Have you ever detected a productivity problem in your company and didn't know how to solve it? A good performance evaluation can be the solution to your problems.

A performance evaluation is a system that measures in a very complete and objective way the performance, competencies and productivity of the staff.

Previously, when we talked about job evaluation, we focused only on the fulfillment of the objectives set for each employee. 

Thank goodness, today we have many more variants to evaluate, such as skills, aptitudes, their relationship with the rest of their colleagues and even their mental health.

Do you want to know how to do a job evaluation? Read on!

What is job evaluation?

Job evaluation is the method that allows us to evaluate the productivity, performance, behavior and competence of the team that makes up the organization. 

On many occasions, we let the routine take over the group and suddenly, the negative results start to arrive. 

That's why it's important to make a job evaluation in time to anticipate multiple problems in the future. 

Nowadays, the methods used are so advanced that they give you the possibility to know details as important as:

• Quality of work.

• Communication.

• Teamwork.

• Initiative. 

It's definitely time to keep an eye on what your team does and doesn't do so that you can overcome the crises ahead. 

Benefits of performance evaluation for every business 

The job evaluation allows you to know what goes beyond the results, it gives you an idea of details as simple as the mood of the staff and the skills of each worker. 

Each element can negatively or positively influence the productivity of the company, so it's a tool that you must implement to have everything under control: 

1. Improves productivity

Undoubtedly, this is the first benefit that the performance evaluation gives you. If you apply it properly, you will be able to improve productivity because you will identify the aspects that slow down the company's results.

Not everything is perfect. In a year there are months when things just don't go the way we want them to and there's not always an explanation for this. Consumer habits and the competition itself also have an influence. 

However, with the job evaluation you will be able to have the numbers you need at hand to detect any inconvenience in the organization.

2. Identifies weaknesses

We love this tool because it allows you to anticipate weaknesses in the team. 

Over time, many problems can occur among the members of the same company, so the idea is to detect any glimmer of failure and implement solutions before it's too late.

Among these errors could be a lack of communication, collaborators or employees who only look out for their own interests and even a bad working environment. 

Not everything is the employee's responsibility, you as a leader or business can also fail. 

This can range from personal problems, disagreements in work-related issues to internal elements of the company that can negatively affect the results.

The idea is to detect this in order to make the necessary changes.

3. Gives feedback to the employee

This point is very important, since everything is better when the superior gives feedback on how well or how poorly somebody is performing his/her duties. 

This can be done personally, although nowadays there are companies that send emails to give feedback (avoid this bad practice). 

Unless the entire work team performs their tasks remotely, you will always have a point in your favor if you explain the employee's feedback directly. 

4. Sets new goals

Goals are critical to the company, not only to get results, but to maintain positive expectations in the staff.

By analyzing them and tracking them closely, you'll find out if the company is ready to take a step forward and which goals are in line with your situation. 

5. Creates promotion policies

By doing a performance analysis you will realize who has the greatest potential to move up the hierarchical ladder of the organization. The idea is to give them reasons to want to climb the ladder and for that you can develop a kind of promotion policy. 

This plan will help you create those items that every employee must have to be taken into consideration for a possible promotion. Once you have it, show it to the whole team. It's always a good idea to explain to others that through a work method they will be able to reach management positions, or positions that improve their working conditions within the same company. 

6. Identifies areas that need more training

Just as the performance evaluation helps you to detect positive aspects, you will also find points to improve. 

In this sense, if you see common points in the different areas of the company, the best thing you can do is train the team on those weak aspects you found. 

You can do it on your own or hire an external firm that is in charge of educating the organization on a specific topic. This will be reflected in the company's productivity in the short and medium term.

7. Shows the role of each person in the company

Sometimes you have such a large team that it is normal to forget the role of each person in the organization. 

Yes, it is true that you have an organizational chart at your disposal, but this does not always reflect what role each employee plays. Therefore, it's time to conduct a performance evaluation to see what is happening internally in the company. 

8. Improves recruitment

By doing a performance analysis you will know what is going right and what is going wrong in the team. Staff performance is an indicator that should never be ignored if we want to have a solid and cost-effective company. 

Once you detect the flaws, you will be able to establish an adequate profile of the ideal candidate, which will help you to improve your recruitment processes in the future. 

