The Essential Performance Review Handbook: A Quick and Handy Resource For Any Manager or HR Professional [Paperback]

Sharon Armstrong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 20, 2010

“The Essential Performance Review Handbook turns the writing of such appraisals from a tedious paperwork chore to a powerful management and motivational tool—a valuable new way of thinking about an old task.”
—Robert Bly, author of 101 Ways to Make Every Second Count

“This book should be required reading for all employers and their supervisors.”
—Henry P. Baer, former chair of the labor & employment law practice, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Are performance reviews at your company like fruitcake--you get it every year whether you want one or not? It doesn’t have to be like that. Because everyone wants to know how they’re doing, how they measure up, and what their chances are for advancement and rewards. And they want to do things right.

The Essential Performance Review Handbook will help you understand why performance reviews:

Serve as an important business tool.

Motivate personnel and increase productivity.

Help achieve your company goals.

Improve manager-employee communication.

Reduce your risk of legal liability.

Whether you’re a manager or a HR professional, this is an indispensable resource to help you create confident, motivated, and productive employees.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Essential Performance Review Handbook turns the writing of such appraisals from a tedious paperwork chore to a powerful management and motivational tool--a valuable new way of thinking about an old task."
--Robert Bly, author of 101 Ways to Make Every Second Count

"This book should be required reading for all employers and their supervisors."
--Henry P. Baer, former chair of the labor & employment law practice, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

About the Author

Sharon Armstrong has served as director of human resources at a law firm and several other organizations in Washington, DC. Since launching her own consulting business in 1998, she has provided training and completed HR projects dealing with performance
management design and implementation for a wide variety of clients. She is the coauthor of The Essential HR Handbook.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Career Press; 1 edition (May 20, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601631138
• ISBN-13: 978-1601631138
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,588 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sharon Armstrong began her career in human resources in 1985 as a recruiter/trainer in a large Manhattan law firm. Since launching her own consulting business in 1998, she has provided training and completed HR projects for a wide variety of clients. She is the author of Stress-free Performance Appraisals.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Applicable for a breadth of leadership roles November 6, 2010

By John R. Prince

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book gave me pretty much what I wanted, which are some best practices for conducting performance reviews. The author illustrates why performance reviews are important to employees, which is often a task that most managers dread. I appreciated the fact the book covers the key elements in performing reviews, as well as varying scenarios that can occur during reviews, in which examples are provided.

Also covered are the different types of reviews, scoring matrices, compensation, and compliance rules. While the book is geared toward anyone in a leadership role, I believe those who are in an HR position would benefit more from this book, as many of the book's examples are out of my control (i.e. as a manager, I simply employ the type of review established at my company).

The only downside to this book is that over 1/3 of it (70 pages!)contain example review forms. Once again, I must abide by the review form engineered by my company's HR leaders, thus I gained little from those pages.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars From the Manager's Perspective July 27, 2010

By Steve Mendelsohn

Format:Paperback

As a manager who has to routinely give, as well as receive, performance reviews, Ms. Armstrong's book is spot on in terms of the fears and tribulations that manager's go through when being required to go through the review process. As we all know, it is imperative that the annual review is not the only point in time during the year our employee's are reviewed on their performance and that it really is the culmination of a year's worth of discussions. Sharon's book brings this out in terms of the whole performance review process and how it does not have to be stressful for the manager, as well as for the employee. She rightly points out that it is a dialogue and presents the step by step approach to make this conversation much more fruitful for the employee. I would highly recommend this book to those new to the manager's role who need to do performance appraisals on their staff.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Essential Peformance Review Handbook" is Excellent! June 24, 2010

By Paul McGee

Format:Paperback

As HR Director at a Washington, DC based trade association, I've had to prepare PowerPoint and training presentations around the subject of performance reviews, so I thought I've seen and heard it all. That was until I read "The Essential Performance Review Handbook". Sharon Armstrong has done a great job at capturing the essentials enhanced with sidebars, examples, and checklists that work for everyone. This book is a must read for anyone that wants to improve their performance evaluation and review experience.