How To Do an Effective Performance Review

by Laura Benjamin, Colorado Communication and Career Coach

Does the term "performance review" strike fear into the hearts of your team? Do you suspect it's one of they primary reasons why teams fail? It was the topic of one of my electronic newsletters last year and within 5 minutes of sending it out, I received a number of emails from folks saying, "Boy, I am guilty of quite a few of your top 10 on that list...do you have more information you can send me?" It appears that the performance development and review issue is a gnarly one (gnarly means gosh-darn-awful) from either side of the desk. So, here's a little more information to help along the way, regardless if you are the performer or the evaluator:

Place the focus of your development and review efforts on the results/behaviors that you want, rather than to prevent behaviors/results you want to avoid. I'm not suggesting you should totally ignore destructive/ineffective behaviors, but make sure the scales don't tip too much toward a "thou shalt not" conversation than a "how can I help you get to..." emphasis.

Encourage self-reviews first. Herbert H. Meyer (Academy of Management Executive, 1991) said that self-reviews change the role of the manager to one of counselor, rather than judge - a role from which the manager can do more to support people. He wrote that self-reviews "...enhance the subordinate's dignity and self respect." Involving the employee as an equal in the process to increase commitment to action plans, making the entire process both more satisfying and productive.

Carefully consider whether you want to jump on the 360 degree bandwagon. Done right and done well, these instruments pull feedback confidentially from those equal to, above, and below the person being evaluated. Done poorly or without proper controls, they can be the most destructive thing you'll ever do to your employee. Talk to a number of those who have administered them, and look at a number of instruments before deciding to proceed.

Tie your organizational goals and objectives to company values, such as Trust, Collaboration, Continuous Learning, Customer Focus, Developing Others, Gaining Commitment, Innovation, Quality, Safety, and Tenacity to name a few.

Make sure employees know that they EARN their results, as long as you can look them straight in the face and know that you are giving them their best shot with reasonable goals and expectations. Don't change the rules of the game mid-way, and please be sure to take pains to coach them regularly on their achievements and gaps.

If your managers and supervisors don't have the best grasp of the English language, grammar, sentence structure, or just basically knowing how to convey positive, constructive messages, please consider using a tool like "Performance Now" from Knowledge Point. Clients have told me that they swear by this product and I'm not above sharing it with you if it's something that will help. One client says she uses it to supplement their existing in-house Performance Management system because it coaches her supervisors with language that helps support the ratings the employee has earned. A number score is just the tip of the iceberg - you must be able to support it with what you say and this software helps you do just that. Unfortunately, no, I don't get a commission for recommending it to you, but I might just pursue that!

The information on this web site is copyright © 2001-2008 by Laura Benjamin and Pinehurst Press Ltd. Creative Commons. Some rights reserved. Permission to reprint with attribution please and a live link to http://www.LauraBenjamin.com. Please contact me to complete any "Permission to Use Copyrighted Material" documentation. Thank you in advance!

Laura Benjamin is a Colorado Communication, Career and Marketing Coach, professional speaker, strategic planning facilitator and writer. She is also the Author of The C.A.R.L.A. Concept™: How to Raise an Issue, Prove Your Point and Communicate with Confidence & Clarity. To interview Laura or access her free educational and entertaining audio podcasts, blog posts and articles, please visit www.LauraBenjamin.com.