The end of the financial year is still a common time for many businesses to conduct the annual performance review or appraisal. With many businesses moving away from the annual review to more regular conversations and providing feedback in the moment, many businesses do still conduct an annual review or formalise the performance meetings and conversations held throughout the year with an annual meeting.
If you are a manager conducting a performance review with team members, here are our top 6 tips for how to make the most out of the review and not leave the employee feeling like it was a tick the box process with no value add.
- Be Prepared
You should never walk into a performance review meeting without some pre-preparation. Taking time to reflect on the period of time you are reviewing is key, and having details of specific examples of good performance and behaviour is equally important as poor performance and behaviour. Providing examples helps the employee understand the feedback you are providing. So instead of saying ‘you did a great job on XYZ project, well done’, try something like ‘you did a great job on XYZ project, your focus on managing the project to the timeline and your detailed record-keeping helped us avoid an issue, your thorough communication with key stakeholders helped us secure the project.’ To provide this level of feedback you need to take some time out prior to the meeting to properly identify the skills, experience and behaviours that were applied well or not so well.
- Reflect on the Entire Period
Last July, August, even last December feels like a long time ago, and off the top of your head it can be hard to recall what happened in those months. Depending on the timeframe you are reviewing, it is important to step back and reflect on that entire period and not just the last few months because it is fresh in your mind. What is happening in the here and now can taint a performance appraisal if we don’t step back, reflect and prepare. An employee might have performed well all year, but have struggled in the last few weeks, hence the importance of reviewing the entire time period.
- Listen More Than You Talk
I have seen many appraisals conducted where the manager does all the talking. In my experience, the best reviews are where the manager listens more than talking. Performance appraisals are not just about giving feedback, but also receiving feedback. The Stephen Covey principles of ‘Seek first to understand, then to be understood; listen with the intent to understand, not the intent to reply’ are the best approaches to take.
- No Surprises
If you have undertaken your role well as a manager during the year and provided regular in the moment feedback, then there should be no surprises at a performance appraisal. One of the biggest complaints from employees about appraisals is that they are given feedback on what they didn’t do well, or where they haven’t performed from examples or situations that occurred months ago. The employee comes into the meeting thinking they have been doing well because they have been told no different, only to be blindsided with feedback from some time ago.
- Tailored to the Employee
As a manager, you’ll know that how you manage each team member to get the best out of them is different for every employee. We all have different needs, priorities and motivations. Where one employee might respond well to public praise and recognition, this could be highly uncomfortable for another employee. Hence why a tailored approach should be taken as to how you conduct performance appraisals. In preparing for the meeting (tip number 1), give some thought to the employee you are meeting with, and how you can best facilitate the review to suit their style and needs. While you might have a standard form you need to complete or a step-by-step process you need to follow, you can still tailor the style and feel of the meeting to suit the employee. I’ve also learnt over the years that even your best employees might not be motivated by setting SMART goals, and while you want to provide some direction when it comes to goals and objectives, forcing goals on to team members can be more of a de-motivator than a motivator. Other employees will crave high reaching goals to strive for.
- Follow Through – Follow Up
The annual performance appraisal is often perceived as a tick the box process, and this is because it often is. The meeting is conducted, the form is filled in, signed off on and away we go for another 12 months. If that’s been the employee’s experience, why would they bother to invest in the meeting? Equally as important as conducting the meeting, is what happens after the meeting. You need to follow up and follow through with what you said you would do. That might not be around following up their performance, but more along the lines of if the employee expressed interest in certain professional development opportunities, opportunities to develop new skills or be given more responsibility; as the manager, you need to go away and work out how you can do that. This kind of feedback from an employee is gold, but all too often nothing is done about it, and then months later we act surprised when the employee leaves for another position that offers career progression or the opportunity to take a side step. In a candidate short market, ensuring you are doing all you can to engage and retain your employees is key.
Best of luck conducting your performance reviews. With the right approach, preparation and attitude, the performance appraisal process can be really valuable, however; if as the manager you see them as time-consuming and a tick the box process that is something you just have to do as a manager, you’re highly unlikely to get your return on investment.
Disclaimer: The material contained in this publication is of a general nature only. It is not, nor is intended to be, legal advice. If you wish to act based on the content of this publication, we recommend that you seek professional advice.
