Manager Minute – Managing Employee Performance: Common Rating Errors

As we’re entering the upcoming cycle for performance management, here are some common rating errors that supervisors should avoid:

Halo/Horns effect

    • When the rater has an overly positive or negative view of a particular employee.
    • Leads to an unbalanced performance assessment

Central Tendency Bias

    • Checking all middle or average ratings to avoid spending time on each individual or to avoid conflict.

Recency Bias

    • Rating on recent events overshadow the employee’s overall performance, and impact the overall rating

Personal Bias

    • Personal beliefs, assumptions, preferences, favoritism, and lack of understanding about a person could lead to an unfair evaluation

Sunflower effect

    • Rating everyone high in order to avoid conflict
    • Rating everyone high in an attempt to elevate the reviewer’s own status to be perceived as a good manager

Why do we want to avoid rating errors?

    • Communicates an inaccurate assessment of individual performance.
    • Limits supervisor’s ability to take action on ongoing performance issues.
    • Opens the opportunity for claims of discrimination or other grievances.

Reviews should be based on an individual’s performance, as measured by objective criteria.

Refer to job descriptions and our values when completing team members’ performance evaluations.

For more information about supervisory resources, please contact your Campus HR Team at HSC.HR@untsystem.edu. For additional virtual professional development opportunities, please visit the Organizational Development & Engagement page at: https://hr.untsystem.edu/organizational-development-engagement-ode.