Employee Performance Reviews are Imperative – Wed Mar 29 22:32
Tamara Nelson

I will argue that conducting effective periodic performance evaluations is a crucial practice that businesses must participate in for the benefit of their employees and their business’s success.  I will argue that the benefits of completing performance evaluations outweigh the potential legal ramifications and that they are worth the extensive time and effort taken by mangers to complete them.  I am studying business with an emphasis in Human Resources, so this topic is very relevant to my major because performance evaluations are a hot topic in the HR world.  The topic of performance evaluations has recently been discussed among the members of my own management team at the credit union where I work.  Our corporate attorney and members of the senior management team are focused on the legal consequences of improperly written and inaccurate reviews, but I want them to understand the true purpose of completing reviews and the benefit to the employee and ultimately, to our credit union.  I will actually be making a decision about whether or not to continue with the practice of conducting annual performance evaluations in the near future, so this will be a great opportunity for me to do some formal research and be able to present the information not only to my professor, but also to my boss. 

The first point I will focus on the fact that employees value performance evaluations.  As an employer considers whether or not to conduct periodic performance evaluations, they must not only consider the potential liability for the company, but also the morale of the employees, especially those high-achievers who seem to value performance reviews the most.  My second point will be one that managers may not like. I will show that an employer is wise to require managers to complete formal evaluations of their employees because if they don’t, the manager may not actually ever formally provide feedback for their employees.  The third point I will make is that periodic reviews serve as important written documentation of an employee’s history of performance.  This point will be faced with the most opposition because any written documentation given to an employee can be used as evidence should an employee sue an employer at a later day.  I will need to emphasize the need for proper management training to try to prevent future legal ramifications from poorly written evaluations.

 My audience for this essay will be my classmates and professor of English 123.  The main challenge I will have will be discussing this topic with others who may not have much work experience, and therefore, not much experience giving or receiving performance evaluations.  I will need to be descriptive in my writing to ensure understanding of the benefits to an employer and employee of conducting performance evaluations.  Many employees have not had positive experiences with performance reviews, and inevitably, some in my class may sympathize with that point of view.  It will be necessary for me to provide supporting evidence showing that the benefits outweigh the negatives for both employees and employers.  Most of my class will be thinking from their personal perspectives of being an employee, so I will need to keep that in mind as I attempt to persuade them to my way of thinking.

My goal will be to convince my class and professor (and ultimately my management team) that annual, or at least periodic performance evaluations are beneficial and that the benefits outweigh the risks.  To be successful, this essay will need to be very convincing.  I will need to find valid research showing that employees are more satisfied with an employer who conducts regular evaluations.  I will also need to be able to prove that there are proper ways in which evaluations should be written in order to prevent legal liability in the case of a disgruntled employee.  The most important aspect of my essay will be proving that evaluations are more beneficial to employees and employers than they are a liability.

I have found three great sources to use in this essay.  My first source, “As companies revamp performance reviews, some changes are falling flat” by Jena McGregor, The Washington Post, June 7, 2016, will be an excellent source for describing and opposing viewpoint and why I disagree with that viewpoint. This source discusses the reasons some large companies have made the decision to revamp or simply do away with performance evaluations and provides evidence showing that the companies have not always seen positive outcomes by eliminating evaluations and that employees have shown dissatisfaction with the changes.  My second source, “Planning for Performance Reviews” by Diane Domeyer, will provide expert input about how to properly prepare for and conduct performance evaluations.  This source will help establish credibly for the importance of providing well prepared evaluations that will benefit both the employee and employer.  My third source, “Budgets, Performance Reviews Make Workplaces Ripe for Hostility” by Dana Wilkie, SHRM, January 10, 2017, will allow me to discuss the potential negative outcomes that may come when performance evaluations are not properly prepared or presented.  These three sources will help me establish a thorough review of the goal and benefits of performance evaluations and why it is more beneficial for a company to perform evaluations rather than to eliminate the practice. 

The first point I will make will be that employees value performance evaluations.  All three of my sources support this key point.  I will be able to provide evidence and examples of how evaluations positively affect good employees and how eliminating evaluations can negatively impact an employer because of the loss of satisfaction high performing employees may feel. The next key point I will make is that it is important to require managers to conduct periodic reviews because it forces them to take the time to reflect on an employee’s performance and give them formal feedback.  My sources support this point by giving examples of the benefits of honest employer feedback.  My sources also point out the likelihood that managers won’t give the honest feedback without the requirement to complete a formal evaluation.  The third point I will make is that periodic reviews serve as regular written documentation of an employee’s history of performance, which is important when considering disciplinary action.  Because my sources support proper training for managers, I will be able to show that that well written documentation can be beneficial to the employee and employer.  It will be very important to focus on the ways in which managers can be trained in order for this point to be convincing.

