Performance Reviews as a Roadmap for Success

At Reviewsnap, we often talk about how a performance review can take on the form of a personal business plan for individual employees. When a review combines competency measurement, goal definition and measurement, and a defined development plan for the upcoming review period, the employee has a road map for success. A business plan is really just a road map for success for the business.

We suggest making the review process more "strategic" and results-oriented than is sometimes the case. Thinking of the performance review as not only a feedback mechanism, but as a success plan will be more productive for the employee and will often yield much better results for all involved. Also, employees feel better about the process when feedback is accompanied by a legitimate and thorough plan for helping them be successful.

The first step in moving along this path is to begin moving work units toward a more complete approach to performance management in general. This represents a cultural change and will likely need to be accomplished incrementally. But graduating to this more strategic kind of approach can produce various results including, but not limited to:

- A more focused employee.
- Better engagement due to very clear goals and known support from management in terms of assisting in the employee's development.
- A platform on which the manager and employee can communicate commonly and effectively about expected results.
- Performance reviews that really have some "teeth" and review sessions that tend to be more productive and ultimately more fruitful in terms of results.
- A year-to-year plan that the employee "owns" and feels positive about being able to achieve.

Certainly effective communication on the part of the manager is important in this process, but thinking about performance reviews in a more strategic framework should produce better overall results over time.

Could It Be Me?

When an employee's performance falters, the natural reaction is to blame the employee first. Employees are responsible for at least meeting expectations and when they don't they are surely doing something wrong, aren't working hard enough or just can't do the job. Right? Well probably, but is the manager doing his or her job effectively to help that employee be successful?

An employee's performance is often tied directly to the quality of management oversight and assistance. The role of a manager is complex. The following list offers an idea as to what the manager should generally be doing with respect to supervising employees:

- Hiring people well suited to the job.
- Establishing rapport and trust with employees.
- Setting clear, demanding and reasonable expectations for employees.
- Communicating effectively on a regular basis.
- Training and development of employees.
- Planning and defining projects and work.
- Enforcing accountability.
- Creating an environment where high performance can occur
- Providing ongoing informal and formal feedback about performance to employees.
- Coaching and counseling of employees.
- Employee discipline when necessary.

When an employee is struggling, managers should first ask this question; "Am I doing my job to the best of my ability?". There are many cases where an ineffective manager has a profound negative impact on one or more employees. When a manager is ineffective, even an employee who has a history of good performance can be affected in a negative manner.

Looking at the list above, how many of the tasks do your managers do consistently well? Managing people requires constant attention to your own performance. The trickle down effect of marginal management on employee performance can't be overstated. But, as we know, it can be difficult for some managers to admit that they are contributing to an employee's performance problems.

Employees who might ordinarily struggle under a less effective manager sometimes flourish under a manager who consistently does his or her job well. But why? A good manager understands their employees' weaknesses and works with them to strengthen those weaknesses. The challenge in managing people is that is takes hard work and a lot of time to do it well. Most managers are unwilling or unable to put in the time and effort required to help employees be as successful as possible.

Effective managers tend to be willing to spend the time necessary to help their employees do their jobs well. They don't immediately dismiss the employee as the problem. Rather they work with them to develop their skills and create an environment where the employees don't feel threatened if they do make a mistake.

Obviously, there are employees who will never be able to do the job they are currently attempting to do. How the manager deals with these employees is critical to the performance of the work unit as well. Too many managers ignore problem employees. Left unchecked, problem employees not only underperform, but they can cause those around them to do so as well.

When every attempt has been made to coach and assist an employee to higher levels of performance, but it becomes obvious that the employee just cannot do the job, it's time to deal with that employee either by finding a job they can do well or by following the prescribed discipline and termination process.

When an employee is struggling to meet expectations, ask why? Look first at yourself. Are you really managing effectively? Use the list above and continually critique yourself in terms of how well you are doing each of the things on that list. Ask yourself if an employee's performance problems could be associated with your ineffectiveness and, if so, in what manner. Ask your employees to give you feedback about your performance. Let them do so in a nonthreatening way. Ask your peers to do the same.

Can You Become a Better Strategic Thinker?

Thinking strategically doesn't always come easy for most of us. Or we get sidetracked by all of the operational stuff that comes up on a daily basis and we get away from looking at our businesses or work units from a strategic perspective.

So we offer a few things you can do to help ensure that some level of strategic thinking is in place on a consistent basis:

1.Remember that the foundation for a sound strategic plan is goals. They provide direction and focus and well as a basis for finding alternative ways of achieving them. Never lose sight of your goals.

2. Forget about "the way it's always been done". Think about how things could be and/or should be. Get outside your comfort zone!

