Nobody much likes performance evaluation systems. Managers find them unworkable and uncomfortable. Workers dread them. And lots of experts think we should scrap them altogether.

But in case you are a working manager you don't get much choice. You have got to do performance evaluations on your people using the system your organization has in place.

Start by understanding that there are really two different issues that go through the name, "performance evaluation." One of those things is your organization's formal performance appraisal process.

Do what ever you must to manage your organization's evaluation system. You will need to work with what ever system your organization has devised. Someday you might be able to change it, although not now. Devote your time and visit my homepage energy to making the system deliver good results.

Although the formal system is only a part of the story. Usually the evaluation that happens there is like a report card. It's a summary judgment of performance that took place for a length of time.

Give notice if you have to start documenting behavior. Generally speaking, your suggestion to change behavior or performance will be informal. That means you will not need to document. And much of the time your suggestion and coaching will cause improved behavior.

But sometimes you need to let folks know that they are not doing well enough. If they keep doing what they are doing, you certainly will have to start documenting their behavior. Let them know before your start.

Then, if you need to document, do a few things. Keep good records of the performance or behavior that you're tracking. Be specific about what happened, when and where.

Keep good records of your counseling meetings with your subordinate. What did you say? What did she or he say? How did you agree that things would change?

Making small course corrections on the way has a couple of advantages. Foremost, small corrections are far easier to make than big ones, so your odds of a successful outcome go up.

Second, by making small corrections and documenting your counsel and your subordinate's behavior, you've got the issue on the table. In the event the time arrives for formal performance evaluation, your subordinate will know where she or he has come up short. And you definitely will determine what they have got to say about how they are doing. No surprises.

Take enough time within the formal session. In one organization where I did research we compared the time that top supervisors devoted to the total annual performance appraisal meeting to the time that other supervisors took. The top supervisors spent almost 2 times as long within the formal session as their less-effective peers.

However, if there were not any surprises, what did they spend time on? They mentioned growth and also the future. That is more enjoyable and many more productive than going over what did and did not happen since the last review.

Make agreements about what shall happen next. Be sure you leave the formal performance evaluation session with a clear plan for how your subordinate will develop during the next period and what you are going to do to help.

Set milestones for your agreements. Determine who shall do what and precisely what the deadlines are. Determine how performance should change.

Here's what to remember. The performance evaluation that makes a difference takes place every day, every time you encounter somebody that works for you. If you take every chance to coach, counsel, encourage and correct your people, and if you document in which you must, there will be no surprises at evaluation time. In which case you can use the evaluation time for you to help people grow and develop.