 It will be imperative for me to provide expert opinion that performance evaluations are beneficial to employees.  Because good employees benefit from reviews, this may be my most valid argument.  I will point out how good employees are essential to a successful business, and therefore, how evaluations are necessary to attract and keep those good employees.  I will also use evidence that shows employers who conduct evaluations have benefitted from the practice.  I feel giving examples of specific companies who have seen positive results will greatly support my argument.  I will also be able to use the example of companies who have decided to do away with reviews and the negative feedback they have received to strengthen my argument.  I will rely on my sources to prove the importance of proper training to ensure the evaluations presented to employees are legally compliant and effective to both the employee and employer.

 To revise my essay, it will be most effective to ask someone who doesn’t share my viewpoint to review it.  This perspective would provide the most valuable criticism as it would allow me to consider the ways my essay is not convincing.  To review proper flow, I will read my essay aloud and also will rely on feedback from my professor to make needed corrections.  I also have found that reviewing an essay backwards sentence by sentence helps me revise for grammatical errors.  I plan to use all three revision methods as I finalize this persuasive essay.

I am used to my own writing style, so I sometimes don’t catch ways in which my writing doesn’t flow as it should.  By inviting feedback from someone else, I can consider their viewpoint and make adjustment accordingly.  Of course, inviting someone who does not share my same viewpoint to review my essay will benefit me by further clarifying points that they may feel are not valid.  I greatly valid third party feedback and will welcome it as part of my revision process.

“As companies revamp performance reviews, some changes are falling flat” by Jena McGregor

The Washington Post, June 7, 2016

From Opposing Viewpoints in Context

It seems this source is arguing for at least some kind of performance review. 

This source is using this evidence to support that argument:

CEB surveyed more than 9,000 managers and employees across 18 countries and found those who worked for organizations that had scrapped ratings from the review process actually scored the performance conversations they had with their managers 14 percent lower.

Without rating to focus on the conversation, Kropp said, managers may feel it’s harder for them to deliver a clear message.

The survey also showed that when companies drop ratings, managers spend less time on performance management.

Personally I believe this source is doing a good job of supporting its arguments by using data collected from reliable and well-known corporations who have experimented with changing their annual performance review processes.

My problem is determining whether or not an annual, or at least, periodic performance evaluations are beneficial to employers and employees.

This is my intended argument: Some form of annual or periodic performance review is necessary and beneficial to both the employer and employee.

I think this source will be very helpful in supporting my argument because it provides data from research and perspectives from well-known companies who have made changes to their evaluation processes.

I think this source will support my other sources because it is not biased and provides well-rounded information on this topic including viewpoints opposing my own.

“Planning for Performance Reviews”, by Diane Domeyer

Women in Business, January/February 2005

It seems this source is arguing about the benefits of effectively preparing for and presenting employee performance reviews.

This source is using this evidence to support this argument:

There is no evidence cited in this article; however, the author is an Executive Director of Office Team, the nations leading staffing service so her opinion holds credibility.

Personally, I believe the source is doing a good job of supporting its argument because examples are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of properly written performance reviews.

My problem is determining whether or not an annual, or at least, periodic performance evaluations are beneficial to employers and employees.

This is my intended argument: Some form of annual or periodic performance review is necessary and beneficial to both the employer and employee.

I think this source will be very helpful in supporting my argument because it provides expert opinion on the benefits of providing employees with a periodic performance review.

I think this source will support my other sources because it focuses on the planning and presenting stages of conducting performance reviews.

“Budgets, Performace Reviews Make Workplaces Ripe for Hostility”,by Dana Wilkie

SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) website, January 10, 2017

It seems this source is arguing that performance reviews can be effective when managers and supervisors have been trained properly about how to complete and conduct them.

This source is using this evidence to support that argument:

Expert advice credited to Norbert “Bert” Alicea, Vice President of Employee Assistance Programs and Work/Life Service at Benefit Solutions for Heath Advocate Inc. including support of training for managers and supervisors about how to properly conduct performance reviews.

Personally, I believe the source is doing a good job of supporting its arguments by citing expert opinion regarding proper training for managers to ensure performance reviews are conducted properly.

My problem is determining whether or not an annual, or at least, periodic performance evaluations are beneficial to employers and employees.

This is my intended argument: Some form of annual or periodic performance review is necessary and beneficial to both the employer and employee.

I think this source will be very helpful in supporting my argument because it acknowledges the risk involved with conducting reviews improperly, but focuses on the benefits of training managers to conduct reviews properly.

I think this source will support my other sources because it is a recent publication from a valuable HR source, SHRM, and contains relevant information supporting the benefits of performance reviews.

 

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