Topic: My First Performance Evaluation for My Property Manager

I will be evaluating the performance of my property manager by the end of the month for her 1st year anniversary. I gave her an evaluation form to complete on herself. Then I will complete one on her myself.

This is my first time evaluating an employee and I'm really nervous. Especially since I'm not expecting to give her very good marks and she is very, very sensitive and emotional.

What do you feel is THE MOST important part of an evaluation of a property manager's job?

1. Policies and Procedures
2. Productivity
3. Initiative

Any and all comments are welcome!!!!

I feel like I'm the only one responding to your posts lately :)

That's an interesting scenario you presented, what's the most important part of the evaluation seems like it's also asking what's the most important part of the job. I'm assuming your company handed you this form, maybe they can provide you feedback on what "you all" consider the most important and some examples so that you don't write a book or are too brief.

But she's very very sensitive and emotional - maybe it's just not the job for her and sounds as if she already knows she's not performing to your/your company's expectations. And something else to think about, She may also be playing you using the emotional stuff to deflect from the poor performance. Smoke and mirrors - seen it a million times :)

While you have to address the issues that need improvement, be sure to include some praise to soften the blow. Everyone has their good points; surely she has done something praise-worthy in the last year. Be sure your criticism is constructive - give examples, and provide tools or advice for improvement. (That said, if she's really THAT emotional, she may be in the wrong line of work.)

Since this is a one-year review (if I read that right), policies and procedures should not be an issue at this point unless there's been recent change. If it were me, I would focus on performance/productivity as the primary. Policies & procedures secondary. Initiative ... some companies appreciate it, some don't. I personally LOVE it when a team member has new ideas or suggests improvements, but I've been in that place where higher-up would shoot down an idea before it ever even had a chance.

First and foremost, make sure your Manager understands what she is being evaluated on: did you establish measurable goals with objectives to achieve those goals over the past month, six months, nine months, and year. This should match what the evaluation form entails. If it doesn't then the person being evaluated could feel your review is more subjective than objective. Second, you want to make sure you highlight the strengths demonstrated during the evaluation process - give examples, such as, "I like the way you answer your residents' concerns." Or, "You also document things well and file incident reports on time." Or, you know she handles daily tasks and here is where she may need to improve on that.

I think a lot of people get edgy when they know they are meeting to be reviewed - as though standing at the Pearly Gates waiting to see if the gates will open warmly or not. It can be emotional. Oftentimes, it is the way something is phrased that creates tension and ill will. Be factual and not judgmental and understand you are human and employees are human. Too many times, annual reviews are linked to a raise and in my opinion, this is not a great thing. Reviews then become the source of fear.

Last, the annual review should never be the first time someone is told his job performance is not up to par and company standards. If it is, then shame on the evaluator. After you have said what you said and she has a chance to respond, and if emotional it is perfectly okay to hand it to her and ask her for her written response within 24-48 hours. Each of you should still sign your review. If there is room for improvement, so to speak, you can certainly outline an Action Plan and a timeline for improvement to occur.