Tips For Evaluating RAs

1. The evaluation process should be thought of as continuous and ongoing. 

   • Start evaluating RAs at the beginning of the year. Carefully observe what they are doing. 👓

   • Do they complete paperwork clearly and accurately? Do they meet administrative deadlines? What is the atmosphere within each residential area? 

   • Give immediate feedback and if an RA does something well make sure to recognize his or her efforts. If an RA needs to improve in an area, don't wait for evaluations to tell him or her about the problem. 

   • Keep a log of the feedback you give to each RA. Review your notes on each RA when completing the formal evaluation. 

3. Do you notice the RA and residents interacting? Does the RA get his or her residents involved with residence hall programs? Is the RA knowledgeable about problems in the hall or with specific residents? Finally, is the RA's feedback on weekly reports consistent with your observations? If not, try to determine the reasons for the differences.

5. At the start of evaluation time begin to look back at the work of each RA and make notes. 

• Is the RA up-to-date on their requirements? Can you think of instances when you had to return an Incident Report because it was incomplete or poorly completed? Does the RA keep you up-to-date on residential area issues? 

• How does the RA behave in meetings? Can you think of instances when they have gone above and beyond when they didn't need to?

7. Consider the residence hall as a whole.

• Do the residents get along? Are you informed of problems or concerns? Are you informed of successes within the community? 

• Is your residence hall a place where residents can complete their academic work? If so, what are the reasons? 

• What staff members have contributed to creating a positive residence hall environment? Which staff members are not or could contribute more?

HALO EFFECT - A supervisors may rate all items the same because they are favorably impressed by performance concerning one factor. For example, if an employee has a good attitude, the supervisor may overlook shortcomings in his or her work performance

SEVERITY TENDENCY - A supervisor may be overly critical of performance because he or she has established unrealistic of unachievable performance standards. This can produce a "What's the use?" reaction from employees. Set fair and clear expectations at the beginning and remember these expectations when evaluating each employee.

LENIENCY TENDENCY - A supervisor may be overly generous and rate all employees high on all items, even though some many not have earned the high rating. This is unfair to employees that removes their incentive to improve performance. If everything is going well within your building try to determine whether or not the entire staff is responsible. If one or two RAs are contributing extra this should be reflected on the evaluations.

CENTRAL TENDENCY - A supervisor may rate all employees within a narrow range usually toward the middle. He or she may be dishonest because of a fear of being candid. This often misleads and confused employees. Remember that part of the reason for evaluations is to give staff feedback on their performance. They may not improve if they are not aware they need improvement.

RECENCY ERROR - A supervisor may base a rating on what is most easily remembered. In other words, the most recent behavior of the employee may decide the rating. Instead, the supervisor should consider the most typical behavior of the employee over an entire appraisal period. Make note of your RAs' performance throughout the year.

Source: University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA