Quality of Work: Is the employee's work thorough, accurate, and generally of high quality? Does the employee place emphasis on solving problems properly and not just quickly?
Will's quality of work is excellent. He constantly finds solutions to Web challenges that amaze me with their results and technical finesse. Will manages to overcome limitations imposed on him by external forces (largely Kintera) where lesser beings would simply give up. He is obsessed with perfection.
Productivity: Does the employee produce results? Is the volume of the employee's work output consistent and does he or she spend time effectively?
Will's results speak for themselves: MPP's main Web site is an evolutionary leap forward from the old site. Those sites he has created from scratch are visually engaging and render almost perfectly in every major browser (a significant achievement). His work is consistently excellent in every area. The only point of concern I have in this area is that his obsession with perfection sometimes prevails over effective time management.
Dependability: Does the employee take responsibility for getting things done on time without requiring follow-up from others? Does he or she acknowledge his or her own mistakes and take corrective action?
This is the only area where Will's performance is a matter of concern; it's not that Will isn't dependable, but that he needs to improve his time- and task-management skills. When he is neck-deep in a complex problem he tends not to devote enough time to communicating the challenges and risks of exceeding deadlines with responsible parties (myself and other departments' staff members). While Will acknowledges the problem when it is raised to him, his overall performance still needs to improve in this area.
Initiative: Does the employee seek new and better ways of doing things, recognize problems and take appropriate action, seek information and resources required to perform job, and seek input as needed?
Will is a master of seeking new and better ways to get our Web sites to work and look fabulous at the same time. The only area of criticism I have here is that he doesn't always push back on our vendor in a timely fashion. Considering Kintera's abysmal failure rate at being helpful, I don't consider this significant criticism as we've been shown time and again that our own resources are the only ones we can trust.
Communication: Does the employee convey thoughts clearly? Does he or she seek input as needed and keep supervisor apprised of status of work and emerging issues?
I am pleased by Will's attitude to problems and projects; he is clearly more than competent at what he does and I am confident in his ability to achieve goals (insofar as elements of a project are not outside the ability of any of us to control — again, mainly Kintera limitations). I think he could improve his in-project communication, however, to keep me apprised of progress and challenges that might affect deadlines. I am pleased that I do not need to micro-manage Will.
Other: Use this section to comment on any other areas of the employee's performance you would like to discuss.
Will deserves praise for the fine quality of his output and his dedication of excellence. He is unfailingly helpful when approached for help or with a new project. Although we did not hire Will to act in the role of computer support technician, he has repeatedly done so when asked (and has supplied solutions that other I.T. staff didn't know!). I am personally grateful for all the work he put in trying to get Asterisk to work with XO and Verizon, demonstrating both his technical expertise and willingness to help in every way he can.
What specific actions should the employee take to improve performance? What new objectives should the employee be working toward?
The areas where I feel Will needs improvement are:
In large part the objectives for this position won't change from their initial set:
The major new objective I foresee in 2007 will be migrating MPP's Web content to the Kintera replacement. This will definitely be a major challenge, as Will will need to learn the new system, manage our existing sites in Kintera, and migrate them to the replacement. This task alone could consume the vast majority of his time. In the event we select the "roll your own" solution to replacing Kintera, we will likely call on his Web and development expertise for the Web components. I have little doubt that we'll have plenty to keep Will busy — and hopefully engaged, challenged, and excited to discover new and exiting ways to present MPP on the Web.