by Martin Jacobs

Created on: March 23, 2009

Should Employee Performance Reviews Be Abolished?

I would have to come down on the "no" side on this one. I have been on both sides of the review; giving and receiving and have to say in this case it is far better to give than receive in most cases.

Anyone who has ever written a performance review for an employee knows that it takes time to do; time that might, in some cases, be better spent working with your employees to train them and help them learn whatever system they are working in and with. On the other hand it helps the supervisor or team leader better gain an understanding of their subordinates' abilities. You can look back over their performance over a period of time and see where they have improved and where they haven't. If there are areas where the employee needs to improve then the supervisor can work with them in those areas to make them a better worker and thus an asset to the company.

If a performance review is done right; for the right reasons and in the right way it can be a great asset to the company as a whole and to the individual supervisor.

I always dreaded those quarterly review times as a supervisor because I knew that somewhere along the line I was going to have to give someone a bad rating on something and didn't want to be the one to deliver bad news. On the other hand I always tried to be fair when I did it so that the person I was rating could improve. I always made it clear to my subordinates that it wasn't a personal judgment or anything of the sort but a rating of their job performance and that it was as much for their good as the company's.

From a supervisory standpoint it can help the immediate supervisor see what areas the employee is weak in and how to best improve them in that area. It can also help the department head or the company head decide where they can best use the employee based on their strengths as well as weaknesses.

I have seen employees get extremely angry over a performance review that wasn't to their liking because it either kept them from getting a raise they felt they deserved; got them a smaller raise than what they felt they deserved or showed some weakness in their job performance.

On the other hand I have seen employees who appreciated the review even if it did show a weakness because it DID show them where they could improve. These latter were the people who really wanted to improve themselves and do better. They wanted to learn whatever jobs they were doing for the good of the company and for their own good as well.

From an employee standpoint the review can show where you are weakest in your job performance and help you get better at your job. It isn't always a bad thing to have a low rating on a review either. No one is perfect. A bad section on a review can show a weakness and if the employee is willing to improve then later the benefits will surface in their career. I've gotten bad reviews as an employee and always tried to use them to improve on my weaknesses. It made me not only a better employee for the company I was with but taught me something that I could use when I went elsewhere as well.

A performance review can be a good thing for everyone if it is done right and for the right reasons. I know that they can be ego-busting in some cases but they can also be character building. In some cases they can even prevent accidents or mishaps on a job site. Use the review to improve the company and the employee.

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