Page 67 - Communication in Organizations Basic Skills and Conversation Models

Communication in organizations 56

involved in setting up and introducing the interviews and be able to understand the
importance of them for themselves as well as for the organization. Second, it should be
clear for all those involved how the data will be used. When this clarity is missing, the
result is that employees are on their guard during the interview because of the possible
consequences for their salary or career. Third, one has to keep in mind that holding
performance evaluation interviews demands a high degree of managerial social skills.
Finally, each organization has a ‘social climate’ and it is of importance to check whether
this climate is of such a nature that it is ‘ready’ for the implementation of a system of
performance evaluation interviews.

Preparation

In order be able to hold the performance evaluation interview in an efficient way, good
preparation by both partners is necessary. We assume that both are aware of the goal of
performance evaluation interview. When the manager and employee have already had
such an interview before, then they both have a (short) report of the agreements that were
made in that interview.
If it is the first performance evaluation interview, the manager needs to have to hand a
job description or a file with notes about the past period. An appointment needs to be set
up with the employee involved. The general goal is to discuss together how the employee
has performed over the past period. Employees are asked in advance what points they
would especially like to have discussed during the interview. This especially involves
mentioning points that are not going well or could be improved. These points could
concern the task, personal aspects of the employee, cooperation with others or
cooperation with the manager. It may be useful to jot down these points on paper for use
as a memory aid during the interview.

Roles

The manager has the role of interview leader: that is to say he or she regulates the
interview and makes sure the opinion of the employee is heard. By being open-minded
about the points the employee brings forward, the manager stimulates expression of
views and thoughts regarding the job. The manager also has to fulfil the role of ‘expert’
and on some issues is better able to come up with possible solutions for the diagnosed
problem because of their expertise. In reality the manager should be able to fulfil both the
leader and expert role. The tone of the interview should be businesslike and focused on
cooperation: solving problems together is the focal point.

Errors of judgement

During preparation for the interview the manager forms an opinion over a longer time
period. When judging someone’s performance and predicting someone’s capabilities,
mistakes might be made. Most of us are not aware of these mistakes at all. We have a