From: Staffing
Performance Appraisal Checklist
- Schedule the performance appraisal well in advance. Let the employee know if he/she is required to prepare anything for the appraisal meeting such as:
- Accomplishments of the past year/ appraisal period;
- Developmental goals for the coming appraisal period;
- Area of most improvement for the past appraisal period;
- Training needs or desires;
- Performance goals for the upcoming appraisal period;
- Any other materials that are important to consider when constructing the formal appraisal.
- Prepare the written appraisal by:
- Reviewing the personnel and employee relations file for the past review period for any accomplishments, coaching, discipline, training events, etc.;
- Soliciting feedback from other managers, leads, or project managers;
- Focusing on the key areas of the review and provide succinct, example-based commentary to support your ratings, noting additional examples that you can refer to during the meeting, if needed;
- Identifying areas of continuing development for the coming appraisal period;
- Considering that nothing should be a surprise, decide whether to add items to the review that have not been addressed directly with the employee;
- Asking the employee to provide a self-appraisal; and
- If applicable in your organization, include the 360 degree reviews from employees or managers in the process.
- Discuss the appraisal with the employee by:
- Scheduling the review well in advance and blocking time so that the review is not interrupted;
- Providing a verbal agenda of the meeting;
- Providing a copy of the appraisal to the employee at the start of the meeting and allowing the employee time for review;
- Explaining the review, highlighting the most important areas;
- Discussing the goals for the upcoming appraisal period;
- Soliciting the employee’s interaction and feedback;
- Informing the employee that he/she is welcome to submit a response in writing if desired;
- Setting dates for follow-up meetings with the employee during the upcoming appraisal period, if applicable;
- Agreeing to the future performance goals and developmental plans for the next review period; and
- Providing the employee with a signed copy of the review for his/her records.
- After the meeting:
- Add notes regarding the meeting to the employees file if needed;
- Make any agreed-upon edits from the meeting to the review;
- Add scheduled follow-up meetings to your calendar;
- Update the HRIS, if applicable; and
- File the signed and delivered appraisal in the personnel file.