Businesses always want to strive to be better, be it how they operate or how they deal with clients or customers. One of the possible approaches to achieve this is by enhancing their workforce in all respects. Therefore, many companies resort to the utilization of employee evaluation forms or self-evaluation forms.
Any good company knows how to use an employee evaluation form to its advantage. It can increase employee engagement, motivate workers and basically improve the company’s overall wellbeing.
Have an employee evaluation template ready and use it periodically to maximise its benefits.
What is an Employee Evaluation Form?
An employee evaluation form is an internal document where an employee’s job performance and conduct are reviewed. It could be filled up by a coworker for his/her colleague. It could also be written by a supervisor or a manager for a subordinate. It may also be answered by subordinates for their supervisor or manager, or simply filled up by the employees themselves.
A free employee evaluation form template in Word or PDF version can help you get started on drafting your company’s version, depending on what you want to achieve. This form is also called performance review template, peer review template, self-assessment template, employee feedback form, or goal setting template, among others.
What to Include in an Employee Evaluation Form?
An ideal employee evaluation form should include the following:
- Employee’s name, position and department
- The job description of the employee
- Name of the reviewer and his/her position
- Objectives of the employee assessment form
- Work quality and productivity of the employee
- The employee’s communication skills
- If any metrics are being met
- The employee’s achievements
- Areas for improvement
You can add additional points as you see fit. Simply download a free employee evaluation form template in Word format and customize according to your goals.
Why Use Employee Evaluation Forms?
An employee evaluation form helps the company and the employee in significant ways.
It lets the employees get a constructive assessment of their work. Hopefully, this inspires them to keep up their good work or improve in their daily performance. Employee assessment forms also keep employees’ performance and behavior in check as these forms typically set performance goals and metrics.
The employee evaluation template will also help organizations see if their employees are the right fit for their position and assigned tasks. Are they having difficulties? What could be the reason for it? What do they think about the company’s policies? What could the company do to get them to improve their performance? These are questions that can possibly be included in the evaluation forms. Answers to these questions can help the company strategize how they operate.
When to Use an Employee Evaluation Form?
The evaluation process should be regularly conducted. Some companies do it annually while others do it twice or thrice a year. If your company has not been doing performance reviews, then it’s high time to download a free employee review form.
As mentioned, good companies know how to use an employee evaluation form to their advantage. Yet, somehow, many organizations end up creating more harm and animosity when they start to discuss the contents of the employee assessment forms.
Here are a few considerations when using the employee evaluation form to make sure it gives your company a significant mileage.
- Keep it confidential.
No matter how good or bad the reviews are, the evaluation form is always a sensitive document. Therefore, it must be treated as confidential.
- Take everything written on the employee evaluation template with a grain of salt.
This may sound counterintuitive but sometimes, it’s wise not to take everything written on the employee evaluation form at face value. Allow some time to reflect on the answers you read and do not judge the employee right away.
- Also listen to what the employee has to say.
Don’t keep the evaluation form to yourself. You have to discuss its contents with the employee who was the subject of the review, allowing the employee to contribute his thoughts. What does he think of his review? Who knows, you might even get great insights from the worker when you listen.
- Discuss the next action plan.
Discussing the contents of the employee evaluation forms should not be the end of the performance review process. Both the employee and their supervisor or manager should commit to achieving these goals together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some of the most common questions about employee evaluation forms.
Can employee assessment forms be used as evidence in court?
An employee may use the form as evidence to justify that the employment termination was illegal. At the same time, an employer may use the employee evaluation form as a defense for wrongful termination.
Can an employee review his co-employee?
There is no specific rule disallowing a company to initiate peer evaluation among employees. Just be extra careful when interpreting reviews made by co-employees. Also, keep the employee review form confidential at all times.
Does the employee need to sign the employee evaluation form?
Once you are done with discussing the employee assessment form, you can have the employee sign it to attest to the fact that the meeting took place.
Does the reviewer need to sign the evaluation form?
Yes. The person who conducted the review should sign and confirm the contents of the form.
I have a small business. Should I still do performance reviews?
Yes. Every business, no matter the size, will benefit from having periodic performance evaluation.
CocoSign has numerous free employee evaluation forms that you can easily download and customize for your company. Have a printable employee evaluation form ready starting from today.