Discover How To Avoid The 5 Common Mistakes That Could Be Fatal To A
Positive, Productive Relationship With Your Staff
by Anna Johnson
Performance appraisal.
Or, if you prefer, performance review.
Whichever term you use, mention it to a dozen of your friends -- whether they
typically give or receive performance appraisals -- and notice the responses you
get.
A grimace?
A roll of the eyes?
Tension?
A satisfied smile?
Let's face it, mentioning "performance appraisal" gets such mixed responses
because people have such mixed experiences. Which is only to be expected...
except I bet most of the responses you get are negative. If your respondents
aren't hostile, or scornful, then they're clearly unimpressed.
Why?
Why are performance appraisals seen to be negative experiences?
I mean, isn't a performance appraisal simply a meeting between a manager and
a member of his or her staff, where together they appraise the staff member's
performance during the year (or other time period) and agree on goals for the
coming year?
Well, that's the theory.
But in reality, many managers handle performance appraisals quite poorly. And
the result is not only an unpleasant meeting, but one where the manager and his
or her staff member never quite understand each other, never quite appreciate
the other's point of view, and never quite settle on appropriate goals for the
coming year.
It's almost inevitable that the staff member will end up less happy and less
productive than he or she was before!
In fact, there are five big mistakes that managers often make in conducting
performance appraisals. Fortunately, these mistakes are easily avoided once you
make a conscious effort to avoid them.
Let's discuss each in turn.
Mistake #1: Waiting For The Performance Appraisal To Give Feedback
This is the biggie, and all too common. It's where a manager fails to give
someone adequate feedback on their performance during the year, and then dumps
it on them in the performance appraisal meeting.
Unfortunately, the feedback is almost always negative, so the employee ends
up sitting there in shock -- at best, wondering why his or her manager didn't
say something sooner; at worst, feeling unjustly victimized.
And you have to wonder -- how can a manager expect an employee to do the
right things, the right way, if the manager hasn't provided any guidance or
feedback all year?
The solution: make it a habit to tell your employees if they've done a good
or poor job, and if it's a poor job, explain how they can do things better in
the future.
There should be no surprises in the performance appraisal!
Mistake #2: Overemphasizing Recent Performances
It's all too human to remember, and give greater weight, to recent events
rather than earlier events. However, this can lead to an inaccurate and unfair
assessment when it comes to reviewing an employee's performance.
To avoid overemphasizing an employee's recent work, take note -- and ideally
take notes -- of the employee's work throughout the year.
Mistake #3: Being Too Positive Or Negative
Some managers feel uncomfortable giving negative feedback and consequently,
can omit to give employees the constructive criticism they need to improve. And
then there are other managers who are instinctively too negative, leaving the
employee wondering if they can do anything right!
While, as a manager appraising someone's performance you should give your
honest opinion, you also want your employee to understand and appreciate what
you're saying.
So instead of being too positive or negative -- which can result in the
employee not believing what you say -- think about the impact on the employee
you want, and communicate your feedback accordingly.
Mistake #4: Being Critical Without Being Constructive
Following on from Mistake #3, some managers can be too critical and neglect
to provide any constructive advice on how an employee can improve.
This doesn't help the employee or the manager. Even if your criticisms all
have merit, if you don't explain how the employee can improve, he or she is
likely to miss the validity of what's being said and simply think he or she is
being victimized. Not to mention the fact that his or her performance won't
actually improve.
So if you need to be critical, be constructive too!
Mistake #5: Talking Not Listening
The final big mistake that managers make in performance appraisals is doing
too much talking and not enough listening.
These meetings are supposed to be interactive -- where the manager doesn't
simply relay his or her own appraisal of the employee's performance during the
year, but also listens to the employee's viewpoint.
If, for example, you have criticized the individual's performance, it's not
only fair, but important, to get the employee's response as to why he or she may
have underperformed.
Moreover, a key objective of the performance appraisal is to agree on goals
for the following year. How can there be true agreement and commitment to such
goals, if you don't learn the employee's point of view?
As you've probably gathered, you can avoid these five mistakes -- it just
takes a little effort. It's certainly worth it, if you think employee
satisfaction, productivity and performance are important!
Anna Johnson is the author of the How To Manage People
System, including her book, How To Manage People (Even If You're A Control
Freak!). Get Anna's FREE 12-page report, How To Be An Outstanding Manager - The
8 Vital Keys To Managing People Effectively:
www.howtomanagepeople.com
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