Ah, the dreaded performance review. So many managers look at this as a tremendous chore, while employees waver between hopeful and anxious. Why is it that having a private conversation between a manager and an employee can evoke so many emotions and potentially leave so many scars? As noted in Abolishing Performance Appraisals: Why They Backfire and What to Do Instead
“Too often, appraisals destroy human spirit and, in the span of a 30-minute meeting, can transform a vibrant, highly committed employee into a demoralized, indifferent wallflower who reads the want ads on the weekend.”
What can you do to make sure this doesn’t happen?
- Focus more on the conversation than the document. While the document is nice to have the conversation is critically important. Your employees want to talk with you – they want to engage in a conversation about their work. The conversation is your moment of truth in the review process.
- Involve your employees in advance. Rather than (or if you must, in addition to) a self-assessment – give them some questions in advance that you want to discuss during the review meeting.
- What accomplishments are you most proud of this year?
- What’s something you would like to improve? How would you go about doing that?
- What do you like best about your job? Least?
- What would you change about your job?
- Keep the conversation going. Conversations about an employee’s performance should be on-going not just annual events. Commit to having regular dialogue with all of your employees about work, their likes, dislikes, suggestions, improvements, and feedback all year long.
If you want performance reviews to be less of a chore and more impactful – think about the performance conversation. Make sure it’s happening with the employee and not to the employee!
Make sure the performance review is happening with the employee and not to the employee!
Coaching Thoughts – For You and Your Peers
- Think back to the best performance discussion a boss had with you. What made it memorable?
- Why do you think the performance review document is such a focus for managers and companies?
- How would you answer these questions for yourself?
- What accomplishments are you most proud of this year?
- What’s something you would like to improve? How would you go about doing that?
- What do you like best about your job? Least?
- What would you change about your job?
