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At many companies, June is the time for mid-year reviews. It lets managers touch base with employees about their performance, creating opportunities to gauge progress toward goals, discuss areas for improvement, and showcase their appreciation for high-quality work.

The issue is, performance evaluations aren’t always particularly effective. If managers use the wrong approach, underperforming employees won’t improve, and top talent may feel undervalued.

Luckily, by adjusting your strategy, it is possible to get more out of performance evaluations. If you aren’t sure where to begin, here are some tips that can help.

Advice For Better Mid-Year Performance Evaluations From TempStaff

Tap on the Past and the Future

In many cases, performance evaluations tend to focus more on the past than the future. Managers review each employee’s successes and failures, at times doing little more than acknowledging the events that occurred.

While that can bring surface-level awareness, they don’t set the employee up for long-term success. Instead, managers should adopt a future-focused mindset and a multi-faceted approach.

First, spend time talking with the employee about any lessons learned from their past experiences. That helps them avoid the same missteps or continue with good habits, both of which are crucial parts of the equation.

Second, speak with the employee about their career goals and aspirations. Find out where they have their sights set, then help them create a plan for moving in that direction. By doing so, you show that you are invested in their future and their success, something that can boost morale, retention, and loyalty.

Skip the Social Comparisons

Ranking your employees or otherwise comparing team members to each other rarely yields positive results. Instead, it can create a culture based on internal competition and may breed resentment among employees who need to work together, harming collaboration.

Additionally, these are backward-focused assessments. They concentrate on who the employee was during an earlier part of the year, not who they are today. This can be harmful, particularly to team members who exhibited substantial growth later in the year.

In most cases, it’s best to keep performance evaluations focused on the individual, not how employees compare to teammates. That way, you avoid some of the contentions that can otherwise arise.

Have Salary Conversations Separately

While it may seem like discussing raises during a performance evaluation makes sense, that isn’t always the case. Making pay-related decisions based on a six-month window doesn’t take into account your entire experience with the employee, which could lead to a less-than-ideal decision about salary.

Instead, view pay discussions as separate events. Consider both an employee’s recent performance as well as their performance over their entire tenure.

Additionally, spend some time research industry norms. See if your salary offerings measure up to competitors based on the duties each position has and the skills and experience it takes to handle them. That way, you can ensure that what you bring to the table in the form of compensation is fair, both from industry standards and a personal performance perspective.

Looking to Improve the Overall Performance of Your Business? TempStaff Can Help!

Ultimately, each of the tips above can help you get the most out of your performance evaluations. Proper evaluations set your business up for success! If you are looking for great employees to help your company reach the next level, get in touch! Contact TempStaff today.


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