AFTER THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL MEETING
Once you have discussed the performance appraisal with the
employee, the next step is to set objectives and develop action
plans for the upcoming review period. You can do this at the end
of the meeting, or take time to let the employee digest the
performance appraisal, and then schedule a follow-up meeting.
Either way, it’s in your best interest to discuss the employee’s
career interests and personal goals. Help him develop a realistic
plan to meet these goals, along with the goals of your
organization.
Allow time for the employee to add comments to the appraisal
form and sign it. You may need to review the comments with the
employee if new information or emotions are presented. Once
completed, you will also need to sign the performance appraisal.
Retain the performance appraisal in the employee’s file, and
provide a copy to the employee, so he may periodically review his
objectives and ongoing action plans.
ESTABLISHING A PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN
A performance development plan is a tool used to help facilitate
an individual’s professional and personal growth and
development within an organization. Typically written by the
employee and approved by the manager, a performance
development plan states the goals and objectives, along with
“buy-in” from both parties on the required steps to achieve those
goals. Professional development plans can be tracked as a
measure of progress, and can be used as a way to drive
accountability for professional development.
Notes:
Before writing a performance development plan, the employee
must have a goal. Some common reasons for having an individual
performance development plan include:

the employee is in a new job and wants to become
proficient as quickly as possible

he’s having difficulties in his current job, and wants to
improve, or

maybe he’s interested in moving into a new role, and
wants to prepare for that move.
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Paychex, Inc. – Confidential and Proprietary
March 2012
ESTABLISHING A PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN –
CONT.
Notes:
The next step is for the employee to identify the most important
job competencies needed to achieve the goal. Your role, as a
manager, may be to help identify those competencies and the
necessary actions, which might include formal training classes,
coaching or mentoring, shadowing a teammate, or taking on
additional responsibilities outside the scope of his current job.
Once the actions are documented, you can assist the employee
with assigning dates, costs, and accountability to each of the
actions identified. The dates will help you track progress, and you
will need to approve any costs. Both you and the employee should
sign the performance development plan, as a two-way
commitment that you both will put forth the effort to achieve the
desired outcome.
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Performance Appraisals
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Paychex, Inc. – Confidential and Proprietary
March 2012
COMMON ERRORS AND LEGAL
CONCERNS
While preparing the performance appraisal, there are several
potential pitfalls to avoid.
COMMON PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL ERRORS
Mistakes can be linked to the performance appraisal process itself,
or to the person conducting the performance appraisal. Being
aware of some of these common errors can help you be more
effective and avoid potential problems.

No formal policy or process for conducting performance
appraisals. Following a written policy that details the
appraisal process will help ensure consistency, which
may ultimately provide protection against claims of
negligence or wrongful discharge.

Inadequate rating system. A performance appraisal form
that is too complex may lead to misrepresentation and
misuse of the rating tool. Use of subjective criteria may
result in discriminatory performance reviews. Imprecise
measurement systems can make it difficult to
distinguish between performance levels.

Inappropriate time spans. It’s important to look at the
entire review period when evaluating employees. Using
only recent events or incorporating incidents that
occurred during the previous review period may be
considered unfair and may result in lowered employee
morale or possible discrimination claims. If a
performance gap from a previous review period
remains uncorrected, it should continuously be
addressed through the company’s progressive
discipline policy.

Late performance reviews. Many employers conduct
performance appraisals annually. However, when
balancing workplace demands, performance appraisals
sometimes end up at the bottom of the list.
Unfortunately, the message to the employee is clear –
he’s really not that valuable of an asset if you can’t take
the time to evaluate his performance. Late appraisals
can also lessen a manager’s credibility. How can you
expect employee’s to meet deadlines if you can’t meet
them yourself?
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Notes:
Paychex, Inc. – Confidential and Proprietary
March 2012
COMMON PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL ERRORS – CONT.

Waiting for the performance appraisal meeting to discuss
performance. Although you’re using data for the entire
review period, it’s not a good idea to wait until the
review to provide feedback to the employee about his
performance. The performance appraisal meeting is not
the time for surprises!

