Performance appraisal – do these two little words give you shivers or smiles?

Many managers dread performance appraisals and will go to great lengths to avoid them. Yet in reality it can be one of the most positive and valuable activities that a manager performs. Years ago, Peter Drucker said that the best managers help their people do two main things: set goals and achieve them.

Why should we spend time on Performance Appraisals?

Performance appraisals serve three main purposes for the employer – to assess employee performance, to determine the role of the employee in the future, and to further employee development. More specifically, performance appraisals will assist a manager to:

• Ensure that employees are aligned with departmental and organizational goals;
• Measure and assess individual performance against standards and goals;
• Monitor productivity;
• Identify weaknesses and strengths that may have not ordinarily surfaced;
• Increase and improve communications resulting in getting to know the employee better;
• Provide administrative data for promotion, pay adjustment and training assignments;
• Send the message that you are not too busy to spend time with an employee and that you care about their performance.

 

Employees gain much from a thorough performance appraisal and can:

• Learn what behaviors and attitudes they need to improve or modify;
• Discuss the status of projects and goals; ensure that they are on the right track;
• Discuss their future.

 

Jointly, both parties have the opportunity to:

• Mutually identify and establish standards of performance that are challenging;
• Develop and build trust levels, confidence and respect;
• Listen meaningfully to each other and understand each other’s roles;
• Provide feedback.

 

It is the process of appraisal that is vital to employee development and productivity. This process relies on good communications between the employer and employee to be successful.

Performance Appraisal Meetings:

How often should we meet?

Performance appraisals should be governed by the organization’s calendar, not the clock. Assuming that goals and objectives are set jointly at the beginning of the year, each quarter is an excellent time to formally review progress made against those goals. Moreover, managers should look for opportunities to coach their employees every day.

How do I prepare for a meeting?

Before meeting with the employee, review all documentation. Ask the employee to prepare a summary of his or her own performance and review thoroughly. Seek out feedback from other managers or customers. Look for any commendations or letters you may have received about the employee during the year. Review notes from previous meetings. Plan the meeting in advance. Do not miss pre-arranged performance meetings. Both parties should give the meeting the highest priority possible.

Keep a file or a written log of employees’ performance. Why a log? We all have imperfect memories. When managers do not prepare for appraisal meetings until the very end of the year, there is tendency to focus on the negative. A December retrospective is likely to lose track of many examples of positive performance from the previous eleven months.

Review the goals to ensure that they are attainable, challenging and still relevant. Clearly described goals where both parties input increases commitment in achieving these goals.

Where should we meet?

An appropriate and quiet room is required. The most commonly used location, a manager’s office, may not always be the best place as it is not neutral ground and telephone interruptions may ensue. A conference room or meeting room is often best.

The setting should relax employees, not add to their anxiety. Consider meeting in the employee’s office if it has a door, or borrowing a colleague’s office. Meeting somewhere other than your office also makes it easier to end the meeting.

Assessment: How to give and take?

The employee’s assessment of his or her own performance is the first area of discussion. It is important to ensure that the employee is heard. In effective coaching, a manager will reflect and summarize the employee’s views before moving to their own evaluation. A crucial manager responsibility is assessing and giving timely feedback to employees on their performance. Feedback that is given as soon as possible has proven to be the most effective in addressing the error or replicating the success. Examples of incidents in your documentation can be shared with the employee.

Assessing performance in some jobs where there are specific outputs, which can be counted and quantified directly, is ideal. For many jobs, however, measurement is a challenge. Employers must rely on the observations and judgements of managers to appraise performance. While established organizational performance measures will in most cases form the core of the appraisal, non-performance behaviours need to be considered and discussed in assessing the overall contribution of the employee. These include measures such as tardiness, absenteeism and turnover.

Why do I worry so much about the appraisal meeting?

Two of the most common fears that managers have about performance appraisals are confrontations and surprises. This is usually a result of a lack of communication between the manager and employee. Unfortunately many managers avoid delivering performance reviews for fear of confrontation.

“No surprises” is a key element to any evaluation process. Employees want to know how they are performing. They want to be treated with respect and as partners throughout the performance cycle. To support this and ensure that there are no surprises, continuous assessment, and feedback is vital in communication and will lessen the likelihood of a confrontation.

Surprises beget confrontations. Communication prevents them. By means of periodic discussions throughout the year, fear and anxiety are reduced because the employee is well aware of any problems or concern areas. Otherwise the performance meeting could take on enormous proportions especially if it impacts salary. With all the tension in the room, how can it be a successful interchange?How do I communicate?

Deliver the appraisal in simple language. This isn’t a meeting to renegotiate the objectives or the standards for performance that were set at the beginning of the year.

As you prepare for the review meeting, focus. People rarely hear everything, particularly when they are ill at ease or under stress. If you want the employee to hear a core message, make it clear to yourself first.

State the facts and be honest. Often, managers feel a need to hide the bad news. They are afraid to hurt the employee’s feelings, they fear an argument, or they just do not feel comfortable discussing the individual’s shortcomings. If the employee has no performed as well as expected or hoped, this is NOT necessarily a poor reflection on the manager. If someone’s performance has been below standards, managers owe it to the employee, the organization, and themselves to inform the employee.

How do I end the meeting on a positive note?

Encouragement. At the conclusion of the performance appraisal meeting, which also marks the end of one performance appraisal cycle and the beginning of the next, your job is to encourage. Motivate the employee to continue doing that, which makes a contribution or positive behaviours, and offer suggestions in areas where there is room for growth. Even if the employee’s appraisal has not been as high as he/she expected, reinforce positive results and provide support in professional development. Look for small “wins”.

Discussing the employee’s professional development plan is an excellent opportunity to express support by letting the employee know that you are willing to invest time and the organization’s training dollars in the employee’s growth in the company. The performance management process is actually the organization’s best retention tool. Let them know that you believe in them and their ability to improve. Your willingness to work with and invest in them is a wonderful turnaround tool to effect an attitude adjustment.

Why is the process so important?

The late Mason Haire is often quoted for the truism: “that which gets measured gets done”. Managers will begin to see how they can use the process to obtain greater productivity and retention from their employees. Managers are held accountable for business results, as well as for retention of their people. But it is the process of having effective communications, clarifying expectations and encouraging professional development that provides the most value for both parties. Conducting an effective, thoughtful and skilled performance appraisal should be part of every management toolkit and not an HR paperwork program or once per year average-merit raise excuse.

Source: “Performance Appraisals with More Gain, Less Pain,” Harvard Management Communication Letter, March 2003

Source: Penguin Human Resources Consulting

Source: Tim Connor, Connor Resource Group, February 22, 1999.

Source: “Employee Development”, Human Resources Management in Canada, Prentice-Hall Canada

Teresa Howe, CHRP, is an independent HR consultant and writer. As an HR executive with 15 years of generalist experience, she has contributed to several successful organizations being recognized as Canada’s Top 100 Employers and created meaningful change. As a long-standing member of the HRPAO, she also serves as president of the Board of Directors for Jobstart, a not-for-profit organization, speaks at conferences and creates workshops on HR related issues. Teresa can be reached at tandthowe@yahoo.ca.