Managers are accountable for many tasks in the business world, but the most important is helping their teams succeed. This means taking the time and effort to write good performance reviews. A quality assessment should be more than a formality; it’s a vital part of effective leadership and working toward long-term growth.

While many HR departments are responsible for overseeing the evaluation process, managers actually write reviews and conduct assessments. Human resources handle the corporate workforce as a whole, but managers address their employees as individuals. Therefore, while the review process aims to ensure every employee receives essential support, the assessment is the direct responsibility of managers.

Finding Leaders You Can Depend On

A good manager recognizes his or her responsibility to subordinates and can stand by and articulate his or her assessments. Writing accurate and useful performance reviews is his or her duty. Thus, finding managers with this skill set is a common problem companies have. Look for the following qualities in a leader you can count on to evaluate your workforce and encourage positive, effective change:

  • The initiative to fix problems. Since managers are responsible for conducting performance reviews, they must notify their superiors if an assessment tool could be improved or isn’t working. Managers are often the only people who have the perspective to notice issues within the system and the authority to do something about it.
  • As they have a responsibility to the employees they supervise and the company they work for, managers should always complete performance reviews to the best of their abilities. These assessments are pivotal to a growing company.
  • An inaccurate or unfair review can have severe consequences. Employees who perform well often receive bonuses and raises, while poor performers find their advancement opportunities are limited. Enough bad reviews can even lead to an individual getting fired. With so much on the line, a manager needs to be confident in his or her ratings and their validity.
  • Autonomy and confidence. Rewarding successful employees and helping those in need are equally important tasks. Since managers have a personal interaction with workers and a connection with executive leaders, it’s up to them to find out where personnel may be struggling and what solutions can address their real-world problems. Therefore, they must be willing to act independently and possess the confidence to target a worker’s needs specifically and push a recommendation up the chain of command.
  • Effective communication. A performance review is essentially a critique of an employee’s personality on the job. Without the right communication skills, a worker can feel attacked or may disregard the review altogether. It’s essential that managers know how to address each individual employee in a way that resonates without being overbearing.

Quality Managers, Quality Reviews

Ensuring the quality of the review process is management’s responsibility. HR departments may be accountable for the results, but individuals have to perform the assessments, process the findings, and ensure the data is followed up on appropriately. Work with managers willing to give performance reviews the respect they warrant, and check that you have the best evaluation tools possible.