The Doughnut System of Employee Evaluation

Happy people evaluate themselves; unhappy people evaluate others. William Glasser

One of the goals my boss, Ed the Superintendent, has set for me this year is to conduct a formal evaluation of my district office staff. Let’s see, that’s about a dozen people, ranging from our technology coordinator to secretaries to technicians to printers.

My problem is that I genuinely like these people – every last one of them - because they are both competent and, well, likeable. Sure, once in a while somebody gets on my nerves, but I probably do things that annoy them as well. But largely we really are one big happy dysfunctional family.

This is how I described our current evaluation system in my book Machines are the Easy Part: People are the Hard Part :

Our printer Greg helped me formulate the Doughnut Employee Evaluation SystemTM.

Here is how it works:
1. Let if be known that the best way teachers and administrators can express their appreciation for work above and beyond the call of duty by an employee of your department is to bring that employee a box of pastries.
2. The above pastries are shared with others in the department, custodians, and visitors.
3. The boss keeps track of how many such boxes are given in any employee’s name. The more doughnuts, the better the evaluation.
As supervisor, take credit for one doughnut from each box since you had the intelligence to hire such outstanding individuals.

I tried to convince Ed that this system has been used successfully for about 14 years in the department. He still insists on something more formal (and reminded me that I never earned a single box of doughnuts for him.)

So my question is: Have you ever participated in a review process from which you actually benefited? And what exactly made it beneficial?

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1 Comment »
Recently I have decided to work openly and transparently with my faculty. Although I have 6 entrances to the library and a huge bank of windows to a courtyard that others can see into from the hallway and the front of the building, we didn’t seem VISIBLE enough. So,I have started using the intercom after school with the bizarre announcements that spice up life. Here is yesterday’s:
“Mrs. Chen and crew are in the library painting and getting ready for next week’s bookfair. If anyone has any masking tape to send us, they will be in Mrs. Chen’s good graces.”
Five rolls of masking tape came rolling in. Four teachers immediately rushed in, 1 called, 2 caught me in the hallway. Everyone watched avidly while I wrote their names down on my “good list.” Several bargained for favors immediately or watched me write down favors such as “first dibs on lesson time after the bookfair,” “one hour story and lesson time without the teacher,” and my favorite “librarian promises to read 2 stories from the bookfair to a class.” Seems by these standards that I must be doing something right.

Comment by Diane Chen — September 13, 2005 @ 10:43 pm