February 8th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
As an instructor, I evaluate personnel all the time, usually whether I believe the person will effectively use the software that I teach. Last week I received evaluations of myself from the boss and others. Of course most comments are positive, but some types of comments are better than others.
When you evaluate, be objective as possible. Can someone who holds a different general opinion of the person you are evaluating see the behavior you see? Objective behavior analysis protects you from harassment charges if you are involved in hiring and firing people.
Having listed an objective behavior, can you suggest an improvement to that behavior? Sometimes the “preferred behavior” that comes immediately to you doesn’t come to other people, or the “preferred behavior” has a nasty disincentive for that person. This helps the person improve as well as helps you identify things that can be changed. It also conveys the sense that you care about the person, even when you may not. 
If you have something good to say, emphasize behavior that can be repeated. Otherwise you leave the employee guessing as to what you thought was good, and that can take them in an unexpected direction.
Good: “He will find the answer, if he does not know it himself, and will communicate it quickly back to the users.”
Not so good: “He is smart.”
As your company looks back over the previous year to learn for the next, I wish you the best of success and a good merit raise.
(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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