggestions and provide adequate instruction. Be prepared to discuss these items.

Determining an Overall Performance Rating

On the last page of the Employee Appraisal Form for both exempt and non-exempt employees, a summary box of the performance ratings selected for each performance area is provided to assist the supervisor in determining an overall performance rating.  Determining the final performance rating is challenging because a combination of performance area averaging and subjectivity must be used.  Using the summary box provided on the appraisal forms to determine the overall rating should be the first step, but then the supervisor must decide which performance areas evaluated should be weighted more heavily than others depending on the employee’s job responsibilities.  Depending on the performance ratings of the most important performance areas, the overall performance rating may be adjusted.

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Last modified: December 21, 2011 09:23:19