Do Managers Hate the Performance Evaluation

Managers hate going through the performance evaluation process with their direct reports because; 

Firstly, managers are human. The human nature dictates that people do not like having their defections pointed out and managers would rather not give the negative response. In most cases the responses are taken negatively by the employees and most may think the managers are biased. Based on gender differences too, the employees may take the criticism as gender bias and even personal. For fear of such negative reception, managers prefer not to give performance evaluations directly. According to an article in Forbes, female reviews are more likely to be critical, unlike men (Pozin, 2014). 

Similarly, performance reviews tend to bring negative performance in the company in the future. Criticism demoralizes employees who and up putting less effort into their work. Therefore, the managers would rather work on the company’s profitability rather than the value of performance reviews. The most important phase of appraisal is a conversation in which managers prefer to indulge in. They would rather have expectations and aspirations talks with their employees on how to realize the companies goals. Managers prefer discussions and talks during meetings (Kamat, 2017). 

Also, preparing performance reviews consumes a lot of time. Review processes are hard to master, and most companies tend to modify the reviews to fit in the new concerns from time to time. It is tedious for the managers to learn the new review process whenever and be able to evaluate some performance reviews for the entire company. A lot of time is wasted while the managers are stuck in learning their way around the new process. 

Lastly, reviews tend to focus so much on the negatives which make appraisal less accurate because the negatives loom the positives. This way even performance is affected negatively. So, managers would rather not evaluate performance reviews for this reason too. 

Apart from being conversational in the workplace, managers are also expected to have the following traits; 

A good manager should be able to adapt to any new circumstance that may arise in future. Businesses do not normally turn out as expected but with a good manager who is flexible and can easily adapt to new scenarios, the company will be successful (Sineriz, 2018). The manager’s ability to adapt will ensure that he can lead the entire team to victory. Such manager will be able to solve any problems encountered on the way. 

Secondly, a good manager has good networking skills. He/she should be able to relate to the employees and potential clients (Sineriz, 2018). Building good relationships at workplace ensure the employees work more effectively because they feel appreciated and included as team players in the company. Apart from the good rapport, the managers also ensure that through networking the employees develop and improve their skills further which benefits the company at the end of the day. Furthermore, a good manager should be a good leader. Good leadership skills include; the ability to delegate responsibility, direct and inspire trust among the team players. Good leadership simplifies and perfects work. 

However reviewing process may be tough for some managers, there is a profile for those who struggle so much with the evaluation process. Managers are expected to learn as fast as possible and be able to deal with reviews or the alternative methods of appraisal available. There are evaluation forms available to guide the managers through this process. 

For a successful employee performance process, the manager should be able to address certain issues such as; 

Avoiding gender bias during appraisals and giving feedback on employee reviews. Gender discrimination has been such a problem in many organizations. Thus the manager should be bias-free and analyze the employees’ performances from a common ground. Also, the manager should be specific when addressing the employees on their specific reviews. Other than generalizing a scenario, the manager should be precise and give the review based on the overall picture rather than a specific period. For example, if an employee cloaked in late once the manager should address that specific time rather than indicating that the employee is normally late for work. 

That aside, the manager is also expected to be inclusive in his/her reviews. Feedback and contribution from other team players on each employee should be considered to get a more accurate performance review of a particular employee. The manager is expected to take time to compile the reviews including cooperating with employees to come up with accurate data (Green, 2011). 

Evaluation form 

Employee Name…….. Department……… Review period…….. 

The properties included in the table all relate to working variables which ensures that the ratings can provide quantifiable data to help rate the overall performance of the employees. Also, review period is indicated to ensure that data collected is from a reasonable period which can be quantified and the data is not based on a short period while the results are treated as from a long time frame. 

References 

Green, A. (2011, December 15). 10 Ways Managers Botch Performance Evaluations . Retrieved from QuickBase: 

https://www.quickbase.com/blog/10-ways-managers-botch-performance-evaluations 

Kamat, S. (2017, February 23). 5 Reasons Why Some Managers Dread Performance Appraisals . Retrieved from HuffPost: 

https://www.huffingtonpost.in/work-better-training/5-reasons-why-some-managers-dread-performance-appraisals_a_21719978/ 

Pozin, I. (2014, December 10). Why Everyone Hates Performance Reviews And How To Fix Them . Retrieved from Forbes: 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ilyapozin/2014/12/10/why-everyone-hates-performance-reviews-and-how-to-fix-them/ 

Sineriz, M. H. (2018, June 29). Characteristics and Attributes of a Good Manager . Retrieved from Chron: 

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/characteristics-attributes-good-manager-34592.html