Evaluating employee performance is a key area of management skills. The challenge is to give the employees an accurate picture of their accomplishments, and of the areas in which they need to improve. Both are important: accomplishments because they give the employee a sense of pride in the work and a basis on which to build future achievements, and areas for improvement, because they give the employee some goal to reach for. Often, employees fear that the evaluation will be a negative experience. This fear alone can result in defensiveness and tension. The manager must take pains to lessen the employee's fear and make the evaluation a participatory (参与的) event. An employee who contributes ideas to his or her evaluation will be much more likely to agree with the outcome and be willing to follow the suggestions. The employee appraisal system is to improve employee performance. While areas needing improvement must be reviewed, this should always be done in the spirit of discovering goals the employee can work toward. This holds true for reviewing successes as well. While praise for past achievements may be used as a reward, at the time of the evaluation, the primary reason to look at the person's success is to determine areas in which he or she can continue to excel. Perhaps the most effective way to make the evaluation a participatory event is to ask the employee to come prepared to the meeting. The employer and employee each should carefully review the job description prior to the evaluation meeting and should make notes on areas in which the employee had difficulty or has made a contribution. It is important that these notes be specific' Does a good job' is not nearly as meaningful as 'Increased productivity by 35% '. Both parties should also draw up a short list of goals for the employee to achieve during the next evaluation period. Ideally, these goals should build upon the known strengths and successes of the employee. However, areas needing improvement must also be addressed. According to the passage, employees being evaluated ______.