Performance Reviews - a chore or a rewarding experience?

 Yes, the dreaded performance appraisal.

For most, the one on one performance review is the most stressful work dialogue they will engage in all year.  It’s known to be the same old conversation – say some positive things about what the employee is good at, the same negative things about what they are not good at, jot these down, get the form signed, put it in the employee’s file and say thank goodness that’s out of the way.

The result (if you can call it a result) is a blurred message that leaves even your good employees feeling disappointed.  But if the right approach is taken, performance appraisals are a wonderful opportunity to reinforce solid performers and redirect poor ones.

So what is performance management?  

International HR experts and authors Wiess and Hartle define performance management as “A process for establishing a shared understanding about what is to be achieved, and how it is to be achieved, and an approach to managing people that increases the probability of achieving success”.

Their view is that it is a process and not just about a set of forms or the annual appraisal review. It is about the day to day actions and behaviours people use to improve performance in themselves and others.

To improve performance, individuals need to have a shared understanding about what performance (and success) in their jobs looks like.  It can be a list of tasks, goals, results or a set of behaviours (development plan).  These need to be clearly set out so people know what they are working towards.

The best approach to managing performance is about how individuals and teams work together and support each other to achieve shared goals.  It puts responsibility on managers to coach and train their staff.

Increasing the probability of achieving success is the major outcome of performance management.  It is about achieving goals and wins for the individuals and the company.  By providing a process that delivers clarity, support, feedback and recognition to all employees, management will see a significant performance improvement to the company’s benefit.

Using the old saying “what gets measured gets done”, it doesn’t mean working harder.  It means getting more value from the work that is already being done.

Performance management is a process, not an annual chore or event.  It should function as a continuous cycle i.e. putting the development plan into action as part of the day to day work and providing guidance and feedback.  The annual review should be a formal evaluation of performance over the period, covering achievements, progress and revising the performance development plan.  And so the cycle begins again.

The appraisal process revolves around things that an employee requires from his/her manager:

• Tell me what you want me to do  (Position description, development and improvement plan)
• Tell me how well I have done it  (Feedback)
• Help me to overcome defects  (Training)
• Reward me for outstanding performance (Wage increase, recognition)

For an appraisal to be effective, the emphasis is on two way conversation discussing the skills and abilities demonstrated on the job and the objectives set at the previous session a year (or 6 months) ago.  The aim is to build strengths, overcome weaknesses and set new objectives.  Setting objectives gives you tangible data to review during the appraisal process. Focus on what employees are doing that is effective, what they are doing that is not working and what actions are required to improve these areas.

Be careful not to use generalizations such as ‘you need to be more proactive’ or ‘your attitude is an issue’.  Be specific, give examples and focus on behaviours.

Many review forms have an employee rating scale - the emphasis should not be on scoring, but on performance improvement rather than whether Billy should get a 3 or 4 out of 5 for knowledge of a specific job characteristic.  Don’t get bogged down in the detail. And never ask your employees to rate themselves. This is a time for feedback from their manager, not an employee’s self-assessment (which can just lead to trouble and dischord if the manager’s view is different).

So how about taking the performance reviews out of the “too hard basket” and using them to grow both your business and your employees?  It can be a rewarding experience for employers and employees. And, if you can build a great team, they can build your business.

Paddy Battersby, Battersby HR Consulting, Phone 09 838 6338, Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.