What are your thoughts on prepared performance comments within an automated performance management system? I once had to clarify a comment on my performance appraisal with my manager. In this case, the comments were selected from a list of prepared comments. Although all of them pertained to my performance accurately, one stood out as being out of place. All in all, it ended up that this comment had been chosen because it came close to describing my performance but it did not really communicate the main idea all that well.

Automated comments help make communications clear, they help managers avoid legal problems and phrase their thoughts. That being said, some organizations use them and others do not.

If your organization chooses to use this capability in an automated performance management system, reliance on strong performance management practices can help avoid problems.

-as always, ongoing performance discussions eliminate surprises
-regular updates on performance against aligned goals ensure manager and employee are “on the same page”
-some organizations have HR review appraisals before they are discussed with employees
-base performance comments on a good understanding of each employee’s areas of strength and weakness
-customize the comments to ensure they apply to your work environment
-use the automated tool to provide sample comments which managers can modify for their own use

Does your organization make use of this automated tool?