Performance evaluation methods

Performance evaluation is the responsibility of the human resources department. This office must determine which is the most appropriate method to study the numbers of the work team.

Nowadays, there are different types of evaluation methods that you have to analyze before getting started:

1. Self-assessment

Let's start with the most common test of all, which is the self-assessment. This is the occasion when the employee evaluates himself/herself according to previously established parameters. 

In most cases, the person is asked, once he/she has the numbers, to prepare a report with the results obtained.

This is a good way to introduce the team to an evaluation policy, but it must be understood that the results can be very subjective because each person analyzes him/herself.

2. 90º

The 90º performance analysis is carried out by the employee's direct superiors.

Ideally, the evaluation should be scheduled so that the boss is attentive to the behavior of his subordinate and can then reflect the numbers in the report. 

It's important that you understand that it should not be intimidating; in fact, the more feedback there is, the more likely it is that the person will understand what he or she is doing wrong.

However, it's critical that you do not rely on this insight alone, as it can be biased and very subjective. 

3. 180º

In the 180º evaluation, the co-workers themselves evaluate each other, just as you read it. 

It's usually performed among workers who share the same functions or are on a similar level. We all know that people behave in one way or another depending on who is next to them, especially if it's a superior. 

With this analysis, opinions will be much more varied and you will be able to draw more accurate conclusions.

4. 270º

We now move on to the 270º method. If the 180º analysis caught your attention, this one will surprise you even more. 

It's about the opinion of subordinates. Let's see, how many times have you complained about your boss to your roommates? Well, now you will be able to give your opinion without any restrictions.

The idea is to form a vision of what is happening in order to communicate it in the best way possible. Note, these are not destructive criticisms, it's only to give your opinion about your work qualities, so personal problems should be left aside.

5. 360º

Finally we have the 360º evaluation. Let's say it is when you take into account the opinion of superiors, colleagues and subordinates, so that you can summarize the qualities of that specific employee. 

The idea is to eliminate this paradigm that only bosses can give their opinion about workers. Everyone should feel free to make comments to generate positive feedback. 

The best thing to do is to apply each one and then establish some parameters to evaluate your work team in the most objective way. 

How to execute the performance evaluation?

Performance evaluation is an activity that you must implement in your organization if you want to know how your staff is doing at all times. 

The good news is that you already know about the most commonly used methods, it's just a matter of choosing the ones that fit your team. 

1. Choose the indicators

That's right, the first thing you need to do is choose the right metrics. Nowadays there are many metrics that give you clues about the state of the team. 

You can choose from competencies, results achieved, leadership skills, problem solving and the opinion of others. 

Take into account what human resources managers tell you, because the success or failure of the evaluation will depend on it.

2. Select the right method

Depending on the indicators you have chosen, you will have to opt for one method or another. 

The number of workers will also be a factor to evaluate, since it's not the same to analyze 100 people as 2, so if you have a very small team you will have to choose a method such as the 90º method.

As you know, the important thing is to talk to the human resources team to make the right decision.

3. Create the instrument

When we talk about instruments we mean how you will do the actual evaluation. The methods give you the GPS, but then it's up to you how you will execute it. 

Here you will add the parameters to study, the scale from 1 to 10, questions to ask and much more. In a nutshell, it's the format that will help you study each member of the team.

4. Follow up

Have you already done the study? It's time to follow up with each worker. Maybe the results you got are the right ones, but you still need to study each number to see the evolution of the work team.

Don't take anything for granted, numbers can speak, but that doesn't mean you should mistreat someone if they have negative results. 

The best thing about performance evaluation is that it allows you to give the feedback that everyone needs. There's nothing like receiving encouraging comments from our superiors, so it's time you put it into practice.

5. Analyze the results

If you already have the results, it's time to take a look at them as objectively as possible. Don't just focus on the numbers, but on everything that is behind each worker. 

Also evaluate the situations that each person is going through. You never know if a member is grieving, has problems at home or something else. 

Does this affect their performance at work? Of course, because we are not machines, we are human beings with feelings, fears and expectations. 

We hope that with this article you can make a job evaluation as accurate as possible to know where your company is heading. 

Do you already have the right format to study your team? Leave it in the comments, we want to know about it.