Chris Scott, owner of Infinity Performance Solutions, recently said, “Managers and employees actually cite performance appraisals or annual reviews as one of their most unpleasant tasks because too often they’re not done right.” Scott lists a number of reasons why employee appraisals don’t work. In his opinion, evaluations are often a one-time event. Consequently, they try to do too much by covering too wide a range of topics and problems. They become an excuse not to have conversations all year long. They tend to be too formal. So, in turn, no one says what they really think. Since they cover so much, they take too long. Lastly, they can be enablers for bad managers who don’t interact with staff throughout the year. Mr. Scott is correct in his assessment. Clients, candidates, and HR professionals grow as annual review season approaches; They can’t wait for it to finish. Since everyone hates him so much, why do it?
Why are assessments of any kind important? Because they give everyone the opportunity to learn, grow and improve their performance. Perhaps the process has been reversed. Instead of doing the evaluation at the end, do it at the beginning. And instead of discussing past performance, discuss future measures of success. Here are some ideas on how to do it.
First, what do you really want people to do? This is not a trivial question. Most managers have a hard time answering this question. So let’s rephrase it: “If at the end of the year I asked you how team member “A” performed, and you answered that she was the best member of the team because she completed and achieved blah blah blah, what would “blah blah” be? BLA bla?” Here are a couple of keywords: “completed” and “achieved.” This means that the manager’s evaluation is based on concrete and specific tasks that were completed and achieved. specifically implies that the manager and team member understood what needed to be completed and accomplished at the beginning of the year.
The most valuable information any manager can give a team member is specific information about what needs to be accomplished, why it is important to the organization, and what constitutes a “done” job. In addition, delivery times are also important. Managers must be able to define and prioritize each task in terms of when it should reasonably be completed. If there are nine key tasks to be completed during the year, perhaps two should be completed in the first three months, three in the next three months, three in the next three months, and one more in the last three months of the year. This is not a one-sided conversation between the manager and the team member. It is a two-way conversation that ends in consensus and explicit agreement. I would never accept a performance review based on measures of success that I don’t understand or agree with. However, once mutual consensus and explicit agreement is reached, the story is different. I understand what is expected and have agreed to deliver.
Clear measures of success, with deadlines for delivery, provide a second important component of team member development. As the work continues, there are multiple opportunities to check progress, discuss challenges and opportunities, and review what has been achieved to date for quality and completeness. It also allows for discussion about skill development, both technical and interpersonal. The team member and manager can identify areas where additional professional development is needed and provide that training to the team member in a timely manner.
If the manager does it correctly, the team member receives continuous feedback throughout the year, not just at the end of the year. The team member and the manager have an ongoing conversation about the team member’s performance. Additionally, by ensuring that the team’s HR partner is involved, training and development programs can be implemented quickly for maximum benefit. At the end of the year, there are no surprises: assessments have been done throughout the year and are fully completed by the end of the year. The typical annual evaluation conversation that normally takes place is now a positive and constructive discussion about measures of success for the coming year.
There are some structural pieces that need to be in place. The measures of success that are set for the team member are based on the measures of success that are set for the manager. Clarity, specificity, consensus, and explicit agreement on measures of success are necessary from the team member up the chain of command and from the CEO and Board down. In addition, both the team member and the manager must take seriously the professional development points identified for the team member. Successful completion of agreed-upon training and development by the team member is just as important as any other measure of success. Successful team member training is also an important measure of success for the manager, as is successful manager training for her superiors.
Finally, this structure must be integrated into the compensation plan. If I meet all of my measures of success, including my career development goals, then I should know what my compensation will be. Since I’ve accepted my measures of success, I have little to argue about when I don’t meet them. Since the manager’s performance is tied to the team member’s performance, the manager’s compensation is also affected by the team member’s performance. This integration of performance and compensation continues all the way to the CEO and the Board.
Establishing clear measures of success for each member of a team, before the year begins, has a number of additional benefits. First, eliminate the end-of-year evaluations that everyone hates. Those who perform well will stand out clearly and objectively. Underperforming workers can be identified early, with the necessary training and support, and the opportunity to improve their performance. This also enables HR and Organization Development professionals to develop, with each employee, clear multi-year career plans, linked to the company’s longer-term strategic goals and management succession plans. Finally, it establishes a structure that invests and reinforces the value that the company places on its most precious asset, its people.