How To…Manage a successful performance review
Critical to all our businesses success is the performance of our employees. High performing employees equal high performing businesses. And high performing businesses means higher profits, sustainability and growth, Yes????
If you follow this simple narrative as I do then how come I hear of so many performance/appraisal reviews not happening and some employees saying that they have missed out on a review for a number of years or no one has fed back on well they are doing at all throughout their employment?
The thing is…I already know the answer to this one…. it’s time. The lack of it. I know that managing a team of people means juggling a multitude of balls and if there is a way to pop a score in a box without having the meeting, or simply not having the meeting at all and just saying ‘you’re doing a great job’ because the other things are louder, need more attention, and have a more demanding deadline then this is where the time is spent instead.
But for me, this is my non-negotiable. If you want high performing employees, you must tell them:
1) what you expect from them
2) tell them how they are doing
And, I think you can do this in a way that’s simple, doesn’t take loads of time but will instead give you time back.
It starts with setting Goals/Targets
For every new starter, and then either every couple of weeks, 1, 3, 6 or 12 months (you decide what is appropriate for your business) after their arrival goals or tasks must be set. Setting goals/tasks helps to tell your team member what it is you want them to do, how they’ll be measured at work, and how you expect them to go about achieving it (i.e., how to act or behave). Once goals/tasks have been agreed – you’ll need to come back after the deadline and review their output with them.
The Self Appraisal
Asking your team member to self-appraise before they get to a review meeting with you saves time for all as the employee starts to own their performance review process. They will have thought about their performance in advance and should be able to anticipate how the feedback is going to go.
Ask them to come prepared to answer the following 3 ‘Employee Questions’:
GOALS: Am I on track to achieve/or have achieved my goals? If achieved, how? If not, why not?
DEVELOPMENT: What development/additional training do I need/want?
SUPPORT: What support do I need from the business to help me be successful?
BUT – you’ll need to set this up first.
Send your team member an invite (this can be as simple as an email or calendar invite) to their performance review with you for a date in the future (ideally a week but at least 48 hours’ notice) and ask them to come prepared to discuss the 3 Employee Questions.
Keep it simple and if need be - Forget the paperwork (!)
Most medium to large businesses are likely to have a performance review/appraisal process. Timings, template paperwork, competencies, behaviours, scoring matrix etc…. however, many smaller businesses don’t and in my opinion – it’s ok to not have these, but it’s NEVER a reason not to conduct a performance/appraisal review with your team. Providing feedback to your team member on how well they’re performing should be something you already know the answer to, and you don’t need a 5-step process to get there. A summary of your review can be written up as a word document or even an email – as long as you have something to refer back to for future reference. It does not need to be fancy.
Use real examples to support your feedback
If you are conducting the review, there are 3 ‘Manager Questions’ that you need to prepare and know the answers to before you discuss with your employee:
GOALS: Did they achieve their goals? Discuss the tangible results
OBSERVATIONS: If the goals were achieved, what did you see them doing? If not, why not? What have you seen, heard and when?
DEVELOPMENT/NEXT STEPS: What needs to happen next? Consider – development, another goal, training, additional responsibilities, coaching or performance management.
GOALS: Did they achieve their goals? To help answer this look at any tangible results. They either achieved them, or they didn’t – what evidence do you have available that can help you know if they did or not. Have it ready for the meeting and know these results in advance.
If they have successfully achieved their goals, then these needs recognising and celebrating. Doing this tells your team member that this is the stuff that you value and want them to keep doing. Your recognition means that they are much more likely to repeat it and keep up the great work or stretch for more.
If they haven’t achieved their goals I’d start by asking them their thoughts on this if they haven’t already shared it with you. i.e., Why do they think this goal was not achieved? What should have happened in their opinion to achieve the result? What stopped this happening? Was this in their control? If they were set this goal again – what would they do differently to ensure it was achieved? After listening to their thoughts now add yours – remember to use real examples to support your feedback, not thoughts or opinions that cannot be backed up without evidence.
OBSERVATIONS: If the employee achieved the goals, how? If not, why not? What did you see/hear them do? To help answer these questions I’d ask you to think about ‘how’ your team member works – i.e., are they methodical? organised? professional? Friendly? etc. ‘What you see’ them doing at work i.e., always arrives on time, volunteers to support other teams when they are up against it, and what you ‘hear them saying’ at work i.e., talks to customers and colleagues in a friendly and professional tone, is well informed and knowledgeable about the product. This can be seen as more subjective than point 1, but still needs backing up with evidence and real examples in exactly the same way. What have you seen, heard and when?
Again, if ‘how’ your team member has performed is positive and in line with what you would expect and has contributed to their successful achievement of their goals tell them, congratulate and thank them so they continue to work in this way.
NEXT STEPS: What needs to happen next? Think in advance about your team members next steps. If they are achieving their goals in the way you’d expect, think about what’s next for them. What could stretch them? Are there new tasks you want them to be focused on? If they haven’t achieved the goals or how they have gone about performing them is not as expected these need addressing here. You may need to re-set the goals and think about additional training or support. OR, alternatively you may need to initiate a performance management process.
We hope this step by step guide has made you feel more confident about how to manage a successful performance review. However, if you’d like further guidance or would like to attend our performance reviews training course, then please don’t hesitate to contact us via the contact form on the website.