Perioperative employee annual evaluations: a 30-second process.

In response to complaints about the annual evaluation tool used at The Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana, the surgical services management team created a tool to rate the perioperative RNs on skills pertinent to the surgical services department. The hospital-wide evaluation tool uses vague criteria, which are regularly challenged by employees who disagree with their manager's evaluation. The new Surgical Services Employee Evaluation takes a manager approximately 30 seconds to complete and can be added to the generic hospital evaluation form to make the employee evaluation more accurate and meaningful. The tool evaluates three major categories: teamwork, patient care, and job preparation. Use of this additional tool has greatly reduced postevaluation employee complaints, and the tool is now being used in other departments, with slight department-specific variations. Employees now express less frustration with annual evaluations, and managers report a high degree of satisfaction with the tool because it helps them in the difficult task of employee evaluation and counseling.