Tips to make your next performance appraisal powerful & effective

During performance reviews it is easy to get caught up in trying to make your employee comfortable with your feedback and to reduce stress. Many managers do this by being less careful with their language than they should, which creates problems down the track.

Here are some of the most common problems:

Telling white lies

“Senior management wouldn’t let me give out higher ratings than average”, “I didn’t have any problems with your performance, but I did have a few people complain” are all examples of telling the odd porky pie to cover your own level of discomfort. If you can’t tell them honestly – don’t tell them at all. Employees can pick up on your subtle body cues that you are being less than honest and this can tarnish any trust they have in you.

Trite sayings

To avoid conflict, many managers tend to fall back on trite sayings rather than tell the truth. Things like “There were a few problems, but nothing that can’t be dealt with”, “I believe you have the potential to do anything you put your mind to”, and “At least you learnt from this project” are less than helpful. Be explicit and tell people the truth “Yes it will impact your promotion prospects”. Being honest builds rather than breaks trust.

Enforcing secrecy

Many companies request employees keep their reviews confidential. This is seen as self serving and potentially trying to hide something by many employees. You are bound by confidentiality and must take active measures to keep their information private, but if they choose to pin up their results on the staff bulletin board, that is their responsibility.

Cookie cutter reviews

Many managers try to save time by using standard words or paragraphs. Some employees can see this as being insincere and lacking any real depth. They want to hear in your own words what you see are their personal strengths and challenges.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

Heart Harmony

We put your business into words

If you have an employee who is not performing, it is easy to get to fall into all or nothing thinking – “they are a poor performer”. But before you leap into a blanket judgment here’s a few questions to ask yourself.

1. Did they fail on only one project? Not every project is a stellar success. If the person had previously a history of good performance, but this particular project failed, then they may not be a bad performer – there may have been some internal dynamics or issues with the project that caused the problem. Check this out before judging.

2. Do they just disagree with you? Sometimes poor performers are just people with a different opinion to you. Are you judging them as a poor performer because they rub you up the wrong way or are you assessing from a truly factual position?

3. Have you been tainted by gossip? Mud sticks. Sometimes you may have heard gossip about the person, which may not be based in fact. This is a hard one to identify within yourself – but did you hear something negative about the person before you made your judgment about their capabilities?

4. Have you a superstar team? If you have a team of exceptional employees, a good employee may look like a poor performer in comparison. How real is the comparison?

5. Is there a pattern of poor performance or is it a recent thing? Look for patterns and trends. Check to see if there were any corporate triggers if the issue is a recent one.

Your poor performer may really just be problems about you or your organisation if you ask these questions first.

Until next time

Ingrid Cliff

Heart Harmony

We put your business into words

While popular literature tends to focus on employee’s nerves heading into review sessions, managers can also struggle at performance review time. Often highly charged with emotion the sessions can be extremely draining on all concerned.

To prepare for the next employee performance review cycle, try some of these performance review tips:

1. Get ready to move forward by looking back. Pull out last year’s Performance Review to look through it and refresh yourself on what was agreed to with the employee, what training or development tasks were assigned, and what metrics you will be looking at in the review session.

2. Look up the Position Description. Be aware of the position being evaluated. Does the paper description match the day to day reality? What might need adjusted heading into the discussion?

3. Gather your files. Pull together any relevant memos, updates, project reports or milestone information relating to the work that was accomplished during the year. Also, review any personnel file notes to ensure that attendance, vacation habits, and sick leave levels are satisfactory.

4. Organize your thoughts and make notes. Reading through items 1 – 3, you should get a clear idea of what issues you would like to discuss in the employee performance review. Naturally, the employee will have some items to discuss as well, but planning your key points will help keep the discussion on track.

5. Start planning ahead. You’ve seen where you’ve been, you’ve laid out your main discussion points for the session reviewing the work that’s been done, it is time to focus on what lies ahead. Make a short list of upcoming projects, development opportunities, and administrative items you will be discussing with the employee in the session.

Until next time
Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words
Heart Harmony – Freelance HR writer

Performance review templates: Comparison reviews, Forced choice reviews, Standards based reviews and Competency based reviews

When selecting a performance review template, many small businesses are surprised at the number of choices available to them. There isn’t a single standard form for doing employee performance reviews. Rather, businesses are responsible for selecting the performance review template that best suits their needs for that particular performance year.

This post gives you a quick overview of the four major review templates available.

Comparison reviews: Comparison reviews look at the job descriptions and performance metrics and make a simple comparison. Did the employee meet the required standards? Comparison reviews also can mean looking at the broader market to ensure that wage levels and perks continue to be competitive in the marketplace.

