Evaluation guidelines for appraisers

Be Fair and Impartial

Disregard bias about an employee.  Concern yourself only with the facts and concrete examples of employee performance.  Biases may exist, but if you are aware of them, you will be in a good position to control them and their effects. A positive attempt must be made to be as fair as possible to the employee and to Seminole State.

Appraise Performance

This is your role as evaluator.  Appraise the employee’s performance in each area of responsibility (refer to job description).

Performance – Not Potential

Accurate assessment of individual potential is important, however, the concern here is performance of the past year or evaluation period.  Rate only the performance; do not rate what you think the employee’s potential is.

Achievement – Not Progress

Performance is rated in achieving results during a fixed time period.  Success should be measured against previously agreed upon objectives.

Appraise Performance for the Entire Evaluation Period

One month of commendable performance does not offset eleven months of marginal or unacceptable work.  You should consider the employee’s performance and growth in the position over the course of the entire year evaluation period.

Cross Ratings

Usually, evaluations are completed by one evaluator.  In some cases, another supervisor or manager within the college may have important insights regarding the employee’s performance.  For example, if the employee worked for another manager for a good part of the year, it would be necessary to seek the views of the previous manager.  Keep in mind that the goal is to have a complete, objective, and fair appraisal of performance.

Be a Conscientious Rater

Give a favorable rating only when the individual has merited it.  Forget about giving people a “break”.  Sometimes this is difficult for us to accomplish.  We want to be fair and, often, this means giving the benefit of the doubt.  However, if we continue to do this over a period of time, we will find that the standards we have set have been lowered.  By lowering standards, employees produce less to attain the same level of performance.  Consequently, Seminole State’s chances of attaining organizational goals are weakened.

More Frequent Appraisals

If an employee’s performance needs improvement, establish a timeframe for corrective action and re-evaluation.  Discuss performance expectations, actions the employee should take to meet those expectations, and a specific time when you will re-evaluate the employee’s performance.