The Best
Performance Reviews
Copyright ©
All rights reserved
By Ken Chapman, Ph.D.
Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.
Employee reviews can be one of the most powerful management
tools in your arsenal or a morale lowering waste of everybody’s time.
It all depends on how the manager conducts the process. Remember these
crucial points.
1. Take the financials out of the equation. Too often
performance reviews turn into salary negotiations. Hold two separate
meetings, one to review performance and set goals, and one to discuss
raises and bonuses.
2. Do not run an assembly line. Many leaders hate the
review process so they schedule them all in the same week or even on the
same day in order to get them over with. Schedule no more than one
review per day so you have time to cover all the bases. Answer
questions, preview the future, set goals, etc.
3. Preview rather than review. Do not get caught up
thinking that reviews have to focus entirely on the past, rehashing
every right and wrong move the employee made over the last year. Spend
the majority of the review time on the future. What do you expect in
the coming year? How can we take “what happened” in the past and apply
it to the future? What are your goals and what are the employee’s
goals?
4. Do not compare employees to your “star” workers in order
to motivate them. Employees do not like being compared unfavorably to
their peers. Instead, focus on the individual’s strengths.
5. Do not use yourself as an example either. As soon as
you say “When I was in your position” you lose the employee for the same
reasons listed above.
6. Keep personality out of it. Unless it relates to work
performance, it is unreasonable to expect people to change their
personalities. This would indicate that the employee and the company
are not a good match. However, if a shift in behavior would positively
affect a person’s performance or relationship with co-workers, the
change should be suggested.
