Performance Appraisal

Produce an evaluation of Bill Blizzard′s performance in a narrative format (no bullets), referring to the employee in the third person (as Bill and Mr. Blizzard, not as “you”). (including the presence of these required headings: ACCOMPLISHMENTS, STRENGTHS, AREAS NEEDING IMPROVEMENT, SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT, and PROMOTION POTENTIAL), and fairness to this employee and to you as his employer. Remember to document all successes AND failures using the FACT, QUANTITY, and IMPACT/RESULT of each significant success or shortcoming. REVIEW BACKGROUND: PERFORMANCE REVIEW PAPER Task: Write Bill Blizzard′s annual performance review. Use a narrative. third person format with the five headings specified below. Remember to keep the appraisal balanced. Include his specific contributions to the mission, strengths, areas in need of attention, recommendations for improvement, and potential for promotion. Background: You are the manager of the Client Support Division at Crystar Enterprises, a computer software firm in Columbia, Maryland. One of your people, Bill Blizzard, a client support specialist, has been with the firm and your division for one year and you are required to prepare his annual performance review. At Crystar, such reviews follow a narrative, third person format with sections for ACCOMPLISHMENTS, STRENGTHS, AREAS NEEDING IMPROVE- MENT, SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT (guidance as to what action the employee can take to better fulfill the needs of the position and the company), and PROMOTION POTENTIAL. Bill is a 28-year-old technical specialist with six years of computer experience, including the year with your division. Because of re-structuring within Crystar almost immediately after his arrival, Bill has had to handle more general customer support as well as technical problems. Bill is outstanding (for his experience level) in his technical skills, and has a good “track record” as a troubleshooter. Specifically, he developed a new trouble-shooting procedure guide that lets less experienced workers spot problems and solve them in less than a third the time required previously. In the past year, Bill has solved over 100 serious client application problems, winning repeat business and sound customer relations with clients having large accounts. However, Bill′s people skills remain marginal, despite specific discussions and goal-setting sessions you have had with him each quarter of the past year. He attended one sensitivity training class (one week) during the second quarter, but has made excuses for not attending the additional people skills seminars you recommended in the last two quarterly reviews. Bill tends to become frustrated when dealing with problems he feels clients should be able to solve on their own. His attitude shows through when dealing with those clients; he is frequently brusque and impatient with non-technical clients, many of who have complained to you about what they perceive as his arrogance. You hired Bill because of his technical skills and his potential to be groomed as a Client Technical Support Branch manager, but you have been a bit disappointed in the lack of flexibility he has shown so far. You still feel that Bill has very good potential, but that he will need to redirect his priorities if he is to meet your expectations of him. Bill has strong organizational skills and is very good at time management. In some ways, his attempts at efficiency may be alienating clients. He tends to want problems defined precisely so he can diagnose them and resolve them quickly and efficiently. Several non-technical clients have explained problems in such general terms that Bill has lost his patience and voiced his frustration plainly. Crystar is committed to excellent client support, but must use its down-sized, limited resources wisely. Bill understands the company′s commitment and has tried to separate genuine problems (those caused by defects in the product) from user -created problems caused by their particular application or “customization” of the software, or their computer “illiteracy.” His attempt to control costs has alienated some clients who have threatened to seek other vendors unless they have better support from Crystar. They have complained about his lack of responsiveness and his unwillingness to solve what they perceive to be shortcomings in the software. Write Bill′s performance review. Add any details you think appropriate but DON′ T CHANGE THE BASIC SITUATION. Provide specific guidance as to what Bill might do to improve his performance and fulfill the potential you see in him. Bill thinks he has been doing a conscientious job and will be surprised by any negative comments in his review. To upset him might mean his resignation. However, despite three quarterly reviews, Bill has continued to concentrate on the areas of his technical expertise rather than developing the broader managerial and supervisory skills the company needs. Instead of delegating major tasks, he has tried to solve all really challenging problems himself. He needs to learn how to delegate responsibility and to oversee those who must carry out routine tasks.