At some point, employers will have to conduct employee performance evaluations. Although some employees may be nervous about them, employee performance evaluations are quite helpful for them as well as for management. Here, employees are able to get feedback on their performance and ask questions pertaining to their work. Employers are able to get an overall view of how their employee is performing and where they can help them improve. Employers need to take advantage of this time and ask quality questions to ensure that the evaluation is successful for both employees and themselves. Here are the top ten employee performance evaluation questions you should be asking your employees.
- “What do you see as the primary drivers of success in our organization?”
This is a great question to try to find out what employees feel lie contributes to the overall successfulness of your company from their eyes. Sometimes employers can’t see every little thing going on in their company. Because employees don’t have to oversee everything, they can catch those little things. And, of course, good employers want to keep current on what’s working in their company so they can make sure that it keeps happening.
- “What do you see as the top opportunities for us to increase our organizational performance?”
Here you can see what areas of your company need work on or expand on from the employee’s’ perspective. Who else then those working in the trenches, so to speak, can best let you know about what’s happening on the frontlines. When issues arise, they’re the first to encounter them and deal with them. Sometimes issues may not reach upper management, leaving employees feeling like they have to continually put fires out on their own. Employers can take steps to stop chronic problems from happening if they actually know about them.
- “List specific contributions to your team, the company or to a customer.”
One of the main reasons for employee performance evaluations is to, well, evaluate the employee. Asking this question will help you get an idea of the type of worker this employee is and how they contribute their efforts to the overall workplace. This is a good question to ask to possibly discover any good work an employee may have done that you, as an employer, might have not known about earlier. This question also helps employers determine if an employee is worth keeping on as well.
- “How would you describe the corporate culture here? What could you do or what suggestions do you have to improve it?”
Asking this particular question helps you determine what the work environment is like for your employees. This is really important to ask because if employees report an unfavorable climate in contrast to what you’ve been believing the corporate culture has been, then you can take steps to make it better. The second half of the question is also quite helpful because employees can show you what steps they would personally take to improve culture and as a result show their dedication to the company, as well as help you identify possible leaders.
- “In which area(s) would you like to improve?”
Instead of the typical “What are your strengths and weakness?” question, try asking this one. This helps you get an honest answer from an employee on how they see themselves and what they want to improve on. No employee is perfect, but the fact that they want to improve themselves is an indicator of a good employee worth keeping.
- “What are your goals for the next six months/year?”
This question helps employees look within themselves and identify what they want to achieve in the given amount of time. This time frame will help employees measure their successes and goal achieved. Additionally, employers should discuss what they feel should be part of an employee’s goals, both short-term and long-term.
- “What do you feel your greatest success have been over the past 6 months?”
By asking this question, employers can see what a particular employee deems a success, which says a lot about their work ethic. For employees, this question will help them to see what they are contributing to the company in terms of success and could encourage them to become more successful as time goes on.
- “Rate your job satisfaction and describe the things that you feel were the biggest contributing factors to that rating.”
An employee should be able to voice his concerns about his job and the environment around him. If an employee reports something negative, management can take steps to correct it. In the other direction, if an employee is completely happy with everything, management should take note of all the factors that create a positive work environment and ensure that they continue.
- “Do you have questions for me as it relates to your goals and objectives for the next 6 months?”
Here employers can learn about what they can do to help employees better themselves professionally in the workplace. Employees can ask questions about things they may be confused about or would like more information on to become a better worker. Additionally, employees can clearly define what their short-term and long-term goals are at this stage, with the help of the employer.
- “What have I done or can do to help you do your job better? Have I done anything to hinder your job performance?”
Sometimes employers aren’t aware that some of their managing techniques have a great effect on their employees. This can be both positive or negative. Good employers should know how their decisions and actions affect those around them and should strive to be a positive influence. Hearing from employees about what works and what doesn’t is the best way for employers to decide what steps they need to take to be effective leaders
Next Steps To Take
Now that you know what the top ten questions you should be asking your employees are, be sure that you indeed utilize them at upcoming employee performance evaluations. Not only do these questions help employees, but they also help management.
Employers need to effectively communicate with their employees to create a positive work environment and a workplace that promotes unity. K Parks Consulting works with businesses to develop a positive work environment where both employers and employees are happy to work in day in and day out. Schedule a discovery session today to have experienced consulting and discuss what your options are.
Follow KPC on Twitter at @kparksinc and on Facebook at KPC. Connect with the author, Kizzy Dominguez on LinkedIn.