Employee Evaluations

Perhaps the greatest day to day role a retail manager plays is that of building the morale of his or her employees.  Keeping employees motivated to perform even the most routine customer service and operations tasks at a high level is often easier said than done.  One of the most effective tools available to a manager or keeping morale high is the employee evaluation and feedback process.  Unfortunately, employee evaluation is also something that many retailers and managers do not perform effectively.

One of the greatest sources of employee dissatisfaction is a sense of not knowing how well they are performing.  In order to feel valued and have a sense of accomplishment from their work, retail employees must be given feedback on a regular basis.  Many managers do not take the time or the initiative to talk informally with their employees, preferring to wait for formal, periodic, evaluations.

Retailers have different processes for offering feedback to their employees.  Most employ some type of periodic, formal review process.  Some companies use an initial review following a state probationary period of 30, 60, or 90 days.  Most then perform assessments in increments of three months, six months, one year, or more. 

These periodic reviews can be effective if used correctly.  The problem is, most companies do not structure the evaluations to adequately evaluate the important job tasks and performance criteria that are communicated with employees.  If employees are told customer service is their number one priority, the majority of their evaluations should be related to customer service issues.  Evaluations should be aligned with the goals of the company and its employees.

Perhaps the biggest criticism of periodic feedback is that managers often use the formal review process as an excuse to avoid day to day feedback and communication with employees.  If employees are surprised or caught off guard during periodic reviews with good or bad news, the manager has not effectively given praise or reprimands as needed.

Some retailers have eliminated the formal review process.  Many employees associate their evaluation with the timing of a raise or promotion.  The reality is, a raise or promotion should be given as dictated by performance, regardless of timeframe.  Employees need communication everyday.  They should receive immediate, constructive feedback, with both positive and negative behavior, in order to correct mistakes and to feel secure in their good work.  This sense of security and challenge for improvement are often morale boosting on their own, especially to employees motivated by accomplishment.

The turnover rate in retail is inherently high in most industries.  Retailer managers that wait too long to communicate with employees often lose good employees who become discouraged and insecure.  Worse, employees will not take ownership of their store if they feel disconnected due to poor communication.