Perf Eval - ee comments

HR rosie · June 2003

We are in the process of revising our performance appraisal form. I put in a section for "Employee Comments". One of our VPs convinced the President that to allow employee comments was a bad idea because the employee could write negative comments about the company that would become part of the personnel file and if there was ever a lawsuit where the ee's file was subpeonaed, the negative comments would be a part of the file the attorneys could review and use against us. I disagreed and am in the process of searching for documentation and/or recommendations to support my view that to disallow an employee's comments is contrary to the entire evaluation process.

Does anyone have an opinion (or ammunition) they would like to share with me? I would really appreciate it!

HRStaff · June 2003

On our "self evals" we have an area where you can state "What can your supervisor do to better assist you in perfoming your job responsibilities" As far as specific "company" faults, we do not have anything on our evals. Maybe you should set up a "comment" box.

Hope this helps

Mentel · June 2003

We have this on our evaluations. In seven years, only about four people actually filled something in and two were positive and two negative. I think it is important to have it there as an option. It may work in your favor in case of a claim, since all employees are given an opportunity to write something and if they don't take this opportunity, then they don't have much to complain about. It is just one more way to open up communication lines in case there is something out there that you do want to know about (like harassment).

Parabeagle · June 2003

Two observations: One, I think your VP has got a bit of a paranoid streak (justifiably so?)

Second, any executive who doesn't want to hear what employees have to say about the company is hiding his/her head in the sand.

We encourage employee comments (good and bad) during the evaluation period and deal with them constructively. We may not always agree with the employee's comments, but at least he/she feels they've been heard and that in and of itself can help "de-fuse" a potentially volatile (or litigious) situation.

SMace · June 2003

I agree with all the other comments. Without the comment section someone can say they brought up issues that you did not deal with. With a comment section you can refute that claim.

That VP does have his head in the sand. It sounds like there are problems there that no one wants to deal with. And they think if no one says anything on paper we don't have to deal with it. The problems are not going to go away, one day they will explode (union, lawsuit, etc.) If you have a negative comment on a review, you resolve it. If you can't resolve it, you state the business reason behind it and move on. If the person who made the comment can't move on, you move them out.

sandra_d · June 2003

I agree with Parabeagle and really, what difference would it make if there were negative comments about the company in the person's personnel file? They are going to be spoken to the attorney and made a part of the record anyway! I say it's better to have them in the file, especially if you are also able to show that you took his/her concerns seriously and attempted to address/investigate/correct(or whatever)the issues recorded.

ray a · June 2003

When an ee wants to make a "rebuttal" I will attach their comments to the appraisal adding it to their personnel file. Makes them feel better - they are able to get it off their chest and gives us a starting point for further conversation to clear up any problems or misunderstandings.

gillian2 · June 2003

If there were to be a lawsuit which involved the performance appraisal process, the instructions to leave out employee comments would become known. Then the process would look very one-sided and would harm the company. Even-handedness is very important when going in front of a jury.

Whatever · June 2003

The purposes of a performance evaluation should be just that. The goal is not to penalize the employee but to help the ee do a better a job. It is for that reason that we have always welcomed the employees comments. Over the years I have found, that usually, if we have been fair in our review, the comments from the ees are helpful. I have never had a situation where a ees comments were used against us.

ray a · June 2003

One other thing I thought of... during the appraisal process, I encourage ee's to discuss openly with their supervisor any concerns or questions they have related to their performance. Strive for clarity and understanding that way if there is any disciplinary action further on, there should be no surprises.

Leslie · June 2003

We have the comment section. If there is something negative or problematic we send it back to the department manager so they may address the issue, document how they did so, then give the employee the opportunity to re-comment. I think that would look pretty good in a court of law.

SMace · June 2003

One more thought. If you are involved in a lawsuit, the least of your worries is a negative comment on an appraisal form. Does your VP think that if there is nothing on the appraisal form the judge will throw the suit out? HA! Your biggest worry would be if it is a legitimate complaint such as harassment or discrimination, what have you done about it. If you don't have a system for employees to discuss their issues, it will be more difficult to defend. The, "We didn't know about it defense" hasn't worked in years.