In the assessment phase, both employee and manager should evaluate the extent to which the desired behaviors have been displayed, and whether the desired results have been achieved. Although many sources can be used to collect performance information, the direct supervisor provides it in most cases. It is important that both the employee and the manager take ownership of the assessment process. The employee evaluates his own performance, and so does the manager.

When both the employee and the supervisor are active participants in the evaluation process, there is a greater likelihood that the information will be used productively in the future. It is the discrepancy between these views that is most likely to trigger development efforts, particularly when feedback from the supervisor and others is more negative than are employee self-evaluations.

The inclusion of self-appraisals can also reduce an employee’s defensiveness during an appraisal meeting and increase the employee’s perceptions of accuracy and fairness. In sum, both the employee and the supervisor must evaluate employee performance.