Here’s a bunch of questions. Think about how you and the people who work in your organization would answer them:
“Would you like...
...clear and specific goals so you always know exactly what’s expected?
...to know just how well you’re doing?
...for your boss or board to be aware of the most valuable contributions you’ve made?
...to know where you’re doing a great job and where you need to shape up a little?
...a pat on the back when you’ve done a great job?”
The answers are obvious – almost everybody wants to know what’s expected of them. They want to know how well they’re doing; they’d like a thumbs-up “attaboy” when they hit a home run. So how do you get all this great stuff?
You won’t like the answer. It’s... performance appraisal.
Everybody wants what a good appraisal system can deliver, but nobody seems to like the system they’ve got. Some companies stumble along with a tired and outdated approach that everybody resents and resists; others have just given up doing appraisals altogether. But there’s a way to make performance appraisal the most valuable tool you have for generating high performance, lots of organizational commitment, and genuine employee development.
Begin by believing that it can be done and communicating that belief to the people who look to you for leadership. Face the facts -- if you’re bad-mouthing the process, how can you expect to get any positive results from it?
An Appraisal Form is Essential
If you don’t have a good form, create one. Every good form covers just a couple of essential elements. The two most important are, “What did the employee do over the last year?” and “How did she go about doing it?” In other words, RESULTS and BEHAVIORS. Everything else is gravy.
At the beginning of the year ask each of your people to set a couple of goals for what they’re going to do in the next twelve months to make your operation more efficient / service-oriented / client-friendly / admirable. Don’t sit still for generalities. Ask the person exactly how she will measure whether or not the goal has been achieved. "Just what will you accept as evidence, Susy, that we are meeting our clients’ needs better?” “What will have to happen, Joe, for you to know that we really are operating more as a team?”
Focus on both the what and the how of the job – the results they produce and the way they got them. There’s a malevolent myth that claims that as long as Charlie is doing the specific tasks laid out in his job description, we can’t ask him to have a good attitude and be a perky cheerleader type. Nonsense! There’s nothing that prevents you from telling everyone in your operation that because of the nature of your business it’s important that every single person display a helpful, cheerful, outgoing demeanor. If he says, “That’s not in my job description!” just grab his job description and write it in!
When it’s time to write the appraisals, start by asking people to write their own. There is nothing more powerful than giving a person a copy of your performance appraisal form and asking her to write a self-appraisal.
Even if you don’t ask people to write a complete self-appraisal (and just why aren’t you?), at least ask them to jot down and send you a list of what they feel were their most important accomplishments and contributions in the past year. If nothing else, doing that simple task will prevent you from being blindsided when the employee wails, “You didn’t even mention the million-dollar contribution I solicited last February!” in the middle of the appraisal discussion.
In writing the appraisal, get the big picture clearly in mind. Research on performance appraisal is dismayingly consistent – first, people rarely remember what they’re told in appraisal discussions; second, what they do remember, they usually get wrong. To minimize these irritants, start by asking yourself, “What is the single most important message I want to send Sally about her performance over the past year? If I could have her remember only one thing a month after our talk, what would that one thing be?”
Once you’ve got the core message clearly in mind, fill out the form and then identify the key elements you want to discuss in the meeting:
- Two areas of genuine strength that need to be continued and enhanced
- One area that needs immediate improvement
- One area that is a target for development
If Sally can accurately remember the core message and the key elements a month after the meeting, you’ve done a terrific job.
Tell the Truth
The most important requirement for performance appraisal success has nothing to do with the elegance of the form or the sophistication of the process. The critical requirement is courage – the courage to tell the truth. Draft your appraisal of Sally’s performance before you read her self-appraisal or achievements list; write the final version after. Highlight the best evidence you’ve got and give more examples to support especially high or low ratings. Tell it like it is; avoid promises or assurances.
Now comes the moment of truth...the time the two of you sit down to talk. Here are some tips that will make it easier to do a good job. First, if you have several appraisal discussions to conduct, start with the easiest, the best performers. Remember John Dillinger’s advice: “Before you rob your first bank, knock off a couple of gas stations first.”
Second, don’t waste time and increase awkwardness by calling the employee into your office, handing him the appraisal to read while you’re pretending to be busy doing something else. That’s dumb – the employee will race through the form missing half of what you say and you’ll be on pins-and-needles trying to gauge his reaction. A far better approach is to walk up to George a half-hour or so before your meeting and say, “George, we’ll be meeting at 3 o’clock to discuss your appraisal. Here’s a copy of it. Read it through so you’ll be ready when we get together.” Letting him read it in advance of the meeting reduces tension on both your parts and increases the odds that some genuine good will come of the process.
Knock, knock. It’s 3 o’clock. Here’s George, standing in your doorway. “Ready?” he asks.
Here’s a script for the opening few seconds that will get things off to a great start:
“Sit down, George. I’ve been looking forward to this chance to talk with you about your work last year. I think this discussion can be helpful to both of us.
“I’d like to go through the process slowly and carefully. I’ve put aside about forty-five minutes for us to talk together. This is one of the most important things you and I will do together all year.
“I want to start by having you tell me about how you see your own performance over the last year – what you feel you did particularly well and where you think you might have achieved more. Then I’d like to talk about the appraisal that I wrote.
