Employee appraisal: Simple instead of complicated with this checklist

There are many reasons for an employee evaluation: At the end of the probationary period, you need to check whether you want to keep the employee or not … You want to pay your employees according to their performance… You want to know whether and to what extent individual employees need further training… You need to prepare a reference.

Use this checklist to conduct employee appraisals correctly

Your goal: to assess employees as objectively and fairly as possible and to grade their performance and qualifications.

In larger companies, there are often standardized employee appraisal systems that use software to help you assess employees correctly. But ultimately, your assessment as a manager is also decisive here.

You can use the following checklist to prepare perfectly for such an interview.

For handling:

• Rate each performance characteristic with a school grade.
• Then form an average value.
• “Outliers” downwards and upwards are of particular importance for the topics of further training and report card.

Checklist: Employee appraisal

For managers also:

Tip: Good preparation is essential to ensure that your appraisal discussions with your employees are effective, conflict-free, and motivating.

Use the following checklist to help you prepare:

Checklist: Preparation for the appraisal interview

• Do you inform your employees in good time about the upcoming interviews?
• Do you explain the purpose of these discussions to your employees?
• Do you inform your employees about the criteria you use for your assessment?
• Do you arrange the meeting with the respective employee with adequate advance notice, at least one week in advance?
• Do you recommend that your employees prepare for the interview?
• Do you give your employees the appraisal sheet well in advance of the interview so that your employees have enough time to prepare and self-assess?
• Are the characteristics you use to evaluate your employees understandable and transparent so that your employees can easily comprehend them?
• Do you base the interview on your systematic assessment throughout the year?
• Can you substantiate your assessments with specific examples of behavior and cases?
• Have you identified a maximum of 2 to 3 points from your appraisal for each employee where there is a need for change?
• Do you reserve sufficient time for each appraisal interview (one to 2 hours)?

Tips:

• If you are conducting appraisal interviews for the first time, you should prepare your employees in detail for the interviews.
• It is best to prepare a short presentation and present the appraisal sheet to your employees.
• Explain why you are using which appraisal criteria.

Above all, show the employees what opportunities there are for them in a regular employee appraisal, for example:

• Clear feedback
• Promotion
• Opportunities for potential development
• Identifying the need for further training, etc.

Allow questions and take away any fears your employees may have, such as the fear of being transferred or dismissed if they receive a bad evaluation. Use employee appraisals as a meaningful and efficient management tool.