In order for a company to succeed as a whole, its managers need to help their individual employees succeed by effectively managing their performance.
Performance reviews are more than just evaluations. They're an opportunity to increase productivity—and must be done correctly to prevent lawsuits. Get everything you need to do it all right with The Complete Performance Appraisal Kit.
All managers can benefit from these reminders:
Managers' attitude matters
"The attitude of managers is critical," says Jeannette Seibly, Human Performance Coach and Consultant, SeibCo, LLC (Highlands Ranch, Colo.). "Managers must have a mindset for the employee to win."
The goal is to evaluate the employee's performance, not attack his character; to build the employee up, not tear him down. This shouldn't be a "gotcha" kind of meeting, says Seibly. Nothing in the assessment should come as a surprise to an employee.
Seibly also notes that too many managers go into evaluations frustrated because they don't know what needs to be done to fix a performance deficiency. This "frustration will come across more than anything else" during the evaluation, she warns. She suggests that the manager should "ask a boss or ask a mentor" for guidance.
Communication skills are key
Whether having an informal performance coaching conversation or conducting a formal annual performance appraisal, managers should be reminded of these best communication practices.
• Be specific. Sweeping generalizations can too easily be misinterpreted or misunderstood. An employee needs to know exactly what he must stop doing or what he should continue to do.
• Support the assessment with evidence. Evidence doesn't necessarily have to be tangible (e.g., a letter of praise from a customer); the manager's visual observation of an example of stellar or substandard performance can suffice.
Written performance appraisals should include narrative comments to support ratings/rankings. Copying comments from the employee's previous reviews or only changing a few words here and there isn't acceptable.
The Complete Performance Appraisal Kit gives you a complete library of documents. Literally dozens of documents in Word format for you to download, edit as needed and save on your hard drive for use again and again. Learn more about the Model Performance Appraisal Form, the linchpin document of the system.
• Set goals. Focus on improving or sustaining performance in the future, rather than dwelling on past mistakes. Negative feedback should include steps for improvement.
• Take protected class and protected leave out of the picture. Watch for signs of illegal discrimination. For example, age shouldn't be noted as the reason for an employee's inability to learn new technology, just as leave taken under the FMLA shouldn't be used as evidence of an attendance problem.
• Talk with an employee, not at him. Some managers come across as more authoritative than necessary in order to be taken seriously. More times than not, however, such an approach backfires and puts an employee on the defensive.
• Use a collaborative tone. Instead of telling the employee he should do this and he should do that, ask for his input on how to improve or maintain performance. You want "a two-way conversation," says Seibly.
Employees should be allowed to explain their actions and question the assessment, within reason. It's good to know what's on an employee's mind; if the employee's thinking is flawed or the manager has misunderstood, this is the time to clear the air.
• Don't sweep any awkwardness under the rug. For example, a recently promoted manager may have difficulty criticizing a friend and former peer. The manager should acknowledge this awkwardness and stress that the meeting is professional and not personal.
• Use the sandwich approach. Seibly recommends saying two positive things, followed by two changes the employee needs to make (make them doable!), and then ending by making two more positive points. This approach is "so much more positive and powerful than anything else you can do," says Seibly, who cautioned against listing more than two changes at once for fear of overwhelming the employee.
• Don't apologize for negative feedback because doing so gives the impression that the assessment is inaccurate.
The Complete Performance Appraisal Kit
When we say "complete," we mean it. The kit includes: - A 147-page manual that explains the step-by-step process of a successful appraisal system. You'll get expert advice and practical tools to correctly plan, conduct and follow up on performance reviews.
A companion CD with the complete manual plus bonus content, including dozens of sample phrases to use in performance improvement plans. That way your managers don't have to start from scratch when determining criteria for everything from adaptability to initiative to teamwork.
- Also on the CD, a library of 27 customizable documents you can save to your hard drive and edit to suit your exact needs. Including a sample Performance Appraisal Policy, model Performance Appraisal Form, sample self-audit and dozens of other helpful documents.
Get the manual in your hands. Put the CD in your computer. See for yourself how The Complete Performance Appraisal Kit will improve your performance when conducting appraisals.
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