“I think the most effective way to start is by discussing those areas where you and I generally agree. Then we’ll talk about those in which our views seem to differ. I’ll give you my reasons, and I want to get your point of view.
“The most important part of the process is reviewing the specific goals and objectives of your job. I’d like to start there and spend most of our time together talking about the results you achieved this year. Then I’d like to look at the section that deals with job skills and competencies (and any other key elements of the appraisal).”
“When we’ve completed that, I’d like to talk about my overall rating and how I arrived at it. Why don’t you start by telling me how you feel this past year has gone...”
For areas where the two of you agree, acknowledge the merits of the individual’s reactions and add additional information of your own. For areas of disagreement, begin with your highest ratings and proceed toward your lowest (remember Dillinger’s advice). Give specific examples, use active listening, and remember that the chances that the two of you will agree on every single item is zip. Your goal is not to get George’s agreement, it is to get his understanding. Even if he disagrees and doesn’t like it, as long as he gets the core message, you’ve done your job.
The Goal is Understanding
With the highly-experienced individual the appraisal discussion is easier but just as important. Get right to the point, be all business, and start by saying, “Emily, you’ve been through this many times before. Let’s not waste our time on small talk. How do you think your department compares to where it was last year?” Then shut up and listen and continue as you would with any other employee.
Thirty to forty-five minutes is sufficient for most appraisal discussions, particularly when you’re well-prepared. To wrap things up professionally, start by signaling your intention to close: “Now that we’ve reviewed the complete appraisal, Carlos, let’s summarize the key points we’ve discussed. In general, you feel that ....” Summarize the discussion and the employee’s reaction in a sentence or two and then review the key elements you identified when you wrote the appraisal: Two areas of genuine strength that need to be continued and enhanced; the one area that needs immediate improvement; and the one area that is a target for development. Then say, “That pretty well wraps it up for me. Are there any other questions I can answer for you?” Answer the questions, handle any administrative matters like reviewing a compensation change or getting the employee’s acknowledgement of the meeting, shake hands and congratulate yourself on a tough job
well done.
What to Do When an Appraisal Isn’t Painless...
In spite of all your sincere efforts to make the appraisal experience constructive and career-enhancing, situations still arise when you’ve read the script but the employee hasn’t. Instead of constructive dialogue, you’re confronted with irritation, accusation, defensiveness or just flat-out rage. Now what do you do?
Here are some tips that work. First, don’t forget what your goal is – and what it isn’t. Your goal isn’t to gain the employee’s agreement with your appraisal assessment. It is to gain her understanding. As long as Sally understands that you consider her performance to be marginal and that she had better shape up quickly if she intends to be around for another review 12 months from now, you’ve done your job. Don’t expect her to agree. She won’t. Just make sure she understands that unless immediate improvement results, she’s toast.
Next, when you get an unanticipated emotional response, figure out which of the two most common ones it is: ANGER or HURT. Remember what you learned in Psychology 101 about flight/fight responses? Now it’s time to put those lessons to work. The employee who’s angry reacts with a fight response. She raises her voice, points her finger and stares directly at you. She may blame others or attack your managerial ability. She may pound the desk or cross her arms in front of her, defiantly cutting off communication.
The opposite reaction is the flight response. The person looks or turns away, lowers his voice and speaks softly. He changes the subject to move off the painful assessment. An easily missed clue to flight behaviors is excessively quick agreement. Without discussion Joe meekly accepts your message that he’s in serious danger of losing his job.
Fight responses are actually easier to deal with than flight. They’re obvious. Allow the storm to blow itself out and then restate your position: “If I understand you, Mary, you feel that...” Acknowledge the employee’s feelings and pause to allow your acceptance to sink in. Feel free to ask for more information on her point of view. Remember, your goal isn’t to gain agreement. It’s to assure understanding.
Repetition is the cure for flight responses. Hold the individual’s feet to the heat of the appraisal fire. It’s called the “broken record” technique. Keep sending the same message, using the same words, over and over. Then ask the person, “Wally, why don’t you tell me exactly what your understanding is?”
One common cause of discussion difficulties is mind-drift. People speak at 125-175 words per minute but can listen intelligently at 600-800. So only part of your mind is paying attention to Wally while most of it is off thinking about some other problem you might be working on. All of a sudden you’re jerked back to reality when you discover that your inattention has betrayed you. The cure? Play listening games. Try to guess how Wally’s going to finish the sentence he’s half-way through. Listen for the period in Wally’s sentence. Look at the spot between his eyebrows to maintain easy eye contact and pull out your repertoire of grunts: “Ahhh....” “Hmmmmm...” “I see...” “Really...” All of these various mouth noises tell Wally that we’re really paying attention and keep us focused on the issue at hand.
Finally, even if things go really bad and you’re beating up on yourself for being such a lousy appraiser, take heart! Giving someone a performance appraisal – particularly a tough one – is like being in the Olympics of management. This is not everyday stuff. Very few people ever get to do it; fewer still do it well. You’ve got to take it seriously and you’ve got to train for it. And on those rare times when you do fall off the ski jump, just learn from the experience and climb back up.
About the Author
Dick Grote is a Dallas management consultant who helps organizations create effective people-development systems. An author, filmmaker and NPR commentator, Dick is a frequent keynote speaker at various meetings and conventions. Grote Consulting (1-800-734-5475) will provide a free copy of its master performance appraisal form upon request. |