An estimated 50 percent of organizations in the United States are not conducting performance reviews. These 2012 findings were based on research from NEOGOV, an ICMA Strategic Partner and presenter in ICMA’s January 17 web conference, “A Boss’s Guide to Performance Appraisals.”

Nearly 100 jurisdictions logged in to hear practical advice on performance appraisals and learn from the best practices of the city of Manteca, California. 

Scott Letourneau, president of NEOGOV, opened with a reality check: performance appraisals typically do not have buy-in from employees or their managers, and rarely tie back into the goals and core values of the organization. He then discussed the importance of tying the performance appraisal process to the fundamental goals of the organization. The focus, according to Letourneau, should be to turn the appraisal process into an opportunity to create development plans that help employees learn, grow, and ultimately prepare for the next step in their careers.

The benefits of development plans to the public sector are many. Managers can identify and manage top and bottom employees immediately. Job positions can be aligned to goals and expectations and you can create a more-engaged workforce. Development plans also help organizations to address succession planning.

For best practices, Karen McLaughlin, city manager of Manteca, California, and Joe Kriskovich, director of human resources and risk management for Manteca, detailed how their city improved efficiency and increased workforce engagement through performance appraisals. In Manteca, they removed the standard review form and created customized appraisals by department, so, for example, a police officer would have a different set of competencies than a maintenance engineer.

Manteca made the core values and goals of the city an integral part of the appraisal process for all employees and customized the appraisals to reflect back on these values and goals, so that all employees could see that they were part of a unified mission.

The On Demand version of this ICMA web conference is available here.