Forced choice reviews: In a forced choice rating system, behaviors are listed to one side with a performance descriptor listed to the other side. Managers are forced to choose, for example, whether helpfulness was achieved at the poor, satisfactory or outstanding level in the past year. This metric is also called forced choice because there is no place for managers to put comments or their own interpretations onto the selections.

Standards based reviews: A standards based review looks at the targets for the position and whether or not those target standards were met and to what level they were met. Employees can be rated as a pass/fail or on a sliding scale. Comments and manager interpretations are welcome.

Competency based reviews: Competency based reviews are also known as behaviorally anchored reviews. A list of specific skills and behaviors is created for the job, and rated according to the importance of each competency to success in the role. Usually the top 3 -5 competencies for a role make it onto the review. Workers are subsequently evaluated based on their performance against the named competencies for the position.

In many cases it doesn’t matter the performance review template you select – the priority is the discussion you have and the shared understanding you reach. The template is merely the final paperwork to document your discussion, so don’t get hung up on using the “right” form.

For some free performance review templates visit www.heartharmony.com.au/free-performance-review-templates.php

Until next time
Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words
Heart Harmony – Human Resource Management writer

When a bad review for an employee is on the horizon, managers get tense. It’s perfectly understandable. No one likes to deliver bad news, yet as a manager it is a responsibility that can’t be shirked.

Dealing with a bad review takes different tactics depending on the reason the review is going to be bad. It is one thing to do a negative employee performance review when performance is simply not up to standard at the moment but there is hope of improvement. It is quite another kind of employee performance evaluation when workplace norms are being willfully broken and the session may include a disciplinary aspect.

For either kind of review, consider carefully what you would like to see as an outcome and document everything along the way. DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. In this age of lawyers, one can’t be too safe.

For those who are simply not up to standard, a conversation focusing on gaps and the ways to fill those gaps can be quite helpful. Employees are likely aware that they are not meeting standards, but a focused conversation about expectations and outcomes can be both enlightening and motivating. For some, having that frank conversation about possible outcomes of continued poor performance is all that is needed to turn things around.

For those for whom it will be a disciplinary conversation, having all the paperwork in order is key. Managers will be able to approach the employee performance review much more calmly when they know they have a sound case with the appropriate documentation at hand. Anger and bluster have a tendency to melt before facts. Keeping the tone of the session professional will help both parties, so nervous managers may want to practice to ensure they are able to keep their cool and give good, meaningful feedback and critiques throughout the session.

For both kinds of “bad review” session, a bit of prior preparation will make the process much smoother. Have all the necessary files at hand, prepare a few remarks, and be ready for any emotional aspects which may come from the employee. Stay calm and focus on the process—giving reviews, good and bad, is just all in a days work.

Until next time
Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words
Heart Harmony – HR writer

One of the performance review tips that many managers choose to ignore is the rule to link job descriptions to employee performance reviews. It is ignored because it often takes a bit of effort and extra time. Everyone is pressed for time these days, but taking the time to improve the performance review template and bring it in line with current job descriptions will be well worth your trouble.

The issue begins when companies develop job descriptions for the first time and never update them, even though jobs have changed. Or perhaps the performance review template was done by a consultant five years ago and no one has touched it since. Either way, leaving employee performance reviews divorced from job descriptions can create fertile ground for misunderstandings, anger and litigation.

No one wants to be hired for one position and measured for another. Employees come to work wanting to be successful, and getting evaluated on seemingly random attributes of performance is a slap in the face.

Additionally, it can create unpleasant surprises at evaluation time as employees think they have met expectations based on the job description, when managers really wanted to see another set of behaviors entirely.

To ensure that everyone is clear on what is expected and to ensure that there are no surprises at review time, linking job descriptions to employee performance reviews is vital. Well begun is half done—don’t put it off any longer if you know its needed at your firm this year.

Until next time
Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words
Heart Harmony – Freelance HR writer

The employee performance review process  is not all about the employee. Managers also need to have objectives when they go into the session, yet many managers fail to set clear objectives for the meeting. As a result, the conversation can be less than efficient.

Managers without objectives they want to accomplish for the session can be easily sidetracked by petty concerns. Instead of spending an hour focused on the developmental needs of the employee sitting across from them, managers may get pulled into a pointless discussion of radio volume levels in the employee break room. Without a plan for the employee performance review, the employee will be running the show.

To avoid this, a little prior preparation on the part of the manager is required.

First, either independently or with the larger leadership team, managers need to decide on the strategic direction for the year.

