The Importance of Employee Evaluation

Elizabeth Roelands

Writing Project: Employee Evaluation

Scholarship Application: Grapevine Evaluations

June 25, 2014

The Importance of Employee Evaluation

    In any business, it is important that employers and employees both have confidence in the business they work for. The employer needs to know that his product is sound and the business is profitable and honest, and that he can trust the staff that work for him. The employee needs to know that the business is a good one that will pay him appropriately for his work, and value his time and effort. Through the process of employee evaluations, both of these needs can be met, and evaluations will contribute to a positive and healthy work environment for all. Employee evaluations have the potential to ruin a business relationship, by holding employees under intense scrutiny, but, if handled properly, they are an important aspect of the trusting relationships that should be built in the work place.

    Ideally, employers should have a good relationship with the people they hire, and choose wisely from applicants so that they can trust their staff. However, this trust needs to be earned. When beginning a new job, most of us are put on probation for a short period of time to test our skills and ensure reliability. During this time, it is important that the employer tells the employee his opinion of the work being done, so that the employee is not lost in uncertainty and nervousness about whether or not he will be able to keep his job. At the end of each week, the employer could take a few minutes to discuss the work the employee is doing, what is being done well, and what could be improved in the future. In this manner, new employees can find out the best ways to do their job well, accomplishing assigned tasks in a satisfactory manner. Doing this, the employer will establish good lines of communication with his employees from the inception of their service in his company.

   

    Even employees that have been with a business for a while, having successfully passed through the probationary period, should have evaluations to let them know if their work is satisfactory or if improvements need to be made. If the employer has been evaluating his staff from the start date of their employment, evaluations could be done less often later on in their term of employment. Knowing that his staff are trustworthy, the employer could do monthly evaluations with long term staff, just to keep them up to date on how they are doing, and continue the good communication between members of the team.

    In an effort to create good relationships between the employer and employees, there should also be opportunities for the employees to evaluate their boss. While rude behavior and excessive criticism are unnecessary and nearly intolerable, there should be allowance made for constructive criticism. Everyone makes mistakes, including employers, and an employer should be just as willing to make improvements to his own workplace behavior as he is eager to correct the errors of his employees.

   

    Evaluations give everyone an opportunity to contribute their suggestions and ideas, which will build a strong team. If we can offer our input, we feel more valued, and if others respond to our input, to put it into action, we feel as though we have made a difference. A workplace that allows input is a stronger one, uniting the members of the team to each other, and giving everyone a chance to serve the whole in a way that matters.

    We all spend half or more of every day at work. It is therefore of the utmost importance to have a positive work environment, because life is utterly depressing when spend in a negative place with people that are over critical or difficult to get along with. We all have to work together to improve the workplace for the benefit of all, and evaluations are an important part of that. Through periodic constructive criticism in the form of weekly, biweekly, or monthly employee or employer evaluations, we can build trust and positive communication in the workplace, for the benefit of all who spend time in that environment, whether it be members of the work team, or clients, patrons, or customers who use that service or product. A positive attitude, built upon good communication, constructive criticism, and good responses to that criticism, is important for the success of any business. Evaluation definitely has the potential to either make or break the workplace environment, but, if approached with a proper attitude of fraternal correction, evaluation becomes a great aid to the unity and strength of any organization.