Performance Evaluation: A Journey With Regular Checkpoints

The best performance reviews are not an event, but an opportunity to help employees set goals and provide feedback to stay on course.

As program manager for the state of Tennessee's performance management system, I sometimes encounter managers' reluctance to assess employees' performance. Common reasons include too little time, ratings appearing meaningless, or discomfort discussing performance. And too often, managers see performance appraisals as a single event at the end of the y