Managing Performance: How To Conduct A Performance Review Right
Managing Performance: How To Conduct A Performance Review Right
"Have a seat, Maaaaaark," Mr. Benson directed in a formal tone not used often for making small talk. "So, before we begin your annual performance review, is there something you'd like to tell me?"
OK, maybe performance reviews you've given in the past weren't quite as dramatic and intimidating as that. Then again, from the employee's perspective, the last appraisal may have seemed just as soul crushing.
Many employers use performance reviews as the time to discuss salary increases. Knowing that the boss is going to dredge up dirty laundry about a mistake made six months ago in one breath, and then discuss your salary increase percentage in the next breath, is a situation likely to turn employees into walking masses of anxiety.
Bad performance review procedures can leave employees feeling stressed out and employers feeling exasperated. With once a year reviews, lost productivity is a common problem since the company virtually shuts down as all employees go through the performance review process.
Some employers use the annual review as the ONLY time to discuss performance issues with employees. Employees wait months to find out they did something they shouldn't have done. Meanwhile, employers don't nip problems in the bud and can miss out on major opportunities for improvement.
Effective performance review procedures don't come into place without careful planning. Here are 3 tips to remember:
1. Annual Performance Reviews By Themselves Don't Work
Most employees want immediate feedback when they do something wrong, and especially if they do something right. Managing performance is about making sure employees are effective on an ongoing basis. Having regular monthly, weekly, or even daily, discussions with employees about what they are doing well and where they can improve is critical to effectively managing performance. A once a year meeting can certainly be used to summarize performance from the previous year, but there really shouldn't be any surprises at that meeting because all issues have already been discussed during the year.
2. Have A Normal Dialogue
Have regular, informal, ongoing discussions with employees to find out what's happening with them. Have a normal, relaxed conversation. That way, when you do go into serious negotiations over salary or position, it's not an anxiety-filled exercise. After all, it's supposed to be a performance discussion, not an investigation.
3. Look Forward, Not Just Backwards
Use a performance review meeting to discuss not only your observations of past performance, but also to set goals and targets for the upcoming month, quarter, year or whatever time period you need to consider. Discuss areas in which the employee wants to develop to advance their career, and how the company can help them achieve that. Talk about how the employee's position supports overall company objectives and the part they play in helping the company succeed.
Performance discussion meetings are a two-way conversation. Employers need to talk with employees about current projects and achievements, ask the right questions, and provide constructive feedback. Employees need to use the meeting as an opportunity to discuss the support they require or to make suggestions for improvement at the company.
Regular and effective performance discussions can provide the following benefits:
- Work Gets Done
When performance reviews are built into your company's regular processes and procedures, it's much easier to maintain workflow.
- Staff Feel More Comfortable
Employees who maintain good communication with regular feedback from their manager are less stressed. They can focus on their jobs.
- Performance Improves
By providing regular feedback, employers ensure that employees perform optimally and, ultimately, help the company function better overall.
Managing performance is an essential function for anyone who has employees reporting to them. Managing performance effectively inspires employees to be top performers.
Managing Performance How To Conduct A Performance Review Right - To learn more about this author, visit Cissy Pau's Website.
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Mark stumbled nervously into the darkened office. The door closed behind him with a faint click. A silhouette of a big desk and the man behind it loomed imposingly, seeming to fill up the room.
"Have a seat, Maaaaaark," Mr. Benson directed in a formal tone not used often for making small talk. "So, before we begin your annual performance review, is there something you'd like to tell me?"
OK, maybe performance reviews you've given in the past weren't quite as dramatic and intimidating as that. Then again, from the employee's perspective, the last appraisal may have seemed just as soul crushing.
Many employers use performance reviews as the time to discuss salary increases. Knowing that the boss is going to dredge up dirty laundry about a mistake made six months ago in one breath, and then discuss your salary increase percentage in the next breath, is a situation likely to turn employees into walking masses of anxiety.
Bad performance review procedures can leave employees feeling stressed out and employers feeling exasperated. With once a year reviews, lost productivity is a common problem since the company virtually shuts down as all employees go through the performance review process.
Some employers use the annual review as the ONLY time to discuss performance issues with employees. Employees wait months to find out they did something they shouldn't have done. Meanwhile, employers don't nip problems in the bud and can miss out on major opportunities for improvement.
Effective performance review procedures don't come into place without careful planning. Here are 3 tips to remember:
1. Annual Performance Reviews By Themselves Don't Work
Most employees want immediate feedback when they do something wrong, and especially if they do something right. Managing performance is about making sure employees are effective on an ongoing basis. Having regular monthly, weekly, or even daily, discussions with employees about what they are doing well and where they can improve is critical to effectively managing performance. A once a year meeting can certainly be used to summarize performance from the previous year, but there really shouldn't be any surprises at that meeting because all issues have already been discussed during the year.
2. Have A Normal Dialogue
Have regular, informal, ongoing discussions with employees to find out what's happening with them. Have a normal, relaxed conversation. That way, when you do go into serious negotiations over salary or position, it's not an anxiety-filled exercise. After all, it's supposed to be a performance discussion, not an investigation.
3. Look Forward, Not Just Backwards
Use a performance review meeting to discuss not only your observations of past performance, but also to set goals and targets for the upcoming month, quarter, year or whatever time period you need to consider. Discuss areas in which the employee wants to develop to advance their career, and how the company can help them achieve that. Talk about how the employee's position supports overall company objectives and the part they play in helping the company succeed.
Performance discussion meetings are a two-way conversation. Employers need to talk with employees about current projects and achievements, ask the right questions, and provide constructive feedback. Employees need to use the meeting as an opportunity to discuss the support they require or to make suggestions for improvement at the company.
Regular and effective performance discussions can provide the following benefits:
- Work Gets Done
When performance reviews are built into your company's regular processes and procedures, it's much easier to maintain workflow.
- Staff Feel More Comfortable
Employees who maintain good communication with regular feedback from their manager are less stressed. They can focus on their jobs.
- Performance Improves
By providing regular feedback, employers ensure that employees perform optimally and, ultimately, help the company function better overall.
Managing performance is an essential function for anyone who has employees reporting to them. Managing performance effectively inspires employees to be top performers.
Managing Performance How To Conduct A Performance Review Right - To learn more about this author, visit Cissy Pau's Website.
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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