In the self-storage industry, managers typically work at a property with little or no direct supervision. One of the most difficult aspects of this arrangement is that the storage owner, supervisor or district manager does not regularly observe employees behavior. That being the case, it is critical to have a reliable means of communication and a way to transfer information. Evaluations of employee performance can provide the feedback staff members need to be effective and, when necessary, improve.

A correctly executed performance evaluation can:

In addition to the evaluation, you should implement performance standards designed to provide a road map of how to be a good employee. Standards establish minimum levels of acceptance and state reasonable job expectations. They also assist in providing consistency between the owners and managers objectives.

The appraisal process starts when the employee and supervisor reach a mutual understanding of what needs to be accomplished. If expectations are not clearly stated, mutually understood and presented in measurable terms, performance will be difficult to evaluate. Goals and standards are methods by which job expectations can be expressed. Those responsible for performance appraisals need to have a good understanding of goals and standards and how to use them.

In general, goals apply more to managers and professional employees who engage in individualized projects. Standards are more common for workers engaging in routine, repetitive tasks. Following are definitions and examples of both.

Goals

A goal is a statement of results to be achieved. Goals describe: 1) conditions that will exist when the desired outcome has been accomplished; 2) a time frame during which the outcome is to be completed; and 3) resources the organization is willing to commit to achieve the desired results.

Goals should be challenging but achievable and established with the participation of those responsible for meeting them. Here is an example of a goal that might be set for a manager: To increase revenue by 6 percent over last years budget numbers. A direct marketing campaign will be implemented on a quarterly basis. The total cost of the direct mailing should not exceed $7,500. Once this goal is accomplished, a new one can be established to emphasize the next set of desired results.

Performance Standards

A performance standard refers to an ongoing criterion that must be met time and again. Standards are usually expressed quantitatively and refer to such things as attendance, safety standards and routine tasks to be completed. Following are several examples of performance standards. These should be customized to your property and specific to your company policies and procedures. They should be an extension of your policy manual and the employee-appraisal system.

Delinquent-Tenant Management

Salesmanship and Customer Service

Store Appeal

Auctions

Security

Maintenance

Store Operations

Rental Agreements

Safety Issues

Employee Evaluations

Once you have set reasonable expectations for employees in the form of performance standards and goals, you can begin providing constructive feedback through a variety of methods:

All of your goals, bonuses and assessments should be based on the employees ability to follow company policies, perform the job duties he has been assigned and, last but not least, satisfy customers. Remember, if you dont take care of your customers, someone else will. As the people who handle customer service are your employees, you must train, evaluate and take good care of them.

If you want your organization to stand apart from competitors, you must have quality employees. Consistently train your staff and measure their performance for results. But remember: Measurements of quality should be made through indicators of customer satisfaction, not self-gratification. Learn to see performance through customers eyes.

Businesses often judge their results by factors that dont mean a thing to customers (i.e., profit). While financial factors like expenses and income are important, you must provide what customers expect, such as friendly and reliable service, security, convenient office and access hours, and professional salesmanship. Whether you evaluate employees in meeting company and customer expectations, tenants will surely be evaluating your business. Make the best use of goals and performance standards, and you will all make the grade.

Carol Mixon Krendl, owner of SkilCheck Services, specializes in consulting, training, management and mystery shopping. As a well-known industry expert, she has been involved with self-storage since 1984, participating in the management and development of more than 130 properties nationwide and internationally. She has written many self-storage manuals as well as articles for several industry publications. She served on Self Storage Associations national board of directors for nine years and is the vice president of the newly formed California Self Storage Association. For more information, call 209.333.4555; visit www.skilcheck.com.