Unit 15 :
Performance evaluation

Advanced

Vocabulary

Repeat these sentences with your teacher first.

1. discrepancy (n.)
a difference between two things that should be the same

2. exceeds (v.)
to be greater than a number or amount, or to go past an allowed limit

3. expectations (v.)
the feeling that good things are going to happen in the future

4. professionalism (n.)
the combination of all the qualities that are connected with trained and skilled people

5. handles (v.)
a part of an object designed for holding, moving, or carrying the object easily

6. effectively (adv.)
in a way that is successful and achieves what you want

7. anticipate (v.)
to imagine or expect that something will happen

8. going forward (phr.)
towards the direction that is in front of you

9. constructive (adj.)
If advice, criticism, or actions are constructive, they are useful and intended to help or improve something

Dialogue

Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.

Cody

Heather

Cody, did you get a chance to read the results of your online performance evaluation?

I did, but I noticed a large discrepancy between the scores I gave and the ones you did.

Yes, I saw that you gave yourself a score of “exceeds expectations” several times.

And I noticed that I was given a “meets expectations” for things like client satisfaction.

While the clients generally praise your professionalism, we still see a lot of room for improvement.

I guess I see myself as someone who handles client problems effectively.

You certainly do. But in order to exceed expectations, you need to go above and beyond for the client.

So, you’re saying I need to anticipate problems instead of just reacting to them?

Yes, and that’s what we’d like to see going forward.

Okay, thanks for the constructive feedback, Heather!

My pleasure.

Article

Read the article with your teacher.

6 tips for writing an effective performance review

1. Provide regular, informal feedback.

While performance reviews typically happen once or twice a year, feedback should not be limited to that short period of time. You should be offering consistent assessments throughout the year so there aren’t any surprises.

2. Be honest.

No worker is perfect, and there will always be room for improvement. Decide what is worth addressing and don’t hesitate in doing so.

3. Do it face-to-face.

The written review should be a brief but direct overview of discussion points, making for a more nuanced face-to-face conversation. Schedule a meeting in a coffee shop or out-of-office location to provide a comfortable atmosphere.

4. Use tangible, pertinent examples.

When discussing areas for improvement or things an employee has done well, make sure you have clear examples to reference.

5. End on a positive note.

Encouraging your employees and expressing your appreciation gives an added boost to a primarily good review, or it lifts your employee’s spirits after a somewhat negative evaluation.

6. Choose your words with care.

Pay close attention to how you phrase your evaluations. Here are some words that will help you effectively highlight an employee’s contributions: achievement, communication skills, creativity, improvement, and management ability.

Source: Business news daily, “6 tips for writing an effective performance review”

Discussion:

Answer the following questions to your teacher.

1.How do you evaluate performance?

Let’s practice

Choose the correct answer.

1. It’s crucial that you always carry yourself with _____ in the workplace.

A. professionalism
B. discrepancy
C. evaluation
D. construction

2. You have to go ____ and beyond at work to ____ customer expectations time and again.

praise / above / down / over / anticipate / exceed

3. By ____ complaints effectively, we’re delivering excellent customer service.

A. issuing
B. working
C. dealing
D. handling

4. ____ you might see yourself as a high achiever, the evaluation results tell a different story.

A. As
B. Since
C. While
D. Unless