3. Practice creative thinking. Tell yourself that no idea is too crazy. Generate as many ideas as possible. As an example, take one of your products or services and list all of the possible ways it could be marketed remembering that anything goes. Force yourself to be creative and think "outside the box".

4. Analyze and process data and information in an unbiased manner. Good long-term strategies are developed around good information and sound logical reasoning. Take the time to gather good data/information, but don't get caught up in over-analyzing things.

5. Look outside the operating environment. Learn to look at customers and markets available to you. Get externally focused. Understand your markets well and think about how new approaches might make sense.

6. Think in strategic terms rather than task-oriented terms. For example, suppose a goal is to grow revenues at an annual rate of 9%. This sets off all kinds of task-oriented thinking; staff needs, promotional materials, space planning, etc. Think more in terms of alternative strategies for growing the business....new ways to penetrate existing markets with a new product for example.

7. Become a thinker. Take time to sit back and clear your mind of details and just think. Think less about details and more about your goals and how to achieve them. Step back and think big picture on a regular basis. Find quiet time to do it. Thought can be the most productive form of work.

8. Generate as many ideas as possible. Quantity will often breed quality. Also, some ideas can come together to form very effective strategies.

Is it Just a Bad Day or is it Everyday?

Everybody has the occasional bad day at work. What often starts as a problem or irritant outside the office can get carried over to work. Or what looks like a promising day turns sour because of one or more work related issues.

But what about the employee who just seems to be in a bad mood or negative frame of mind most or all of the time? What's their excuse?

Employees who come to work on a frequent basis in a bad mood or with a negative outlook have an impact on the organization in a number of ways, not the least of which is the way they affect co-workers or bosses. These employees are often referred to as having a bad attitude. An employee with a truly bad attitude can create unnecessary tension and "noise" within a work unit to the extent that productivity is reduced.

Be careful though in characterizing an employee as having a bad attitude. It's important to focus on the behavior of the employee. A person with a bad attitude tends to respond negatively to many things within the workplace. This response is the behavior that results from having what many call a bad attitude and is what needs to be focused on when coaching the employee.

Focus on the behaviors exhibited by the employee rather than simply talking about a bad attitude. Employees need to understand how their specific behaviors affect those around them and the organization in general.

Telling an employee that he or she has a bad attitude likely won't resonate with them. In fact, because they are generally negative anyway they will take it as unfair criticism without basis. That's why it is even more important to pinpoint their behaviors and how they are affecting the team.

On performance reviews, this can be especially important. For the various competencies the employee is being measured against, point out the behaviors that support the lower ratings that are likely to be found on the review. Because an employee who is intent on being a negative influence may well be "managed out" of the organization, being as specific as possible on reviews and other ongoing feedback is critical.

The importance of documenting the behaviors that provide evidence of the bad attitude can't be overstated. Let's face it, if an employee brings an attitude to work that leads to negative responses to many situations, there is a good chance that he or she will create issues if and when they are terminated. Documentation of behaviors help cover a managers backside and may even help the employee recognize that a behavioral change is in order.

Keep attitude and behavior separated and focus on changing behavior. While you may not see the results you expect, you will be doing what is necessary to move the employee forward or out.

ReviewSNAP Announces Learning Content Integration

-Performance Management Software Will Now Link Learning Content with Performance Competencies-

ReviewSNAP™ announced today an enhancement to their performance management software that will map learning content to performance competencies. The enhancement will be released early in the first quarter of 2012. The company plans to provide users of its web-based performance management system with the ability to schedule, complete and track online coursework linked to competency groups. The product enhancement is being referred to as learning content integration or LCI.

This enhancement will allow users of the system to create a development plan consisting of scheduled online or internal coursework. The system will create employee-specific transcripts of coursework and their completion dates for any development review period. The learning content integration allows coursework to be provided through the user’s existing learning management systems and/or from specific courses in the ReviewSNAP content library.

Dave Arringdale, ReviewSNAP’s president said, “Our objective is to provide the most practical and usable performance management solution available. With the addition of top quality learning content from leading providers of online courses, we will have made another huge stride toward delivering the perfect performance management solution for our community of users. We encourage our customers to continue asking for enhancements to the system. And we pledge to be diligent in combining customer feedback with industry best practice to deliver what they want and need.”

Users of the system will find the LCI functionality easy to use and understand. It can be turned on or off within the system should organizations not wish to integrate development plans that include learning content directly into their review processes.

Arringdale added, “We are committed to leading the web-based performance management industry and we understand that our client organizations want tools that help extend their ability to help employees perform at the highest possible level. Having easy-to-integrate learning content gives employees ready access to some of the best courses available. Our client organizations are excited about this addition to the system.”

