Writing Performance Reviews: A Write It Well Guide

Writing Performance Reviews

A Write It Well Guide

by Natasha Terk

2012 Edition

Write performance objectives, reviews, appraisals, and other performance documentation that is clear, descriptive, objective, and acceptable in today’s workplace.

Copyright © 2009, 2012 by Write It Well

Publisher:

Write It Well

PO Box 13098

Oakland, CA 94661

Phone: (510) 868-3322

www.writeitwell.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as expressly permitted by the applicable copyright statutes or in writing by the publisher.

Acknowledgements:

Author— Natasha Terk

Contributing author— Megan Willis

Original edition —

1994

, Janis Fisher Chan and Diane Lutovich

Editor — Paul Sterman

ISBN 13: 978-0-9824471-9-2

Third edition,

2012

To order the print version of this e-book, visit www.writeitwell.com.

Advisors and contributors:

Many of the examples and exercises in this book were developed by contributing author Megan Willis, Senior Professional in Human Resources and Independent Human Resources Consultant.

The following Human Resources and Organizational Development Professionals reviewed this book in manuscript form:

Anna Bray, Training and Development, Appraisal Institute

Lisa Bretones, Global HR Design, McDonald’s Corporation

Jonathan Hughes, Director and Business Litigator, Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin, PC

Belva Jennings, Talent Development and Training, Unum

Bruce Lundgren, General Manager, HR Operations, Chevron

Alyson Margulies, Organizational Management and Development, PepsiCo

Craig Pampeyan, Director, Business Operations, Hewlett-Packard

Maxine Saunders, Training and Employee Development, Office of Human Resources, Department of Housing and Urban Development

Jill Silva, Senior Human Resources Director, Sybase, Inc.

Thanks also to Janis Fisher Chan, author and instructional designer; Lee Walker, design consultant; Richard Arthur; and Greg Terk.

Publications by Write It Well include the following books, e-books, and e-learning modules:

Professional Writing Skills: A Write It Well Guide

Reports, Proposals, and Procedures: A Write It Well Guide

Land the Job: Writing Effective Resumes and Cover Letters

Develop and Deliver Effective Presentations

Writing Performance Reviews

Write It Well offers a variety of customized on-site and online training courses, including the following:

Essential Grammar

Effective Email

Professional Writing Skills

Writing Performance Reviews

Writing Resumes and Cover Letters

Advanced Business Writing: Reports, Proposals, and Presentations

Train-the-trainer kits are available to accompany our books Professional Writing Skills, Effective Email, Writing Performance Reviews, and Essential Grammar.

The facilitator kits prepare you to use these books as textbooks for customized trainings. Write It Well can also customize an online or on-site training to cover any specific writing skill or skills your organization needs.

Bulk orders are available for our books and facilitator kits. For more information, please visit www.writeitwell.com and click Contact Us.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Why This Book

Performance Management and Evaluation

About This Book

Before You Begin

Caution!

1. Writing Performance Objectives and Standards

2. Criteria for Acceptable Performance Documentation

3. Using Descriptive Language

4. Explaining and Supporting Evaluations and Decisions

5. Writing Specific, Complete Descriptions

PROGRAM REVIEW

Sample Documentation for Practice

Sample #1

Sample #2

Sample #4

Focus on Your Development

Action Planning

Learn More about Communicating in Writing

Resources Consulted and Recommended for Continued Learning

ABOUT WRITE IT WELL

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

INTRODUCTION

Why This Book

As a manager or supervisor, one of your most important jobs is to make sure your employees are doing the right work in the right way. That job includes helping employees improve their performance and, when it’s appropriate, helping them achieve their career goals.

The first edition of this book was published in 1994 as Writing Performance Documentation, by Janis Fisher Chan and Diane Lutovich. While many things in the business world have changed in the past eighteen years, the importance of setting clear objectives and conducting thorough, thoughtful performance reviews has not changed.

In fact, well-written, clear, accurate, detailed performance reviews have become even more important as the employer-employee relationship in our society becomes more regulated and as more lawsuits are filed. Performance documentation improves the performance of employees and—if it follows the criteria described in this book—helps protect you and helps you manage legal risks.

In the past eighteen years, more companies have moved their performance-review systems online. These forms and ranking systems have become more complicated. But even though the performance management systems are stored and filed by computers, the feedback that’s essential for performance improvement is generated by real people.

Your company’s performance management process and system are unique. This e-book is not designed to teach you how to use your system. This book will help you understand why it’s important to write performance objectives, reviews, appraisals, and other performance documentation that is clear, descriptive, objective, and acceptable in today’s workplace. The book also offers you tips and tools to do just that.

We are writing-skills experts, and we believe that everything you write is important. When we lead writing-skills workshops, we teach participants to use active, descriptive, specific, clutter-free language. It’s not a coincidence that the same skills are important in both everyday writing and in performance documentation.

Everything you learn or relearn in this e-book also applies to your everyday business writing. You can find ways to improve your general business-writing skills at the end of the e-book. Just look up the heading Learning More About Communicating in Writing in the Program Review.

Performance Management and Evaluation

Clear communication is essential to effective performance management. A primary benefit of the performance planning and evaluation process is that it provides further opportunities to establish and maintain communication with your employees. For example, the process

Helps you make sure that employees know exactly what’s expected of them