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I took a course on conducting effective performance evaluations yesterday that was being offered. While I have done performance evaluations in the past, and am comfortable doing them, I find I always learn something new or someway I can improve.
There were two discussion points that surprised me. The first was the concept that a performance evaluation is completely separate from an employees career goals and aspirations. The second was that your pay increase or financial incentives were not tied to your performance evaluation.
While both were interesting, I want to focus on the first, the separation of performance evaluation from career goals. While I agree they are different to some extent, the positioning that they are not connected seems wrong. On the template we use for performance evaluations there is an entire section on objectives. These objectives are suppose to be measurable in some way and ideally if you are handling the performance evaluation correctly, the measurement is agreed upon by both the manager and the employee. If your performance evaluation has nothing to do with your career, then these objectives are just objectives the company wants you to accomplish and have nothing to do with your own aspirations or career goals. I think this devalues the performance evaluation for the employee as it only benefits the employer or is more sided to achieving the goals of the company with no consideration of the employees aspirations or goals.
For myself, I feel I have a relationship with the company and that relationship is dynamic, constantly changing and adjusting to the environment, goals and situations of the company, goals and situations of the individual. Like all relationships, there has to be some mutual agreed upon benefit for all parties for the relationship to work. Over the last two years, I have specifically managed my own objectives to improve my career. If someone is looking to improve their career in someway, get a promotion, obtain a opportunity in a new area, it makes sense to align your performance objectives with that goal. When you apply for a new opportunity, at some point in an interview, they will probably ask you what you have done that you feel makes you a good candidate for the position you are applying for. They will be selecting you partially based on this criteria. I know people in my company and outside my company that have used their performance evaluation to do exactly this and it was effective.
While I logically understand how your evaluation of the past year or 6 months has nothing to do with your career goals or aspirations, I find it difficult to accept that setting measurable objectives for the next 6 months to a year has nothing to do with an employees career goals. If that is true, then I guess companies don’t consider your past performance evaluations when you apply for a new position, as they are not connected?
I am no expert in this field of human resources, but I need to research more on this concept. I want to understand if this is limited to my company, certain types of companies, or is some general human resources concept I have just never been aware of. Regardless, if this separation is true, then I think companies have an obligation to have an avenue for career development that is as accountable and measurable in the same manner as performance evaluations are. I do not understand the complete separation of performance evaluations and career goals. To me, they are related. When I have conducted performance reviews, the career goals of the employee usually come up. It is natural and makes complete sense to me they would come up. As an effective manager I feel you have to address this if you hope to have a good relationship with your employees.