A Pee Wee Herman "Listening Culture"

Sometimes managers just talk too much. Our mantra is listen more, talk less. Employees who believe they are being heard with resulting changes or tweaks to how things are run are generally the most satisfied in their jobs. They feel empowered and they feel they are a part of the process. Those who don't feel they can share ideas, concerns and frustrations freely with their managers tend to feel isolated and constrained.

It isn't uncommon for employees to feel that they aren't being heard. Listening to employees is a great way to get far greater buy-in from employees. What are their frustrations? What ideas do they have for improving things? Are there things the manager isn't aware of that could help in addressing a number of performance and morale issues?

A critical point here is that you want to avoid listening just to listen. Employees will quickly sniff out the manager who is insincere about asking employees to sound off. They will wonder what is up. Why is the manager suddenly asking for input when it rarely, if ever, happened before? If a manager is going to be a good listener, it's important to actively listen and then use feedback from employees to move things forward and improve things.

A trap to avoid is believing everything you hear. The feedback from employees can range anywhere from completely accurate to complete rubbish. Over some period of time, astute managers form opinions about what is really happening by listening to all employees and piecing things together. Good listeners are active listeners and they ask good questions that will draw out important information and help sort out the inaccuracies.

Creating a listening culture takes some time. Building trust is probably the most crucial element of the process. Employees have to feel they can trust managers to keep confidential information they share and to use that information in a positive and productive way. When managers blab and misuse the information, there can be no traction toward a culture of active and productive listening.

Does your organization have a "listening culture"? If so, what does it look like? Is is embedded in such a way that the feedback from employees feels natural and not contrived? Do employees more often than not bring forward good ideas and offer solutions rather than just problems? Are employees comfortable sharing information? Take a look around and see what you find.

The Impact of a Well Conducted Performance Review

We've all heard various stories about managers doing a poor job with performance reviews. Sure there is plenty of bias coming from the employee and that version may not be close to accurate. But what about the performance reviews that are well done by the manager? What is the impact on the employee when he or she feels the review was accurate, honest, and focused on his/her continued development? Here are five important things that generally occur:

1) Respect and appreciation ramps up. The employee appreciates that the manager took the time to prepare a review that accurately reflected performance over the review period in question. And the level of respect for the manager increases because the employee perceives that the manager is interested in doing his/her job well and in helping the employee achieve his/her personal and job-related goals.
2) Morale increases. Even when performance is subpar, well delivered performance reviews make employees feel good about the experience. Employees tend to feel the manager has his or her best interest at heart. To what extent morale increases is dependent on the employee and his or her specific experience.
3) Engagement improves. The natural progression from a bump in morale is an increase in the level of engagement. Employees who get great feedback on an ongoing basis and as part of their formal reviews feel better about the organization and become more connected to it which is really the essence of engagement.
4) Communication lines open up. Each time a manager delivers feedback in an effective manner, the lines of communication between the employee and the manager become more open and more positive on an ongoing basis.
5) Retention improves. Because employees feel they are being treated fairly and because they believe managers have their best interest at heart, they tend to stick around longer...in many cases much longer. Keeping good employees obviously has a direct positive impact on the overall performance of the organization and delivering good performance reviews is a key element in elevating retention and in developing employees into even better employees.

While there are other benefits of conducting effective performance reviews, these represent a very material set of reasons for focusing on and training managers how to prepare and conduct reviews.

How Much Does Your Organization Really Care?

Organizational cultures come in all shapes and sizes yet only a handful really work in terms of employee engagement and retention. A lot of studies have been done on why employees stay and why they leave companies. The results present a number of plausible reasons why they do both.

Our experience and observation in working with thousands of organizations would lead us to believe that one very important central and simple common theme seems to exist in those that retain employees at a high level. That theme is centered on a high degree of caring about the well being of the employees.

Oh sure, most companies will tell you they care. But, with a limited number of exceptions, who do they think they're kidding? The level of real caring in most companies ranges from "who gives a you-know-what" to "we care quite a bit, but just don't know how to show it".

But in a small percentage of organizations, from the top rung of the ladder all the way to the bottom, there is a genuine and real sense of caring about and for employees. When there is a culture built on genuine concern for employees, all kinds of good things happen. Employee engagement is strong, retention is high, productivity tends to be off the charts, and people just seem to get along better.

These organizations are careful about who they hire to lead employees. They understand that the managers have to be compassionate, caring, and nurturing while still having the ability to hold employees responsible for high levels of performance. These managers aren't afraid of developing relationships with employees. Those relationships sustain employee satisfaction even when difficult issues have to be addressed.

What's amazing is just how many organizations and/or managers just don't care about their employees in any meaningful way. They are much more interested in the short-term and in extracting as much work out of the employee as possible.

Here's a quick test of this theory on caring about employees. The next time you're in a social setting with people from various work backgrounds, ask them if they think their employer or manager really and truly cares about them as a person. Sure, some will say yes when they mean no. But you might find the answers you get interesting. Then take a look around your own organization. Does it care? Do you care?

