Incest 0000i-xiv FM 1 - William L. White

276
t h e i n c e st u o u s wo r k p lac e
meeting and goes over a form on which he or she has evaluated
the counselor on a five-point scale in the following categories:
knowledge, quantity of work, quality of work, team relationships,
dependability, initiative, and overall work performance.
If we were to examine the annual evaluations of the six agency
counselors, would we be able to identify the objective criteria
by which each was scored in the team relationship category?
Would a worker who scored a three in the knowledge category
be aware of the body of knowledge he or she needed to acquire
to move to a four rating? In general, such vaguely constructed
systems provide little data that a worker can use to alter his or
her performance. One way of increasing effective feedback to
workers is revamping personnel evaluation systems to include
measurable, behavioral-based performance objectives. Compare
the nebulous value to the counselor of a three in the knowledge
category with annual performance objectives that stated he or
she would
• enroll in a master’s level counseling program and complete
at least three courses during the evaluation period
• pass the exam to become a licensed counselor
• attend two outside workshops to enhance his or her
skills in family counseling
These examples are concrete, measurable, and within the counselor’s
control to achieve.
B. The Timing of Feedback. The annual performance-appraisal
process, without other ongoing mechanisms of feedback, has
almost no power to reinforce and sustain high levels of work
performance. To assume that a one- or two-hour interview informing
a worker what a great job he or she has done will sustain
that worker’s performance for the more than 1,700 hours he
or she will be on the job before the next performance appraisal
is exceptionally grandiose. The real values of an annual performance
review are to summarize other ongoing mechanisms of
feedback that have already provided the worker data on his or
her performance and to refine the major standards and objectives
that these other mechanisms will address during the coming
year. The timing issue is even more critical in organizations