Inconsistency. Apparent inconsistency can rob the
appraisal process of its legitimacy. It can also increase
the risk of discrimination claims.
Notes:
Being aware of common errors can help the performance
appraisal process go smoothly and be more productive. However,
you, as the manager, can also contaminate the review by falling
prey to any of the following:

Inadequate observation. It’s important that the manager
writing the performance appraisal works closely with
the employee and knows what his key job
responsibilities are.

Halo effect. This occurs when managers let one strong
positive value judgment in one area color their
judgment in other areas. On the flipside, the horns or
pitchfork effect occurs when managers let one strong
negative value judgment influence their judgment in
other areas.

Bias errors. These occur when a manager’s values or
prejudices affect his ability to appraise performance
objectively. Bias errors can occur when a manager:
–
makes a snap judgment based on a first impression
and ignores or distorts the employee’s actual
performance
–
favors employees whom they perceive to be similar
to them
–
assumes that senior employees perform at or above
the expected levels because they are more
experienced, or
–
feels his employees are not entitled to a higher
performance rating than he received.

Stereotyping. Similar to bias errors, stereotyping can
qualify as a form of unlawful discrimination.

Leniency or strictness errors. This occurs when a manager
is reluctant to hurt an employee’s feelings or hurt them
financially (leniency error). Or, in contrast, some
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Performance Appraisals
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Paychex, Inc. – Confidential and Proprietary
March 2012
COMMON PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL ERRORS – CONT.
Notes:

Central tendency error. This occurs when managers avoid
giving very high or very low ratings, since they require
more accountability. This may also happen if the
manager is uncomfortable with the control they
perceive to have over their subordinates’ careers,
thereby rating everyone as “satisfactory” (or meets
expectations).

Contrast error. This occurs when the manager’s rating of
an employee is influenced by the exceptional
performance (good or bad) of others.

Avoiding negative feedback. This occurs when managers
are uncomfortable giving negative feedback. However,
employees need constructive criticism with concrete
examples to improve and develop their skills
appropriately. A glowing review of a mediocre or poor
performer can be problematic later, if you terminate or
otherwise discipline that employee.
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Performance Appraisals
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Paychex, Inc. – Confidential and Proprietary
March 2012
LEGAL CONCERNS
One of the most important reasons to learn how to effectively
write and deliver performance appraisals is to reduce the potential
for lawsuits by employees. Although there are no laws governing
how, when, or even if performance appraisals need to be
conducted, they offer a long-term benefit if done accurately,
consistently, and timely.
Inconsistent performance appraisals that are poorly written, or
poorly conducted, may put your company in jeopardy of costly
litigation. However, accurate job-related performance
documentation can be an employer’s best justification for an
employment decision and a defensible record in claims of:

Discrimination – employment decision-making or
working conditions that are advantageous (or
disadvantageous) to members of one group compared
to members of another group.

Defamation – a false statement that damages a person’s
reputation by inference, made with malice, and results
in injury.

Claims of Negligence – an employer may be judged
negligent if he failed to warn an employee that
discharge was likely. You may be held liable if written or
verbal promises were not kept, or if performance
appraisals were not completed according to company
policy.

Wrongful Discharge – In most states, employment
relationships that are not controlled by a collective
bargaining agreement or another written contract are
considered “at-will.” The risk for wrongful discharge
claims can remain where employers make explicit or
implicit promises for continued employment.
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Notes:
Paychex, Inc. – Confidential and Proprietary
March 2012
SUMMARY
During this training, we discussed the performance appraisal
process, including:

the benefits of having a performance appraisal process

defining job requirements

establishing performance standards

monitoring performance

writing the performance appraisal, and

conducting the performance appraisal meeting.
Notes:
In addition, we talked about common errors and potential legal
concerns when writing and delivering performance appraisals.
Although conducting a thorough performance appraisal takes
time, the rewards can be substantial. On the other hand,
performance appraisals that are poorly written, or poorly
conducted, may put you in jeopardy of costly litigation. You can
help reduce exposure to legal actions by maintaining accurate
records and basing performance appraisals on specific, objective,
job-related behaviors.
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Performance Appraisals
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Paychex, Inc. – Confidential and Proprietary
March 2012
Paychex® HR Solutions
Client Seminar
Information for Managers and Supervisors
Performance Appraisals
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