Managers in the Danger Zone

There is a natural tendency on the part of some people to think that what they do is more important than what others do in an organization. Many of these people are simply egomaniacs who live in a fantasy world of sorts where they are in some way superior to everyone else.

We talk a lot about leaving the excess ego at the door when you come to work in the morning. The problem is that it is nearly impossible for these egomaniacs to do that. Some research suggests out of control egos probably stem from some form of insecurity and the individual is likely trying to cover up for that insecurity.

A manager with a big ego and a penchant for flaunting that ego is a dangerous person in any organization. When an ego controls the behavior of a manager, all sorts of trouble tends to follow. Employees and co-workers are generally impacted in some negative manner on an all too frequent basis.

Frankly, employees working for the egomaniac grow tired of the boorish behavior. They are often blamed for problems not created by them and the manager's communication is often belittling and condescending in nature. Now there's a recipe for disengagement and reduced productivity!

A little ego is not necessarily a bad thing since it helps with confidence levels. But to allow an ego to run out of control to the point where the manager has to have that ego constantly fed is unacceptable.

People with runaway egos often are in denial about their behavior. They see themselves as tremendous employees or managers with few, if any, faults. The result of this type of attitude is resentment at best. Employees will be less likely to open up to the ego-centric employee and will often try to undermine them or work against them to show them up. Ego can have a devastating effect on team work and productivity.

A manager with a giant ego will often alienate employees. Big egos can lead to lashing out at employees to make a point. And the ego can force managers and owners to make decisions that feed the ego. Those decisions might be good for the individual's self-image, but bad for the organization in one or more ways.

If you look around your organization, do you see managers with ego issues? What has been done to address those issues? Unfortunately in some cases, the egomaniac is not coached or resists coaching because he has all the answers. In those cases, the likelihood of getting them turned around is not high.

In the context of performance management, 360 degree surveys are a great tool to help highlight core issues for any manager. In the case of the manager with an out of control ego, 360 degree surveys will usually generate a plethora of feedback that can be used for coaching and/or documentation of the problems.

In terms of performance reviews conducted by the egomaniacal manager, competency level and overall ratings tend to be lower. Why? We suspect it is a defense mechanism to push blame for departmental or work unit underperformance back onto the employees. This provides a sort of defense that the manager can point to as if to say, "hey it's not me, it's my underperforming employees".

Needless to say, dealing with these ego-centric managers is critical in any organization. Is your organization the victim of one or more of these egomaniacs?

How Do You Spell Morale?

Employee morale is not something to be taken lightly. According to the Harvard Management Update, in roughly 85% of companies, employees' morale declines sharply after their first 6 months on the job and it continues to deteriorate for years afterward.

Getting employees motivated is a commonly heard theme in organizations. But the real problem appears to lie in stopping those same organizations from demotivating their employees. When morale declines as much as is suspected in so many organizations, there is something amiss in how the employees are being managed and interacted with.

Managers, supervisors, and executive management often unwittingly damage employee morale little by little by saying and doing things that rub employees the wrong way. Stopping that behavior is sometimes easier said than done. But it can be managed.

Here are some things that seem to impact morale positively:

- Create an environment that is fun and lively.
- Carefully evaluate your management style. Is it facilitating in nature or is it dictatorial or overly assertive and direct.
- Encourage employees to come forward with problems, suggestions and issues. Listen carefully and acknowledge their concerns. Follow up on them and communicate results of your findings back to them. Don't leave them hanging.
- Address compensation and benefits to make certain that you are competitive with the market.
- Be consistent in how you administer rules and policies.
- Be fair and reasonable.
- Set expectations for all employees about team work and working cooperatively. Let it be known that you expect employees to get along while on the job.
- Be clear in your expectations and follow up when they aren't met. Don't ignore low performers. If they can't become good employees, terminate them. Bad employees affect those around them.
- Don't allow double standards. What's good for one employee is good for all of them.
- Eliminate a punitive mentality. Don't make employees feel that they will be punished if they make mistakes.
- Encourage innovation and creativity.
- Show employees that you care about them.
- Communicate as much as possible to all employees. Keep them well informed about what's going on in the business. Provide quality feedback regularly.
- Look at the work environment. Is it light and airy or is it dark, dreary and counterproductive?
- Complete performance reviews on time and in a thorough and accurate manner.
- Keep promises and follow through.

These are all reasonable expectations and behaviors within a culture of high morale and high productivity. The impact on morale by doing these things consistently can be dramatic. Look around your organization and see how often these things are actually happening with a high degree of regularity. If they aren't, the culture isn't supporting or requiring them. It's time to start changing that culture.