Performance Appraisals Interview

The Interview

For this assignment, I interviewed Aaron, the manager of Ridleys grocery store in Utah. Aaron stated he conducts employee evaluations biannually. When evaluating the employee, he uses 5 different areas (i.e. attitude, performance, timeliness, etc) as benchmark criteria. The employee rates themselves on a scale from 0 to 10 on how well they feel they have been doing. A score of zero points means the employee performed very poorly. A score of ten points means they excelled in the specific area. (Aaron did state he disliked the 10 point system, since it wasn’t truly reflective of actual performance and too wide a margin. He would prefer a smaller set of numbers in the future to decrease the complexity.) After the employee evaluates themselves, they will have an initial interview, lasting about 45 minutes, with their direct supervisor. This supervisor will rate them as well. Lastly, Aaron will have a face-to-face interview with the employee. These typically last 10-15 minutes. Aaron always has a witness present, usually another manager, to protect himself, the company and the employee. At the end, he takes the total of each of the scores. This number, out of the total, is supposed to be reflective of how well the employee is doing.

As a manager, Aaron feels performance evaluations are very important. He states that how a manager handles the performance appraisals reflects what kind of manager they are. To him, a good manager finds ways to inspire and motivate their employees to be better. His idea is if you build up an employee and show them they are valued, even with their weaknesses, they are more likely to stay loyal to and working with the company. Some managers focus only on what is wrong with an employee, and this creates a negative work environment. A manager like this cannot expect much change from an employee if they are constantly criticizing. Aaron also stated that it is okay to have weaknesses. The performance evaluation can help point out areas that need to be worked on. Usually it is quite evident from the benchmark scoring system they have. Together, he will work with his employee to create goals to improve upon their weaknesses. If the employee’s goal does not seem in line with objectives and company goals, Aaron will help assist the employee with more specific goals.

What I found interesting is Aaron looks at each employee and “grades” them against themselves. He doesn’t compare them to others. He knows each employee has their own circumstances, strengths and weaknesses. He feels it important to gauge them against themselves and their own personal practice of work. This way, it is fairer to the employee. Of course, if an employee is blatantly disobeying rules and consistently failing to meet expectations, then disciplinary action will follow. (He mentioned this part is important to document all warnings and have the employee sign each one. This helps protect the company from law-suits in the future. It also gives the employee rights as well.)

What I Learned

Aaron, seems to be a very understanding manager to me. I felt he was very aware of his managerial position and what his job description entailed.  He was up-to-date and familiar with current practice regarding the law and what it mandates. He had another witness present to protect himself and the employee’s rights. He viewed performance appraisals as a time to look at weaknesses and turn them into strengths. Even if an employee continued to perform poorly in an area such as sales, but were trying their best, Aaron would look and see if there was another position in the company where this employee would be more effective. I really admire his leadership style.