Avoid These 8 Pitfalls

You'll learn how to avoid eight performance evaluation pitfalls in what I think is the best chapter of the book "The Essential HR Handbook," written by Sharon Armstrong and Barbara Mitchell.

If you are a leader and it's time to conduct an employee evaluation, Armstrong and Mitchell caution you to watch for these pitfalls when making your evaluation:

Clustering everyone in the middle performance-rating categories
Overlooking flaws or exaggerating the achievements of favored employees
Excusing substandard performance or behavior because it is widespread
Letting one characteristic - positive or negative - affect your overall assessment
Rating someone based on the company he or she keeps
Rating someone based on a grudge you are holding
Rating someone based on a short time period instead of the entire evaluation period
Rating everyone high, to make you look good

There's other great information in this 250-page book that is valuable for any manager, and especially good for managers who are new in their leadership position.

When Armstrong isn't writing books, she's reading. One of her favorite books is "The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave," written by Leigh Branham of the company Keeping The People, Inc., based in Overland Park, KS.

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