This week I read a few discussion boards that were discussing the differences between observations and perceptions and it got me thinking about how these two ideas apply in the classroom.  As a trainer, you are often asked to provide assessments(your perceptions) of staff’s ability to do perform....read more

Performance reviews are no fun. Whether they’re annual reviews with a manager or 360 peer reviews, they’re unwelcome aspects of any job. Although 360 reviews seem like they would be the perfect complements to standard annual reviews, they have the potential to wreak havoc on morale, productivity and...read more

In times when every penny counts, there is more demand on training managers to “prove” that training has paid off. Most organizations follow Kirkpatrick’s 4 Levels of Evaluation: The immediate feedback: The smiley sheets at the end of the training program where participants respond to questions on...read more

Performance appraisals give an employee and his/her manager a chance to take time out from their day, once or twice a year, to go over the performance of the employee. It's important to take the time not only because the manager provides important feedback to the employee but because the employee...read more

What is it about annual job performance appraisals that makes employees and managers alike dread them more than a visit to the dentist? According to a post on the New York Times' Well blog, one reason annual performance appraisals are dreaded, especially by employees, is because they're too...read more

For many managers and owners, figuring out how to evaluate staff performance can be a very challenging task. Depending on the size of the business and how closely workers interact with their managers on a daily basis, staff evaluations can make for an uncomfortable work environment. However, if...read more

In an earlier post, we discussed the value of finding employee evaluation software to make performance reviews more comfortable for both parties. While a manager's unbiased thoughts are the center of employee reviews, there is another very strong opinion that can contribute to this conversation: the...read more

In one of my recent posts, I explored the value of conducting employee training surveys to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of your company's training program. While understanding how well you are preparing your workers for their responsibilities is crucial, checking to make sure they are...read more

Not many of us enjoy our annual job performance reviews. Unfortunately, the time of year is upon most of us when we sit down with supervisors and review our work from the past year. There are some things managers can do to make employment review forms more energizing for both your employees and...read more

When you first start a survey program, whether it's a job evaluation and employee review form, an internal customer service survey or a public opinion poll, you have a lot of decisions to make. You need to select a survey method, survey system, sample size... And you have yet to write a question....read more