![](RAINBAN.GIF)
NOTES ON PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
![](RAINBAN.GIF)
Feb. 15, 1998
Evaluating Personnel
Personnel evaluation can be irritating or irrelevant. A "satisfactory"
evaluation in a service environment depends on an agreement between
employer and employee about what the service relationship should be.
People are most crucial element in a service organization. The employer
has a right to expect that employees will perform to the standards of the
job description. The employee has a right to expect fair treatment, that
is, equitable treatment compared to comparable work/salary/benefits that
others have.
A job should be realistic, that is, one that can be performed
satisfactorily with a reasonable amount of effort and with a reasonable
chance of success. If job can't be completed, saying "do the best you
can" is meaningless. Redesign job so that it can be completed through
reducation in input, modification of technique, reduction of standards, or
the like.
Subordinates want to be evaluated and they understand the need to be
evaluated. The following five points are good management practice in
respect to supervising staff:
- JOB DESIGN
The job description should cover 80% of what really occurs. If "other
tasks that may be assigned" comprises more than half the work, it's time
to rewrite the job description. Both employer and employee should be
involved in writing the job description and should accure that it
accurately and completely describes the position. The description should
include what an employee can reasonably accomplish plus the the resources
(material, money, time) to accomplish it.
- DELEGATION
Once the employee knows the job, has the training and resources to
accomplish the tasks, leave him/her alone. Judge by results not
by method. If employer describes not only what is to be done but how,
it is assigning not delegating. Employee may consider it intrusive
and indicative of lack of trust.
- MENTORING
This is the provision of support for the job, sometimes called role
modeling. Employees should feel free to ask questions in the confidence
that help will be given if requested. If people aren't comfortable in
asking for help, they will guess which can result in disaster.
- PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Most people want to be told how they are doing but not in a
meaningless, manipulative way. Every job needs a clear standard of
acceptable performance which should be used in regular performance
evaluations. Good performance evaluation depends on agreement on
- what is job
- that job can be done
- what method will be used to demonstrate that job has
been completely
satisfactorily.
If there has been ongoing performance evaluation against an accurate
job description according to agreed on performance standards, then the
"formal" evaluation only documents what both already know. So first 10-15
minutes can be "summing up" and remainding 45-50 minutes can be spent on
considering the future (really two futures: the library's and the
employee's which may converge or diverge.
- REWARD
MECHANISMS
"Praise in public; criticize in private" is an excellent rule.
Pay and promotion are what most people think of first in rewarding
employees. Feedback and recognition, task identity and task significance,
achievement of goals are often equally or more highly motivating.
Herb White, to whom I am indebted for many of these thoughts says:
Management must evaluate the needs of subordinates against the
needs of the organization we are responsible for and look for ways to make
the two fit or agree that they don't. ... As good managers,
- we give people doable jobs.
- make sure they understand them.
- leave them alone to do them.
- help them if they ask us.
- evaluate what they did.
- seek correction and direction.
- reward and punish.
- seek ways to balance organization needs against personal needs.
![](RAINBAN.GIF)