The Greeks had a word for when someone was playing a part or pretending to be something other than what that person really was – hypokrisis.

The term has survived in modern English. We know it as hypocrisy. And it can have a negative impact on your employee review process. Read on to learn how to remove hypocrisy from your performance evaluations , so that assessments are more accurate and honest. 

Hypocrisy at Work

The goal of assessing an employee’s performance is to provide impartial, unbiased feedback. We all know that doesn’t always happen, though.

Managers are human beings. And human beings tend to play favorites. During evaluation time, some managers will give their favorite employees good reviews, and everyone else will receive negative feedback. The manager will pretend to be fair and objective, although the employees who aren’t “teacher’s pets” know otherwise. 

Removing Hypocrisy from the Equation 

You can’t expect managers to immediately abandon their biases against or in favor of certain employees just because it’s time to assess their performance. However, there is a way to reduce the impact of favoritism on the review process. 

During a traditional employee evaluation, the manager bears sole responsibility for analyzing an employee’s performance during the last year. That means that there’s only one point of view being represented, and it’s possible that point of view isn’t impartial. 

There’s another way to review employees. It’s called a 360-degree employee evaluation software. During this type of assessment, several people appraise an employee’s performance. One of these people is the manager. The other people could be co-workers, subordinates or even customers. If they interact with this employee on a daily basis and are in a position to provide feedback about how well he or she fulfills the duties of the job, then they are qualified to be a reviewer. 

Why 360 Degree Reviews Are Better

How is a 360 degree review an improvement on the traditional method of evaluating employee performance? They offer a broader perspective on how well the employee is doing his or her job. 

When you ask one person about a subject, you’re only receiving that person’s opinion. And that person might not be particularly well educated about the matter. 

However, when you talk to more than one person about an issue, you hear a wide range of views. And those people might be better informed than the first person you spoke with. The same is true of employee evaluations. The more people that weigh in on an employee’s performance, the more accurate the assessment will be.

Grapevine Evaluations: Making 360 Reviews Quick and Easy

Do you want your performance assessments to be fair and objective?

Contact Grapevine Evaluations today. Grapevine Evaluations are trusted by such companies as Pandora, Macy’s, and Thomson Reuters.

Click here to request a demo.

See our Overview of our 360-degree employee evaluation software.