Keep staff on track with an employee appraisal system

Regular employee evaluations - and employee appraisals - are the key to keeping your staff on track to meet all sorts of performance goals, says Mark Berlese of Russo Recruitment.

"When you get a new staff member, you want to keep them," he says. "Delivering on what's promised in the job interview and creating the right cultural environment is important and, in the long run, will make you an employer of choice."

So what's the best way to handle an employee evaluation?

Do it frequently 

Mark says that at Russo Recruitment every employee has a monthly appraisal. "It's a chance for us to sit down and discuss what has been going on over the past few weeks," he says.

Regular meetings such as this take the emphasis away from pay and working conditions, which can often become the central issues if you only do employee appraisals once a year. 

By holding regular employee evaluations, an annual performance review should hold no surprises for either you or your employees.

"Issues get dealt with at the time, rather than saving everything up for the end of the year. This means that problems do not fester but are fixed swiftly," he says.

Three key steps 

Mark suggests that an employee appraisal should not just focus on the negative aspects of someone's performance, but should also highlight the positives. He breaks the process down into three key steps: 

• Keep - Keep up the good work. Highlight things the employee is doing well and encourage them to maintain progress.

• Stop - Let the employee know about any issues of concern and what you would like them to stop doing. For example, regularly turning up late or not paying attention to workplace safety rules.

• Start - Focus on things the employee can do to improve their performance and skills. For example, you may wish an employee to take part in further training, take on new responsibilities or perhaps start a new project.

Offer incentives 

Job-related incentives can keep your staff engaged, challenged and happy at the end of the day. This can be as simple as recognising a job well done, providing interesting and challenging work or listening to ideas and encouraging team spirit. 

In the end, an employee appraisal should give both sides a chance to move away from day-to-day business issues and focus on what is best for both the business and the individuals concerned. 

A wise investment 

Regular employee evaluations may make the difference between a workplace where employees turn up merely to earn a pay packet and one where everyone strives to improve their skills (and the performance of your business at the same time). 

For expert advice on employee appraisal and employee evaluation, talk to an employment services professional in your area: