Management of Employees

Employee performance evaluations serve as a critical tool for workforce management, legal risk mitigation, and strategic planning. Employers—particularly those in healthcare and professional practice environments such as dental offices—should ensure that their performance review processes are structured to achieve their intended purposes, align with best practices, and avoid unintended legal consequences.

Employers conduct performance evaluations for various purposes, including assessing individual work performance, identifying employee strengths and developmental needs, setting professional goals, and fostering employee engagement. Evaluations also create a written record that can inform decisions about promotions, compensation, terminations, and disciplinary actions. When effectively implemented, evaluations help organizations:

• Identify high-performing employees and those in need of additional support or training.
• Compare performance across job functions, teams, or departments.
• Pinpoint systemic obstacles to productivity or workplace satisfaction.
• Track progress toward organizational goals and workforce development benchmarks.
• Provide constructive feedback that supports employee retention and growth.

To ensure that evaluations serve these goals, employers should periodically assess whether their evaluation tools and processes are meeting their intended objectives or require adjustment to reflect current organizational priorities.

Although no Pennsylvania statute mandates the use of formal performance evaluations, written reviews often play a pivotal role in employment litigation. Evaluation documents may be introduced as evidence in claims involving discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge, or wage disputes. Accordingly, it is imperative that evaluations are accurate, consistent, and drafted with care.

Performance evaluation forms should:

• Use objective, job-related criteria that reflect the essential functions of each position.
• Encourage straightforward and candid feedback, with space for both strengths and areas for improvement.
• Allow for narrative examples that contextualize numerical ratings or general performance descriptions.
• Avoid vague or overly subjective language that can be misconstrued or give rise to allegations of bias.
• Clearly communicate employer expectations, particularly in cases where performance must improve.
• Offer employees the opportunity to provide comments or feedback, including discussion of barriers to performance and requests for professional development resources.

Evaluators should be trained to complete performance reviews in a non-discriminatory manner and to refrain from including language that may be construed as retaliatory, pretextual, or inconsistent with the employer’s overall employment practices. Consistency across similarly situated employees is particularly important to prevent claims of disparate treatment under federal or state anti-discrimination statutes.

When used systematically, performance evaluations can provide insight into workforce trends, training needs, and areas for operational improvement. Aggregated evaluation data can be useful to identify:

• Organizational strengths and weaknesses.
• Roles or functions requiring recruitment or restructuring.
• Opportunities for process improvement or elimination of inefficiencies.

Evaluations can also foster two-way engagement, inviting employees to reflect on their own performance, voice concerns, or identify areas where institutional support could improve outcomes.