This year we took two separate publications, a print newspaper staff and an online staff, and merged them into one staff that produces a monthly newsmagazine and a daily website. It’s become one big, crazy newsroom with lots of bodies moving in different directions working on wildly different assignments all at the same time. As a result, I had to change the way I evaluated and provided feedback to them on their performance. Here are the standards we established:
- We would work in monthly assessment periods determined by the print production cycle.
- Each staff member would produce at least three online content items and one print content item or page per cycle (though many exceed that).
- Each staff member would produce at least one multimedia project and one page design per semester (though many exceed that).
- We would maintain the same standards for photography and ad sales.
Included here is a copy of the two evaluation forms we use each production cycle. They are:
- The portfolio assessment sheet: Completed by the staff member and submitted to me. In addition to the portfolio assessment form, staff members must also update their online portfolio of work. I give feedback at the bottom and a grade for that cycle before returning it to the staff member with the…
- The performance evaluation sheet: Completed by the head editors (EIC and Managing Editors) for each staff member. There’s no grade on this one. Much more like a job evaluation, editors can indicate where expectations and standards are being met and which areas need improvement. This is useful for giving feedback on things like making deadlines, working with others, exhibiting professionalism, etc.
Both sheets are stapled together and returned to the staff member about a week after the end of each cycle. If a staff member has any questions, or if a staff member’s performance requires it, we may also have individual conferences.
I’ve provided the PDF version of the forms below (which are fillable PDF forms). If you’d like a copy of the inDesign files, feel free to email me directly.
Written By: Michelle Balmeo