Next, managers should translate that strategy into specific objectives for this particular employee or workgroup.

Then managers should convert those objectives into SMART (specific, measureable, actionable, realistic and time-bound) goals for the team.

Finally the manager should prepare what they would like to say about the individual employee’s performance.

With those objectives in mind, managers will be prepared for the employee performance review. With clear outcomes in mind, the conversations will be efficient and focused.

It is easier to select development and training opportunities, and employees should be able to see how their actions impact the overall well-being of the company. Both sides will come away from the meeting feeling that the time was well spent and with an understanding of what is to be accomplished in the year ahead.

Until next time
Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words
Heart Harmony -  HR writer

Despite having the best of intentions, both managers and employees often make mistakes during the employee performance review process. It’s an almost guaranteed occurrence. Everyone is so concerned about not messing up during the performance review that errors spring up at every turn.

The most common employee performance review mistakes stem from a lack of preparedness. Managers fail to review documentation prior to the session, getting things off on the wrong foot or missing key bits of information.

Employees fail to bring materials or to understand what they are going to be discussing in the meeting, allowing for false fears and false hopes to cause emotional stress. Neither party sets clear objectives, making the overall session less than perfectly efficient.

The next set of common mistakes stem from the real humanity of both parties involved. Ethics hotlines burn up with woeful participants who let slip inappropriate or foul language in review sessions, distraught staff who knocked drinks on managers, and managers who muddled the names of their associates. These mistakes happen because everyone is human, and should generally be overlooked.

My most memorable reviews have included employees fainting and even one throwing up in fear at their first review. Luckily most are not that extreme!

The last category of common mistakes made in review sessions can be prevented by being a little more tolerant and sensitive on all sides. This isn’t to say that either party should be a softie in the session, but hurt feelings and rough remarks come from failing to anticipate how something is likely to sound to the person across the table. Putting some thought into the words used before they are uttered can shield everyone from misunderstandings during the session.

Until next time
Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words
Heart Harmony – Freelance HR writer

Even the nicest manager who wouldn’t hurt a fly, who rescues kittens from trees and charms babies on the weekends, will make an employee cry at some point in their career. That moment is more likely to come during the employee performance review than at any other time of the year. Knowing that it is likely to happen at some point can help managers prepare for the possibility of tears prior to the session.

Having harsh feedback does not guarantee tears. Some employees will never cry, while others will always cry during an evaluation session because they are extremely stressed. Managers will never be able to prevent tears entirely, but there are things to do to be ready to preserve the dignity of the associate and the productiveness of the session at the same time.

First, put some thought into where the session is going to be held. An area with a little bit of privacy is preferable, especially if the feedback may be hard for the employee to hear. Arranging for the employee to sit with their back to the door will also prevent any lost face as tears will be hidden from passer-by. Keeping a box of tissue at hand will also help managers feel prepared for tears.

Managers should also remain calm and supportive if there are tears. While it is tempting to hug or otherwise comfort a crying staff member, modern litigation makes it unwise to touch staff even if it is innocently meant. Allow employees time to compose themselves, and move on with the session. Acknowledging tears is fine; both parties may be more comfortable once the issue has been acknowledged. If more time is needed later, simply schedule it without passing judgement.

Until next time
Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words
Heart Harmony -  HR copywriter

Pay for performance is a hot topic. Just as surely as the sun rises in the east, employees will do what they are financially incentivized to do. This makes it very tempting to link pay to employee performance reviews. However, linking pay and review sessions is not actually a good idea.

Employee performance evaluation sessions should be about the employee and what they have done over the past year. What went well, what went badly, and what development opportunities are ahead?. If done correctly it is a rich vein of two-way conversation where understanding can be created and ideas shared.

Pay, on the other hand, is not generally a two way conversation. There is no development. This is the amount of money available as salary for this position as a result of the business environment and unfortunately performance is not always a factor. Even the best performing banker is likely to see a reduction in salary this year for reasons that have nothing to do with personal performance.

Pretending that pay and performance can be linked without taking in to account broader market conditions sets employees up for disappointments. As the global economy tightens its belt, focusing on staff development separately from compensation will make employees feel valued even if there isn’t a hefty raise on the horizon.

It will also allow both managers and employees to focus on just one kind of conversation at a time. Studies show divided attention means less effective conversations. By making effective conversations a goal and keeping money a separate issue, employee performance reviews will go much more smoothly than in the days when the two conversations were combined.

Until next time
Ingrid Cliff

We put your business into words
Heart Harmony – Freelance HR writer