Checklist: Employee Performance Evaluation

Scoring a consistent set of criteria rather than relying on a general impression keeps the appraisal objective and fair. It helps you identify both the areas that deserve recognition and the areas where improvement is needed, so you can direct development effort where it will have the most effect. A defined review period also anchors the assessment in observed performance rather than in recent events alone.

The checklist covers the administrative details first: who is being appraised, their personnel number, hire date, employment status, the review period, and who is conducting the appraisal. It then rates attendance, professional knowledge and skills, quality of work, productivity, initiative and commitment, teamwork, team goals, general conduct, and discipline on a 1 to 5 scale. The scores are summed into a total, which feeds an overall performance rating. There is space for special tasks or awards received during the period, general comments on performance, and any agreed development measures with the person responsible and a target date. Signatures then confirm the appraisal.

You record the employee's details and the review period, read the rating criteria carefully, then assign the applicable score from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) for each criterion based on performance observed during the review period. Add up the points to get the total score, and use it to complete the overall performance rating. Then note any special tasks or awards, add your general comments, and set out the agreed development measures with the person responsible and the target date. Finish by having the appraisal signed off.

Because you score each criterion on the same 1 to 5 scale, the points add up to a total score that is comparable across criteria. That total drives the overall performance rating, which gives you a single, defensible summary of the employee's performance for the review period.

You can adapt the criteria and the standards to match your organisation, so the appraisal reflects the ratings your company normally uses rather than a generic scale. Keeping the same criteria and scale for every employee is what makes the results comparable over time.