Supervisor Do's and Don'ts for Performance Evaluations

Use this guide to prepare, document, and conduct evaluations that are consistent, evidence-based, and focused on performance and development. The evaluation should reflect the full review period, not just the most recent event. 

In the attachments, there is a PDF version of this guide that can be printed.

 

Table of Contents

 

DO DON'T
Evaluate both what was accomplished and how the work was performed. Base the rating on personality, popularity, assumptions, or intent.
Use observable, job-related examples and patterns of behavior over time. Overweight one recent success, mistake, or isolated incident.
Apply the same performance standards and rating definitions consistently. Change the standard depending on the employee or department.
Connect feedback to the employee's role, responsibilities, goals, and applicable competencies. Rate duties or expectations that were never communicated or are unrelated to the job.
Explain the evidence supporting the rating, especially when performance is notably high or low. Use vague comments such as "great employee," "bad attitude," or "needs improvement" without examples.
Use the evaluation to create clear goals and development priorities for the next cycle. Treat the evaluation as only a score or a once-a-year compliance task.

 

1. Before Completing the Evaluation ⌄
  • Review the employee’s job responsibilities, established goals, prior feedback, and relevant documentation from the entire review period.
  • Identify specific examples of results and behaviors that support your assessment.
  • Use the applicable rating guidance before selecting a rating.
  • Check your evaluation for consistency. Ask: Would I apply this same standard to another employee performing comparable work?
  • Address performance concerns during the year rather than saving them for the annual evaluation.

 

Avoid These Common Evaluation Errors

Recency Bias: Focusing primarily on what happened most recently.
Halo or Horn Effect: Allowing one strong or weak trait to drive the entire evaluation.
Leniency or Severity: Rating everyone unusually high or unusually low.
Central Tendency: Rating everyone in the middle to avoid difficult conversations.
Comparing employees to one another instead of comparing performance to established expectations.
Allowing assumptions, personal preferences, or characteristics unrelated to job performance influence the evaluation.
2. Writing Effective Evaluation Comments ⌄

Use this simple formula to develop clear, meaningful, and performance-focused evaluation comments:

Expectation > Evidence > Impact > Next Step

As you write, ask yourself:

  • Expectation: What was expected?
  • Evidence: What did I observe?
  • Impact: Why did it matter?
  • Next Step: What should continue or change?

Please see the examples below, which demonstrate how to apply this formula when writing performance evaluation comments.

Meeting Deadlines

  • Expectation: Complete assigned work by established deadlines.
  • Evidence: The employee submitted three monthly reports after the established due date.
  • Impact:  The delays required follow-up and affected the department's ability to complete subsequent reporting.
  • Next Step: Submit future reports by the established deadline.

Evaluation Comment: Monthly reports are expected to be completed by the established deadline. During the review period, three reports were submitted after the due date, requiring additional follow-up and delaying subsequent reporting. Going forward, reports should be submitted on time, and anticipated delays should be communicated in advance.

Strong Customer Service

  • Expectation: Provide timely, professional service to customers.
  • Evidence: The employee consistently responded promptly to questions and provided clear information or appropriate referrals.
  • Impact: This helped customers receive accurate information and resolve issues efficiently.
  • Next Step: Continue this level of service and look for opportunities to improve frequently used resources or processes.

Evaluation Comment: The employee consistently provides timely and professional customer service, responding promptly to questions and providing clear information or appropriate referrals. This contributes to efficient resolution of customer needs. Continue this strong level of service while identifying opportunities to improve frequently used resources and processes.

Communication Improvement

  • Expectation: Keep the supervisor and appropriate team members informed of important work updates.
  • Evidence: On several projects, status updates were not provided until the supervisor requested them.
  • Impact: This made it more difficult to determine project status and whether additional assistance was needed.
  • Next Step: Provide regular status updates and communicate anticipated problems or delays proactively.

Evaluation Comment: Employees are expected to communicate important project updates and potential delays. During the review period, status updates on several projects were provided only after follow-up from the supervisor, making it difficult to assess progress and support needs. Going forward, provide regular updates and communicate potential delays proactively.

Attendance and Punctuality 

  • Expectation: Report to work as scheduled and follow established procedures for communicating absences or delays.
  • Evidence: The employee had several instances of arriving after the scheduled start time without providing advance notice.
  • Impact: This required co-workers to provide coverage until the employee arrived.
  • Next Step: Report to work at the scheduled time and notify the appropriate supervisor as soon as possible when an unexpected delay occurs.

Evaluation Comment: Employees are expected to report to work as scheduled and follow established procedures when an absence or delay occurs. During the evaluation period, there were instances when you arrived after your scheduled start time without providing advance notice. This resulted in coworkers providing coverage until you arrived. Going forward, you are expected to report to work as scheduled and notify your supervisor as soon as possible when an unexpected delay occurs.

3. Selecting and Supporting Ratings ⌄

The PERFORM rating scale is designed to distinguish among five levels of performance, ranging from Does Not Meet Expectations to Significantly Exceeds Expectations. Supervisors should apply ratings based on the employee's demonstrated performance throughout the review period and the rating definitions established within PERFORM.

Note:

  • Don’t increase a rating simply because an employee is dependable, well-liked, or has long service unless the rating criteria support it.
  • Don’t use a low annual rating as the first time an employee learns about a significant performance concern.
4. Conducting the Evaluation Conversation ⌄
  • Schedule adequate, interruption-free time for the conversation.
  • Share the overall message clearly. Do not make the employee guess how their performance was assessed.
  • Discuss strengths as well as areas for development.
  • Use examples, then allow the employee an opportunity to ask questions and provide perspective.
  • Keep the conversation focused on work performance and observable behavior. Avoid labels such as “lazy,” “difficult,” or “not a team player.” Describe what occurred instead.
  • End with clear expectations, goals, development priorities, and any follow-up needed.
5. PERFORM System Reminders ⌄
  • Take time to become familiar with the evaluation screen before meeting with the employee.
  • Use the rating guidance available in PERFORM when determining ratings.
  • The PERFORM interface includes panels that can be collapsed to make the evaluation workspace easier to focus on and reopened when guidance is needed.
  • Complete required steps and documentation in the system before advancing the evaluation workflow
Supervisor Final Review Checklist ⌄
  • I evaluated the full review period. (January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026).
  • I used the employee’s job expectations and applicable competencies as the basis for the evaluation.
  • My comments describe observable performance and include meaningful examples.
  • My comments are factual, professional, and free from labels or assumptions.
  • The narrative supports the rating I selected.
  • I applied the rating definitions consistently.
  • Any significant performance concern discussed in the evaluation is supported by appropriate prior documentation and follow-up.
  • I identified clear goals or development priorities for the next review period.
  • I am prepared to explain the rating and have a two-way performance conversation.
  • I reviewed the evaluation for accuracy, professionalism, and completeness before advancing it in PERFORM.

 

When to Contact Human Resources

  • The proposed evaluation rating is inconsistent with prior documentation feedback or corrective action.
  • You are unsure how to document a sensitive performance issue appropriately.
  • You have questions regarding PERFORM, evaluations, training, or implementation.

 

Questions? Contact Human Resources at hr@sfasu.edu and use PERFORM as the subject line.
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