Bobbie,

When I worked at the now defunct Baltimore City Life Museums, we
developed an evaluation system (with the help of an incredibly
high-priced consultant) that seemed to work fairly well.

It went basically like this:

1. Before the beginning of each fiscal year (or very shortly thereafter)
I would meet individually with my staff and we would write down their
goals for the year. (In theory of course, these goals supported the
institutional goals for the year).

2. For a few (3-6) of the major goals, I would ask each staff person to
define 3 action steps with deadline dates.

3. We would next meet to assess the goals:

a. at 6 month or less interval if necessary
b. when a new project or activity necessitated revision of the goals
c. at the end of the fiscal year (this was the case for most staff.)

4. At this end-of-the-year meeting, we also had a form that both manager
and staff member filled out that rated a variety of skills and
attitudes:  I can't remember most of them right now, but in essence they
were meant to form the basis for discussion on how the year went.

The HR person we brought in stressed at the beginning of our evaluation
development that really all we needed was a blank sheet of paper and
open communication -- but few institutions were comfortable with that.

I will attempt to dig through my old records and retrieve our forms.  If
I do I will send it to you, (or just post it here.)  However, be
forewarned that I have recently moved and have many things still in
boxes; it may take a bit for me to track it down.

In the interim, I can be reached at

410-268-5149
410-268-2179 (fax)
email: [log in to unmask]

(SLi, 166 West Street, Annapolis, MD 21401, where I am now creating
museum theatre scenes and living history programs for museums and other
institutions.)