Performance Evaluations, presented by Andre Jones (5/20/13)

I thoroughly enjoyed this presentation—I found Mr. Jones using WCFL's evaluation form and scoring system practical and quite useful.  I, too, found the suggestion of making quarterly check-ins a habit good advice. 

If nothing else was impressed upon me during the presentation, it was that solid documentation is the friend of both the giver and receiver of a performance review.   Preparing throughout the year by noting positive and negative employee conduct can cast a better light on any “burning images” that may unfairly temper our judgment.   I feel I benefited greatly from this training and gained some real insight on the evaluation process.

--Ashley

Performance Evaluations with Andre Jones

Great topic and an excellent presenter.   

 Here is the to-do list that I walked away with:

1. Make sure the job description is up to date 
       (nope - last updated in 2009)

2. Develop a method for documenting employee performance 
     (Share good and bad feedback with the employee immediately, but also keep a folder for each employee with written notes/post-its/whatever of that verbal/written feedback.  Evaluations are much easier and less subjective when you have a documented year's worth of material to refer to.  Also very useful to have the employee share a monthly report of what they have accomplished to keep on file.)

3. Quarterly check-in on goals 
     (twice a year is good, but quarterly is better if you actually want to help the employee meet the goal!)

4. Tie job description to evaluation
     (makes sense - again, takes some of the subjectivity out of the process.  Keep in mind when the form asks about expectations, these are not the boss's expectations, they are the expectations of the job description.)



Marilyn Pontius articulated some of my other favorite bits very nicely.

 "I very much favor developing expectations in a dialog with the employees right away, paying particular attention to the “top three things you are responsible for”. Relating those top three things to job descriptions, performance, and to the bigger picture (the branch or department, and the library as a whole and its mission and goals) should make it easier to establish individual employee expectations and goals. I also really liked the idea of setting three major goals- one for the employee, one for the team (branch or department), and one for the library as a whole."

Conducting Effective Performance Reviews

Presented by Andre Jones

5/20/13

This workshop was really interesting and informative -- the speaker held my attention the entire three hours!  The discussions were excellent.   The area where I felt I learned the most  was establishing performance expectations. Since I have worked with the same people for many years, we have developed an understanding over time of what is expected and now function smoothly. But this method wasn’t very efficient, and there were several bumps along the way. I very much favor developing expectations in a dialog with the employees right away, paying particular attention to the “top three things you are responsible for”. Relating those top three things to job descriptions, performance, and to the bigger picture (the branch or department, and the library as a whole and its mission and goals) should make it easier to establish individual employee expectations and goals. I also really liked the idea of setting three major goals- one for the employee, one for the team (branch or department), and one for the library as a whole. This will take some thought, but I'm sure it can be done for everyone and every job at WCFL. Touching base with employees on a more regular schedule regarding achieving those goals, and understanding what they need in order to be successful is very important.

The discussion of the performance appraisal itself has given me a method for assigning ratings in a more rigorous way. The WCFL Performance Management Form seems very cryptic and difficult to use. I have been using a form I found more suitable to branch operations to appraise more specific tasks and behaviors. Now I am beginning to see how the two forms relate to each other, and I’d like to take the time to analyze each one and map them together. I think it will make the rating scheme much easier to implement impartially and make the performance appraisal exercise more meaningful.    

Marilyn Pontius

 

Conducting Effective Performance Reviews

Andre Jones gave me a lot to think about when it comes to evaluating staff at my branch.:

• Clarifying the expectations of goals set and monitoring the progress toward the goals
• Keeping a coaching log/calendar instead of just continuing education lists
•  Rating errors

All of this will be helpful to me in future evaluations. I did notice that Mr. Jones and I don't score the same: I score sort of high and he scores low.

Conducting Effective Performance Reviews 2013

I now have a whole new approach to the way Performance Reviews should be done. I'm not sure I agree with everything Andre' suggested, but the majority of it made a lot of sense. We learned some really good tips on how to keep track of what employees are doing throughout the year. It is also very important for the employee to be responsible in keeping their own records. Overall this was a really good workshop. I learned a lot that I will use in the future.