The Power of the Performance Review Done Right
By Razelle Janice Drescher
The Performance Review is often misused and can inspire fear in the employee on the receiving end. This is often because of the context or lack thereof for that review. Here are examples of what can happen when a Performance Review is out of context:
1. The employee doesn’t know what to expect. She hasn’t heard much from her manager since the last review. She doesn’t really know where she stands or how she is doing.
2. She thinks that little contact with her manager must be better than a lot of contact since contact usually happens in this company when something has gone wrong.
3. She feels very stressed on the job but hasn’t mentioned this to her manager, thinking that the manager will blame her for not handling her job well.
4. She thinks that if she keeps a low profile, she will get by but there are things she needs help with and worries that if her manager knows this, it will reflect badly on her.
5. She doesn’t feel comfortable going to her manager for help. She just doesn’t feel safe being vulnerable with her manager about the challenges she has on the job.
What Is Wrong with This Picture?
The most obvious missing piece here is the lack of ongoing communication with the employee’s manager. In fact, it goes further than that. In this example, there is a lack of relationship between the manager and the employee. The employee is not the one who is responsible for this lack. The good news here is that the manager is the one who is accountable for establishing a healthy, trusting relationship with the employee from Day 1.
But what does that mean? Many managers don’t know what they should be doing as a manager or how to go about establishing a good relationship based on trust and respect. So they often only interact with the employee when there is a problem of some kind with the employee’s work. That sets up a fear-based relationship and misses the true opportunity that is available for both the manager and the employee to succeed.
The Alternative - How to Establish and Maintain Healthy Work Relationships
Here 3 key steps for establishing a healthy work relationship based on accountability, respect and trust for any manager:
- Meet with the new hire on Day 1 to establish how you will work together and what management style will work best to support your new employee. Some employees need more support than others who work best independently. Communication must be a 2-way street to determine what kind of support is needed. The two key topics for this first meeting are what you expect from the employee and what the employee can expect from you.
- Review the job requirements and standards with the employee to make sure there is clarity on the overall result expected, the work tasks that are included and the standards the employee has to meet. The document best suited to capture all this information is the Position Agreement. It goes beyond a job description which is often a list of the tasks to be done and the experience required. Job descriptions are best used in a recruiting context. The Position Agreement provides more clarity about what is expected day-to-day. Including standards in this document can avoid a lot of problems that can be caused by a lack of shared expectations.
- Explain how you will support the employee’s success. What is required for this is a ‘management system.’ This may sound complicated, but it isn’t. What it means is simply meeting regularly with the employee to discuss what’s working well and what needs improvement. Meeting regularly can promote trust as long as the tone of the meeting is positive, even in the face of challenges.
The Opportunity
These ‘Employee Development Meetings’ create the right context for building trust. Two-way communication is essential. These meetings should be a safe place for the employee to be honest about the help they need. The opportunity here is for the employee to tell the manager the bad news as well as the good news, with no fear of retribution. Regular meetings of this nature provide the chance to recognize the employee for their successes and help them create an improvement plan for their challenges. The frequency of these meetings can vary. They can be weekly for 30 minutes or less frequent depending on the setting.
The notes taken by the manager in these meetings provide a picture of the employee’s progress over time. When the Performance Review rolls around, the manager has something accurate to review about the employee’s track record. Without a record of this type, the manager is likely to just remember the most recent instances of performance. That is what creates a Performance Review that is out of context.
The Position Agreement plays a key role in assuring that the employee stays on track. It should be reviewed often by the employee since there is often a lot of information. Even as an employee becomes skilled in their job, it is helpful to review that document from time to time. It is unfair to expect the employee to remember all the details without that review. If the employee has questions about that document, the Employee Development Meetings are the right place to talk about them.
No Surprises
Does your business have a management system in place to maximize employee well-being and performance? Do you know if your employees are afraid to tell you the bad news? Putting a management system in place isn’t hard to do. And it is a feature that will set your business apart and invite employees to join your company if you highlight it during your recruitment and hiring initiatives. This is the context that gives meaning to Performance Reviews. If you want to know more about how that would work in your company, call Janice at 408-884-8861 for a complimentary conversation.
And finally, the issues that need to be addressed and improved during a Performance Review should never come as a surprise to the employee. Having these ongoing ‘Employee Development Meetings’ goes a long way to ensuring success for the employee and the manager. Learn more about the other management tools designed to establish and maintain healthy work relationships and get consistent results through your team here –
https://www.intentionalleaders.com/blog/post/the-value-of-management-tools