Leaders and employees often dislike the employee evaluation process, whether it rolls around every year or more frequently. When employees know they’re being evaluated, they sometimes feel a variety of emotions ranging from anxiety to self-doubt. Leaders of all sized organizations know that employee evaluations often lead to awkward or unpleasant conversations. These evaluations also require managers to take time out of their day and step away from more pressing responsibilities. However, even though evaluations are often disliked by both parties, they’re necessary to running a high-functioning and happy team.

Do people on your team grumble at the thought of employee evaluations? Tanya Hall, CEO of Greenleaf Book Group, says that leaders should remember that rating employee performance isn’t about the rating itself but rather what employees do with the information. Don’t just set out to issue a grade to someone. Figure out what they need to be successful, which will ultimately help your organization succeed.

In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share Hall’s simple tips for maximizing the impact of employee reviews.

Give employees a chance to speak for themselves. As you conduct your reviews, make sure your employees have an opportunity to share their thoughts about their own performances. Encourage them to make their responses specific and actionable, and welcome feedback on how you or the company’s leadership can better support the whole team. Hall makes it a point at her company to conduct performance reviews from the perspective of two people: the employee and the supervisor. The employee can review goals and provide feedback on how they succeeded or where they fell short. The supervisor can then complete the same form and return it to the employee. They meet again to compare evaluations and discuss what the employee can continue or work on and how the leader can help.

Set clear expectations. It’s important in the employee review process for managers to clearly define their expectations. If leaders provide vague or confusing expectations on the evaluation form, the results of that evaluation can slash the confidence that was established during one-to-one meetings. Hall says that even if your evaluation has to work for the whole company across all departments, leaders should still go into detail about their expectations. Provide specific examples of superior performance and be sure to design your rating system with clear levels to indicate whether the employee met, failed to meet or surpassed company expectations.

Take action. Remember that an employee evaluation isn’t an empty exercise or something you must squeeze into your hectic schedule. Hall says every evaluation should conclude with the employee and manager building a detailed, actionable plan. This plan should include the employee’s daily functions and goals to push them to a new level of performance.

While they’re certainly not considered fun, employee evaluations are necessary to help your team improve. By focusing on honesty, actionability and clarity, you can design an empowering and useful evaluation system.

Source: Tanya Hall is CEO of Greenleaf Book Group, a hybrid publisher and creative agency specializing in creating best-selling books and compelling brands for thought leaders. Hall has worked directly with authors to develop publishing strategies, spearheaded Greenleaf’s e-book and digital-first programs, and built Greenleaf’s distribution organization into one of the fastest-growing in the industry.