The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Performance Appraisal Phrases

The process of bringing new talent into an organization is essential and vital for an organizations success. Too often we think we're asking the right questions when hiring employees. We dig deep during the interview process to learn what the person has done in the past, and whey they are right for this position. We use our best judgment to sort through the contrast between our perceptions and reality - hoping to find the truth - and most of all hoping to unearth the best candidates to fill positions. Yet this seemingly simple task of asking questions and listening to the answer is actually riddled with more challenges than meets the eye. Peter Gray and John Carroll, in this easy to read and use book, get at the heart of what it's all about. Our "dictionaries for performance" are often limited and therefore what we go after during our assessment process is often limited to what we know from our own experience. The Pocket Idiots Guide to Performance Appraisal Phrases is a great book to expand "our dictionary on performance" and there for give us a whole new palette for seeing potential candidates and employees in a new and fresh way. This tool applies to all phases of the employment process. I highly recommend it!

Peter Gray and John H. Carroll's "Pocket Idiot's Guide to Performance Appraisal Phrases" is much more than you might expect from the title. It isn't just a listing of phrases, although it certainly includes quite a few of those. It includes information on understanding what the root of a performance problem is. For instance, if an employee is failing at a task because you didn't give him enough information to figure out exactly what you wanted, or enough resources to achieve the task, then berating him for failing isn't going to result in much improvement. The book provides a very balanced look at figuring out where a breakdown in communications might lie, or how to make the best use of a given employee. The authors also include plenty of information on planning and holding your meeting--from scheduling it to planning the length to setting it up in order to achieve the effect you want. Included is some particularly helpful information on figuring out the major communication styles of your employees, and using this information to decide how best to tell them what you want them to know. Even the phrases themselves are more than just empty lists. They're listed alphabetically by trait (things like Communication--Oral, Giving and Receiving Feedback, Problem-Solving, etc.), with a list of both positive and negative phrases accompanying each, as well as a description of the relevant skill. A wide variety of phrases are included so that they can apply to an equally wide variety of personality types, situations, and jobs. For instance, there are phrases to apply to everything from assembly-line factory jobs to management positions. Skills addressed include "soft" skills such as relationship-building, as well as sensitive issues such as personal hygiene. There are just a couple of minor inconsistencies and typos, but nothing more than momentary confusion. Overall this is a very useful book.

I have managed people in the military and business world for over 10 years, couseling over 100 people, numerous times. Yet this book contains smart advice and techniques that I have not used in the past that I will definitely reference for my next round of evals. Additionally, the compact size makes it an easy reference to tote around so you can pick phrases /page numbers for employees while at lunch, on the train or on the go. This book will definitely save me time.

Review time comes with mixed emotions, you want to be able to give your employees feedback, but you don't want to take them away from the things they are receving feedback. This book gives you many of the tools to help make performance reviews quick and easy. I was amazed by how many of the thoughts I had were already written out for me in this handbook. A must have for those looking to make reviews easier.

Sometimes it is really hard to come up with the right phrase, especially when giving negative feedback. This book offered some great advice and sample phrases which worked for me. While doing performance appraisals is never a pleasure, I got through mine this year much faster than I have in past years.