Demystifying Performance Evaluations...
                     Demystifying Performance 
Evaluations...
https://www.giggletree.com.au/
I have been recently working on a project reviewing the 
Performance Assessment and Evaluation processes for an 
organisation. Having worked for numerous organisations and 
seen many incarnations of these systems, I thought others 
may find it useful to walk through the little reality checking 
session that I had to give myself when launching into this 
project.
I had to realise that within the Early Childhood Education 
field, the concept of Performance Evaluation is relatively 
new. Many Educators are aware of the "Performance 
Improvement" or "Performance Management" processes – 
all with a negative connotation as they are associated with 
someone being told that they are not doing their job (or at 
least something in the workplace) the right way, and that 
there are clear expectations of improvement... all those 
confronting closed door meetings and anxiety! That is NOT 
Performance Evaluation!
To my mind, here's the Top 5 reasons why we do 
Performance Evaluation (from least to most important):
Number 5 Because we have to! Yes- it is in the National 
Quality Standards. Element 7.2.2 reads:
"The performance of educators, co-ordinators and staff 
members is evaluated and individual development plans are 
in place to support performance improvement."
Number 4 Because it is important to get feedback about 
our performance. You need to know what your boss (or 
company) expects from you and how you are or aren't 
achieving those expectations. You could be focussing on the 
wrong thing to achieve the success that you are after! This 
process, again, allows you to develop a better 
understanding of how you are perceived and understood by 
others who can or do have an influence over your 
professional future.
Number 3 Because it is important to continually review our 
OWN performance. The Performance Evaluation process just 
'forces' us to! It's critical for ongoing growth and 
development to look at where you have been, what you 
have learned, where you want to go, how you think you can 
get there, what help you need from others, what formal 
training do I need etc. Remember the importance of 
reflection in our professional practice? Performance 
Evaluation is just a different form of that.
Number 2 Because it is important to recognise 
achievements! It can be very easy when we are in the thick 
of the day to day, to forget to stop, breathe and realise what 
has actually been achieved. I think we all deserve the 
opportunity to pat ourselves on the back for what we've 
done.
Number 1 Because it is vital to continually DEVELOP. The 
concept of Performance Evaluation should be about 
DEVELOPMENT. It is ok for different team members to be at 
different places with their career.
We all know that team member who feels that they are 
happy where they are, who are performing well and don't 
want to see any changes in their work life... however, the 
only guarantee in this life (that I'm 100% confident of) is 
change. No-one can afford to NOT update their knowledge 
or skill sets even if they just want to continue to do what 
they enjoy doing. The industry changes, sometimes theories 
and models for Early Childhood Education change-be open 
to getting out there and seeing if it's true.
A major reality for me is why would we expect our children 
to learn from someone who isn't passionate about learning? 
For some people this may mean achieving their Bachelors 
or even their PhD... for others this will be a 2-hour on-line 
training course on time management! Everyone's needs and 
expectations for development will be different – but to have 
an expectation that you have no development needs is 
unrealistic – if not ridiculous!
Just to be clear – Professional Development (PD) can also be 
a whole lot of fun! I am always amazed at the reluctance of 
some of my colleagues to participate in training courses and 
conferences... It's an amazing way to get out and see 
different perspectives, to get new ideas or techniques, to 
talk to different people about what happens at their Centre 
and so much more. Sometimes it's even just an amazing 
feeling to know that what you have been doing is RIGHT or 
to understand how truly magical your workplace is (because 
now you've got an idea of where other people work)!
I think some Educators (and their Directors) can be 
overwhelmed with the amount of documentation associated 
with the Performance Evaluation process... do we have to go 
through every NQF Element? The entire QIP? Do we have to 
go through each and every part of the Job Description? I just 
want to know what I'm doing well or not doing well and how 
to get better... I don't have the time or the inclination to do 
all of this paperwork. I get it! There is lots to consider when 
reviewing and evaluating what has occurred over a 12-
month period (the usual period that an evaluation document 
covers).
Breaking the process down further ie doing more frequent 
evaluations, can be a good starting point. In some 
professions, evaluation of performance is necessary very 
often, with ECE, we generally have some continuity - we 
are usually in the same role (ie room) for around a year, so 
this is why a yearly review is a good idea. Having a touch 
base/check-point at the 6-month mark is helpful.
If you read anything about Performance Evaluation, the 
constant is that 'nothing should be a surprise'. This means 
that we should all be giving and receiving
Deb Callahan
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