As an employment attorney, I am often called upon to speak on evaluation dos and don’ts, and I always stress the importance of common sense in the process.
While laws may evolve over time, there are some simple tips that remain always true. These can help you help your employees to be more successful on the job.
- Evaluations should be conducted with the goal of helping employees, rather than being a basis for getting rid of bad employees. Plan out what you want to say before meeting with an employee to review their evaluation. This may include talking points or an outline of what you want to say.
- Tell the Truth. Don’t try to sugar coat the news if your employee is having a problem, but use non-judgmental language to set a road map to improvement.
- Give concrete examples to back up your evaluation.
- Don’t wait to the end of the year to discuss if an employee needs improvement.
- Know when to call your employment attorney if you have a question about how to address a given issue, or it’s time to update your employee handbook.
The Eastern Pennsylvania Employment Log (EPELog) is a publication of the KingSpry Employment Law Practice Group. Jeffrey T. Tucker, Esquire, is our editor-in-chief. EPELog is meant to be informational and does not constitute legal advice.
