Performance evaluations — Missouri

Performance evaluations can be a critical tool in managing a workforce. They can be used to:

• determine raises
• eligibility for future training and transfers
• keep an employee informed about the way he or she is viewed by the employee.

They can, however, serve an even more critical function:  performance evaluations can play a vital role in successfully defending a claim or lawsuit in subsequent employment litigation. 

Too often, a lack of training or a lack of time and investment in the process can haunt an employer if the employment relationship sours.  Because an employee’s performance review is subject to production in the discovery process or in an agency investigation, the value of a performance evaluation which objectively and candidly evaluates an employee’s performance cannot be overemphasized.

There are several mistakes an employer can make in evaluating its workforce. Managers who include identical or general comments on every employee’s review, or whose performance evaluations look remarkably similar over time, diminish the value of a performance review. In this instance, a former employee may be able to show that the performance review did not accurately reflect his or her performance. When managers rate all...

To read the full chapter, Subscribe here or Sign In
Please call us at (312) 960-9400 if this is an error or if you have any questions.