How do you ensure fair and transparent performance evaluations for your administrative team?

1 Set clear and SMART goals

Set transparent and SMART goals for your administrative team. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, and it means that your goals should be well-defined, quantifiable, realistic, aligned with your organization's vision and mission, and have a deadline. By setting SMART goals, you can communicate your expectations, track progress, and measure results more easily and objectively.

2 Use multiple sources of feedback

Relying on your own observations and opinions can be biased and incomplete, so you should seek input from other stakeholders, such as peers, customers, suppliers, or other managers. Use various methods, such as surveys, interviews, or 360-degree feedback, to collect and analyze feedback from different perspectives. This way, you can get a more comprehensive and balanced view of your team's performance, strengths, and areas for improvement.

3 Follow a standard and transparent process

Establish a clear and documented policy and procedure for conducting performance reviews, and communicate it to your team in advance. Use a consistent and objective rating system, such as a scale or a rubric, to evaluate your team's performance against the SMART goals and the feedback. Be transparent about the purpose, criteria, and outcomes of the performance reviews and explain how they are linked to rewards, recognition, or development opportunities.

4 Provide constructive and timely feedback

The fourth step to ensure fair and consistent performance evaluations is to provide constructive and timely feedback to your administrative team. Feedback is a crucial part of the performance review process, as it helps your team understand their performance, appreciate their achievements, and identify their gaps. Provide feedback that is specific, positive, and actionable and that focuses on the behavior and the results, not the person or the personality. Give this feedback regularly — not just during the formal performance review sessions — and encourage your team to share their feedback with you as well.

5 Create a development plan

The fifth step to ensure fair and consistent performance evaluations is to create a development plan for your administrative team. A development plan is a tool that helps your team set goals, identify actions, and monitor progress for their professional growth and career advancement. Work with your team to create a development plan that is based on their performance review results, their interests, and their aspirations. Support your team to implement their development plan by providing coaching, mentoring, training, or other resources.

6 Review and revise

The sixth and final step to ensure fair and consistent performance evaluations is to review and revise your performance review process for your administrative team. Evaluate the effectiveness and the impact of your performance review process, by collecting feedback from your team and other stakeholders, analyzing data and trends, and measuring outcomes and results. Revise your performance review process by identifying areas for improvement, making adjustments, and implementing changes. By reviewing and revising your performance review process, you can ensure that it is aligned with your organization's goals and values, and that it meets the needs and expectations of your team.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?