Working Life > Employee Interview

Tips for an Employee Interview

Definition, Explanation

Tips, Checklist

Definition, Explanation

An executive should once a year have an evaluation talk with every employee. It should serve both motivation and evaluation of performance. Mostly by dint of a written standard form, performance and achievement of agreed goals are assessed. The talk also conduces to human resources development and to the employee's improvement. A consequence an employee talk can be a further education measure, a new assignment of tasks and, after successful salary negotiation, a salary increase.

Employee talks are company-specific, the criteria of evaluation and respective forms depend on the company's interests and requirements. In some companies, a yearly employee talk is obligatory and is part of the duties of the executives. In other companies, talks are done situation-dependent, for example after the end of a probation period, or after return from a longer period of absence like a parental leave, inability to work, or a sabbatical or as a remedy of conflicts or for employee's personal improvement. Of course, also before the quitting of an employee or dismissal, usually a respective talk is had.

Tips, Checklist

• If your boss does not approach you, take the initiative and make an appointment with him for a talk
• Make sure that you will talk in confidence. For difficult talks, you should involve another person to assist you (works council, advocate).
• Even as the employee, you should prepare for the talk carefully. Things to do are: get the written form, have answers to the questions already, compare the requirements and tasks with your personal objective-agreement and think about what you imagine your future to be like
• Use the talk for stating your wishes concerning the way of collaboration
• Remain objective and polite, even if the talk is not going as you had liked
• Make sure that the form, which mostly will be put into your personnel records, has been filled in complete and correctly. If it has not, you are legitimate to object, and you should contact the staff department or the works council
• Refer to agreements made in the last talk, and insist on their being realized (e.g. education or other forms of improvement)

Last update: 09/18/2009