How should we review the performance of workers?
Review each worker once a year on one page, using the same seven qualities for everyone: skill, behaviour, team work, learning, safety, 5S and attendance. The supervisor gives the marks together with the worker, and writes a reason for each. The total decides a simple band.
Many owners tell us, "My workers do not care about performance." When we look closer, we often find that the workers do not know how they are rated. There is no form. Marks are given in the head of the supervisor, or in the head of the owner. The worker hears about it only when the increment is small.
A worker who cannot see how he is judged cannot improve. A review has to be fair, simple and visible.
Why not give workers a long KRA sheet?
For managers we use KRAs with weights and KPIs with formulas. For operators this is too heavy. A man at the machine does not think in percentages.
Instead, operators work with a few daily numbers on the shift board. For example: plan and good output, stops recorded, first-piece approved, pre-start check done, 5S. These are written every day at the machine, and seen by everyone.
Once a year, the supervisor looks at these daily numbers, the attendance register and his own observation, and fills in the review page.
The seven qualities
| Quality | Out of | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Skill and workmanship | 10 | Quality and speed of work; works without help |
| Behaviour | 10 | Respect, follows instructions, no quarrels |
| Team work | 10 | Helps others, shares the work |
| Learning new things | 10 | Learns a new machine or job, attends training |
| Safety | 10 | Wears PPE, follows safety rules |
| 5S: clean and tidy | 10 | Clean machine and area, tools in place |
| Attendance | 40 | From the present % in the attendance register |
| Total | 100 |
Attendance carries 40 marks because it is the one quality that can be taken straight from a record. There is nothing to argue about. The worker's present percentage in the attendance register is turned into marks with a simple slab.
The total gives a band: up to 40 is Average, 41 to 70 is Good, and 71 to 100 is Excellent. The bands in your plant can be different. Set them once, with the owner, before the reviews start.
How to hold the review
The most important rule: the supervisor gives the marks together with the worker, not behind his back.
- Prepare. Fill the attendance record from the register. Look at the shift board numbers and any notes.
- Sit one to one, in a quiet place, for ten to fifteen minutes.
- Go quality by quality. Ask the worker how he sees himself. Then give your marks and say why.
- Write a reason for each mark. One line is enough. "Runs the lathe alone" is a better reason than "good."
- Agree on up to three skills to learn next year. Link them to the skill matrix, so the plan is clear.
- Both sign. The worker keeps the knowledge of his marks.
A review is a talk between a coach and a player. It is not a trial.
A worker accepts a low mark when he sees the reason. He never accepts a mark he cannot see.
Fix the system first when marks are low
Sometimes many workers are low on the same quality. For example, a whole shift scores low on 5S. Do not blame the people. Ask: are tools placed properly? Is there time set aside for 5S? Has anyone shown them the standard?
This is the idea behind Responsibility → Accountability → Ownership. The worker is responsible for his work. The supervisor is accountable for how the team grows. When many fall short, the system, and the leader of the system, must look at what is missing.
When a worker is below the expected level
Do not go straight to a warning. First, make a short written improvement plan: what the gap is, in facts; what support the company will give; review dates; and what happens at the end. For shop-floor workers, a short daily check of ten minutes, reviewed in the structured daily meeting, works well. It is a chance to improve, not a punishment.
Problems of conduct are different. They follow the company's discipline steps, not an improvement plan.
What to avoid
- Marks by feeling. Use records where they exist: attendance register, shift board, rejection slips.
- One mark for everything. Seven qualities show where to help.
- Review without follow-up. If the review ends with a form in a drawer, trust falls.
- The owner rating workers directly. Let the supervisor review his own people. The owner should respect the chain, and look at the summary.
How to start in your plant
- Pick one section of 8 to 12 workers.
- Put up a simple daily shift board for that section.
- Fill the attendance record from the register for the last year.
- Hold one-to-one reviews with the supervisor, in the language the worker is most comfortable with.
- Set up to three skills per worker for next year and link them to the skill matrix.
Key points
- Review workers on the same seven qualities, on one page.
- Attendance is taken from the register. The rest from observation and the shift board.
- The supervisor gives marks together with the worker and writes a reason for each.
- Low marks across a team are a signal for the system, not for blame.
- Use a bilingual page so that every worker can read it.
