Lots of good answers already. It isn't uncommon in the supervisory world to have to do some of this inane stuff!

Important: Keep documentation, CYA, keep your supervisor informed.

I think it's a good idea to talk to your supervisor about a potential Union grievance. Before doing that, I would talk to the Union rep to see if there is any potential for grieving......

As others have said, this is just a formality. Ultimately, the employees are covered by the CBA. The only reason management would want this info is to prepare a case (good or bad) on the employee!

Good luck!

I've been in that same situation. Passed the buck and resisted as long as I could. My final push back was doing what they wanted, writing a truthful evaluation. For every field/question my evaluation was the same. "John Smith has never actually worked for me so I have never seen him do any of the aforementioned tasks", right on down the line. Just changing the wording around each time but saying the same thing. They weren't real happy with that, but I wouldn't sign off on anything else. The finally got someone else to write one.


I learned unless they were trying to fire someone, NOBODY read them. I found a mistake I made once, copy and past from someone else's eval, where the wrong person's name was still there. No one spotted it, including the employee who signed it. I started making mistakes on purpose to see if they'd catch it, like swapping stuff (answering #7 on line 8 and 8 on line 7), no one ever brought it up. lol

quote:

Originally posted by ulsterman:
"give him a shampoo eval"

"He performs head and shoulders about everyone else".

For those with an evil sense of humor and a desire to spread truth through the veil of HR/Legal nonsense, via giving accurate feedback about people who are, shall we say, not worthy of the 'shampoo eval', you may want to check out the book " Lexicon of Intentionally Ambiguous Recommendations "

Some of the phrases and applications I remember:

For a lazy worker "You will be lucky to get him/her to work for you."

For a lush who often comes in half-sloshed, "The work he can perform, while staggering, is often quite impressive"

For a continual mistake-maker, one who can't keep jobs, the ever-popular, "I am sure that whatever task he undertakes - no matter how small - he will be fired with enthusiasm."

and so forth. Good book, use with caution, if at all.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:
Don’t know know anything about the environment you’re working in, but at first reading of your post it sounds like an assistant upstairs needs slapped around. This may be totally the wrong approach, but if I were in your shoes I’d be inclined to share the situation with your boss, explain your concerns as you did in the post and ask for his advice on how best to handle it.
ETA: I’d definitely doing the asking face to face.

It is my boss who denied the request to have someone else do the eval. I don’t expect the upstairs assistant to be up on employee movement, she just requires my boss sign off on a request to transfer the eval.

Long term, I'd find a new boss.

Does upper management want a good realistic evaluation or do they want to check the box.

My work isn't going to fire them and if that isn't on the table then performance plans are a waste of time.

Either you fight it and possibly get run out of a job or pencil whip it and move on.

"In writing this eval, I spoke with Supervisor Jim (Bob's actual supervisor) who had the following to say about Bob:...."

Then cut and paste what Jim writes.

quote:

Originally posted by Powers77:
If your boss has already denied the request i wouldn't push it. Through back channels get input from those he worked for. Do your best to be fair and provide the best feedback you can under the circumstances. With reorganizations I had to do this in the past.
ETA: Boss may have reasons unknown why he doesn't wish to force the change above. ie. Not the hill he wants to die on.

Agree 100%. Maybe check with one of the actual supervisors for input/ghostwriting, but just get it done.

I have written my last 6 annual reviews. Boss checks the boxes and signs.

The formalized annual review process is a complete joke. It's a feel-good HR exercise.

Don't lose any sleep or stress out over this - it's not worth it.

I had the chance to talk to my boss yesterday face to face and explained to him why it wasn't ideal for me to do the evaluation and how it opened up the organization to a complaint, though that is a remote possibility.

He agreed after the explanation, stating he didn't realize this particular employee hadn't actually been working in our facility during the entire last year. His initial hesitation was due to not wanting to "pass off work" to other people, but in the end he agreed that it would be inappropriate for me to do the evaluation when there is clearly appropriate supervisors readily available.

A happy and appropriate conclusion.

Good deal.