The process to manage your employees’ performance arguably is one of the most critical processes in your organization. A complete approach has many different elements, from smart on-boarding, complete job descriptions, on-going feedback, documentation, and much, much more. Many of the successful organizations you know are that successful because they have implemented a well-designed, inclusive and systemic process to establish, manage, recognize and improve performance of their employees.
But what if you don’t have a process as extensive as those companies, or when you have no process at all? Yet, you recognize that being clear about expectations, behavior, performance is crucial for your organization’s success.
Do Something
I would say that doing something is better than nothing at all. If a complete overhaul of your performance management process is impossible or impractical or when it can’t be done within a reasonable amount of time, I recommend you start with single initiative, and build from there. A year-end performance discussion with your employees can be such a start. It is a natural, logical moment to sit down with your employees, and review the past year.
You have to do it well, and it takes some extra preparation and effort as you miss certain building blocks of a full-year, complete system. But don’t let that stop you. Instead, take these tips to heart and prepare yourself for effective, engaging and solution-oriented discussions.
Why is Feedback Important
First, let’s address why you should discuss your employees’ performance with them.
1. It Creates Clarity Around Expectations
Don’t assume your employees know what you expect of them. Frequent discussions helps your employees understand what they need to do, and the goals and objectives they need to achieve. This discussion at year-end prepares the employee to focus on what is needed for the remaining stretch of the year, and the start of the new year. This meeting also opens up the line of discussion for the employees to come to you to discuss expectations, goals and deliverables. The year-end discussion can act as a starting point for continuous discussions.
2. Employees Value Feedback, Even When It’s Negative
Your employees want to know how they’re doing their job. They want to know whether they have been performing and where they can improve. This discussion will help them identify areas where they can improve.
3. Ability to Focus on Performance Improvement
When you offer feedback to your employees in way that helps them perform better, you will as a result increase the performance of your team. Remember: performance management is not just improving bad performance. It is improving performance – full stop. Employees that already perform well, can perform better with the right feedback.
When you talk to the employees on how to perform (even) better, you help the employee develop. You can expand the discussion into what the employee needs to do to achieve the next role, level, management capabilities or specialization.
4. Recognizing Underperformance
It is important to recognize performance that doesn’t meet standards. In these cases, you need to address it.
For one, to help the employee and give the employee a chance to improve. Secondly, for yourself: it helps you prepare documentation in case performance doesn’t improve within a reasonable amount of time and guidance. Thirdly, for your team. If the rest of the team is picking up and carrying the underperforming employee, your team will know. Not addressing that behavior isn’t fair towards the others.
5. Recognizing Good Performance
Equally important is to recognize employees that outperform and exceed goals, tasks and expectations. It allows you to incentivize behavior, helping the employee feel appreciated and motivated for more. You also reward and recognize good performance and behavior for the rest oft the team to see. This helps create a culture of performance, development and improvement.
By the way – don’t worry about spoiling your employees when you give praise. The typical employee will not get arrogant, and it will not make them stop perform – on the contrary.
How To Implement a Structure For A Successful Performance Review Discussion
So, now we’ve established the “Why”, let’s talk about the “How”. For the purpose of this list, we’ll focus on a case where you have to deliver a difficult message: goals were not met, behavior wasn’t up to standards. Usually this is the type of meeting that’s tough.
1. Prepare
In order to do these kinds of discussions right, you have to prepare. That means for every employee, you collect data points, notes, examples and whatever else you can find, to help tell your story on the employee’s performance. Think ahead about what you want to say and the end result of your discussion.
A good preparation helps you to remain grounded in the discussion, which is particularly important when you expect a difficult discussion. It ensures you won’t have to scramble for examples, and you can remain in control.
2. Describe the Behavior or Performance Clearly
A good performance review discussion, whether positive or negative, is specific, factual and non-judgmental. When you describe behavior, be specific and use examples of behavior and results that you have witnessed yourself.
You can use comments of others, but make sure examples of other stakeholders are factual as well. Avoid using hearsay as an argument, and only use examples and situations that are objective. When your arguments are vague or unspecific, they likely won’t have the effect you intend them to have. Although an employee should be able to place context around it, it shouldn’t turn into a discussion.
3. Be Direct
Especially when you have criticism or you expect the discussion to be difficult, don’t beat around the bush. Be direct, concise and clear in your comments and remarks. A good preparation helps: this is typically the most difficult part of the discussion.
Preparing and maintaining control in the discussion prevents you from nervously continuing to talk. Use the talking points you created before. Simply state the comments, and let them land with your employee. The employee may respond or not, so check whether your employee understands what you said.
4. Provide context
It helps to provide the necessary context around your comments, and why you’re having this discussion. You can repeat what you expected from the employee. You can explain the effects of the performance on the rest of the organization or the team, and the consequences. This helps the employee understand why it is important, and why it’s addressed. It should also provide the reasoning why you’re expecting the performance to improve.
Yes, “because it’s your job” is a good reason, but a deeper reasoning will resonate so much better with your employees.
5. Listen
In my opinion, the year-end or performance discussion is more one-way than other performance management-related discussions. It should be more about you explaining performance, results, expectations and plans. But it’s important to listen, as well. The employee may provide context, missed opportunity or a call for help. While it is important that you stay in control and stay true to your message, there should be room for a dialogue.
Again, here too, preparation helps. Context is important and may provide clarity, but excuses may not be helpful. If you understand your message, you’ll be able to distill that more easily.
Listening is also important when you ask the employee for solutions to improve behavior or performance. If the employee brings a solution, they are more likely to succeed, because there automatically is a sense of ownership and accountability for the solution. If you simply tell what needs to be done, you miss that automatic ownership.
6. Take Notes
This one is important, for my HR-heart’s peace of mind. While you assume that your discussion will help improve the situation, in the back of your head you always should consider it doesn’t. For those situations it helps to have a record and proof of you doing the right thing to help the employee get better. Should it ever turn into a dispute, every bit of correspondence helps you show you have invested.
7. End Future-oriented And Positive
When you wrap up it, assume the employee wants to get better, improve and develop. Also assume that your efforts and guidance help. To that end, conclude the discussion on a positive, forward-looking and productive note. Make sure you both agree that your shared efforts should have the intended effect, with the appropriate energy and drive.
8. Going Forward
For the future, it does help a lot to have a performance management process. That doesn’t have to be a highly technical and complicated process, but a simple fixed process, where you and your employees build in time to have meaningful discussions around performance and expectations will help you and your team steadily improve productivity, performance, engagement and your employees’ development. In any case, you will make your life a little bit easier.
9. Need help?
At Soaring, this is what we do. We help organizations, regardless of size, with designing and implementing processes that help organizations perform better in a way that fits their culture and the way they do business.
Do you want to see whether we can help you perform better? Let’s schedule a quick introduction meeting and see how that would look.
