What method involves a rater writing a brief narrative to describe an employee's performance?

The method that involves a rater writing a brief narrative to describe an employee's performance is known as the Essay Method. This approach allows the evaluator to provide a detailed qualitative account of the employee's strengths, weaknesses, accomplishments, and areas for improvement. The narrative can capture nuances and specific examples of behavior that quantitative metrics may not fully convey. This personalized feedback can aid genuine performance enhancement and development for the employee being evaluated.

In contrast, the other methods focus more on structured or quantitative assessments. For instance, the Work Standards Method sets specific benchmarks for performance and evaluates employees based on their ability to meet these standards, emphasizing measurable outcomes rather than qualitative details. The Ranking Method compares employees directly against each other, establishing a relative performance order, which can be less detailed and provide no individualized feedback. The Forced Distribution Method requires raters to categorize employees into predetermined performance categories, which can limit nuanced narratives about individual performance. Each of these methods serves specific contexts and objectives in performance management, but the Essay Method distinctly highlights individual performance through narrative descriptions.