Transcript Performance Appraisals

Performance Review Training
4 Step Approach to Conducting
Successful Performance Reviews
February 2009
Common Review Problems
• Review is not tied to actual position
responsibilities.
• Lack of evidence supporting appraisal
judgments.
• Unfair appraisal: Bias & Leniency
• Insufficient explanations
• Vague, immeasurable, or unrealistic goals
• Lack of subordinate “buy-in”
• Poorly conducted meeting
• Sending mixed messages
4 Step Approach
1. Data Collection:
A. Evaluate the Position
B. Collect Data on the Jobholder
2. Evaluate Performance:
A. Make the Process Fair
B. Avoid Rating Errors
C. Be Courageous
3. Write the Review:
A. Write Effective Comments
B. Develop SMART Goals
4. Performance Review Discussion:
A.
B.
C.
D.
Logistics
Employee Self Appraisal (optional)
Plan the Discussion
Conduct the Meeting
STEP 1: Data Collection
• Collecting data about the employee’s performance that
is accurate, representative, objective and complete is
the most challenging part of the process.
• The better a manager does at collecting the data the
easier it will be to complete and conduct the appraisal.
1.A. Evaluate the Position
• Does the position description accurately reflect your
expectations of the job?
• Define Success in the Position:
– Read the position description for the employee being evaluated and
consider:
• The most important ways a person doing the job should spend their
time.
• The three most important duties of someone in the position.
• How is success measured for the position.
• This exercise provides a standard to measure performance
against expectations.
• Before you can ask how well the person is doing you need to
determine:
– What you expect them to do?
– What expectations have been communicated to them?
1.B. Collect Data on the Jobholder
–
Objective Data
– Countable, Quantifiable, Factual
– Examples: Dollars Raised, Students Admitted,
Projects Completed on Time, Days Absent or
Late, Calls Made per Day.
– Positives: Easy to Collect & Discuss, Inarguable,
– Negative: Data alone does not tell us whether
performance was good or bad – it needs to be
measured against a standard.
1.B. Data on the Jobholder (continued)
• Critical Incidents
–
–
–
Situations in which an employee acted in a way that
was either especially effective or especially
ineffective in accomplishing parts of their job.
Does anyone keep a CI log for employees?
Provides ideal information for appraisal:
• Reinforces positive performance – roadmap for success
• Curbs poor performance – what they need to do differently
• Concrete examples are the most effective and defensible
feedback method.
–
Managers should inform employees of Critical
Incidents throughout the year – not just at appraisal
time!
1.B. Data on the Jobholder (continued)
• Behavioral Observations:
– Management By Walking Around (MBWA)
• As you walk around observing your employees on
a daily basis and interacting with them you get a
thorough understanding of how the person
interacts with co-workers and customers.
• Provides an abundance of data on each
individual’s successes and shortcomings.
• Make notes of your observations.
• Over time this will provide examples and
evidence to support your performance judgments.
STEP 2: Evaluate the Performance
• Before you complete the form ask yourself – What is
the core message that you want to communicate?
– If you have not determined the precise message that you
want to send it’s unlikely that the employee will learn
what you want them to learn from the experience.
• Start with the end in mind. Do you want to tell the
employee....
– They are performing well above expectations and you want
to see this level of effort continued.
– They are performing at an average level and you are
satisfied with their level of effort.
– They need to shape up or ship out!
2.A: Make the process Fair
• To conduct a fair, unprejudiced, and objective
appraisal make the following assumptions:
– The purpose of the performance appraisal is to further the
University’s Mission by strengthening the performance of
every employee.
– You will never have all of the facts and, in spite of that you
must still do the job.
– People genuinely want to know what their boss thinks of
their performance.
– People are capable of handling the truth about their
performance, even when that truth is unpleasant.
– It is better to demand more of people than it is to settle
for whatever level of performance that they choose to
give.
2.B: Be Aware of Possible Rating Errors
• Rating Errors: In spite of a manager’s good faith efforts to
maintain an impartial manner in writing every appraisal,
errors in judgment can arise.
• Common Rating Errors:
– Contrast Effect: Rating an individual in comparison to
others rather than against the job standards.
– Recency Effect: Tendency of minor events that have
happened recently to have more influence on rating than
major events of many months ago.
– Central Tendency: Inclination to rate people in the middle
of the scale even when their performance merits a higher
or lower rating.
– Halo/Horns Effect: Generalizations from one aspect of an
individual’s performance applied to all areas of
performance.
2.C: Be Courageous
• A higher than deserved rating hurts the entire
University:
– Impacts well performing co-workers who become demotivated when they see that problems are not
dealt with.
– Limits the Institution’s ability to meet its Mission
effectively.
– Opens the door for lawsuits when the manager
finally gets tired of the poor performance, wants to
terminate the underperforming employee and there
is no evidence in the file to support the desired
action.
STEP 3: Write the Review
• With all of the data at hand and the resolve to
avoid rating errors and leniency you are now
ready to write the review.
• You should try to make a comment for each
characteristic that is related to the position
being evaluated.
• You should list key job related tasks on the
second page of the form and provide a rating
and comment.
3.A: Write Effective Comments
• When commenting on a characteristic you
should move from the general to the specific
(1,2,3 approach).
1. Overall statement summarizing how the individual
did in the particular area.
2. More specific example supporting the overall
assessment from the data that you have collected.
3. Set a higher goal, or encourage the individual to
continue performing at the already fully acceptable
level, or set a specific target for needed
performance improvements.
3.A: Write Effective Comments (continued)
• Highlight the Best Evidence
– When performance is exceptionally good or bad in
one particular area you do not need to put every
single example on the form – but you should provide
more than one.
• Choose 2 to 3 of the best examples and put them in the
form.
• Additional examples can be given verbally during the
evaluation if needed.
3.A: Write Effective Comments (continued)
• Your comments should be able to answer an
unrelated third party asking the following:
• How do you know that?
• What led you to come to that judgment?
• Why do you feel that way?
• Can you provide an example?
– If you cannot answer these questions it does not
necessarily mean that you need to change the
rating it just means that you have to do a better
job of supporting your assumption with evidence.
3.B: Develop SMART Goals
• Specific:
A specific goal has a much better chance of being
accomplished. To set a specific goal you must answer the six “W”
questions: Who, What, Where, Why, When, & Which.
• Measureable:
Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress
toward the attainment of each goal that you set. Define what
success will look like. If you can’t measure it you can’t manage it!
• Attainable:
Does the person have the wherewithal to do what is
required to attain the goal? A goal needs to be a stretch that can be
accomplished with a real commitment.
• Realistic:
Not a synonym for “easy”, in this case it means
“doable”.
• Timely:
A goal must be grounded in a time frame. Without a
timeframe a goal is just a wish.
3.B: Develop SMART Goals (continued)
– Supervisor comments
• This space can be used to:
– Evaluate accomplishment of specific goals and objectives
that were set during prior year’s evaluation.
– Establish new goals and objectives for the upcoming year.
– Any other work related comments necessary to form the
employee’s understanding of performance & expectations.
– Suggestions for Improvement
• This space can be used to offer specific improvement goals
and targets.
– Personal Development/Training
• This space should be used to record any
development/training goals or plans which are required to
address current deficiencies or intended to assist employee in
gaining more competencies which would be beneficial to the
department and/or the University in general.
4. Performance Appraisal Discussion
• 4.A. Logistics:
– Give the employee adequate time to prepare for the
discussion (at least a week’s notice is suggested).
– Schedule a time that is convenient for both of you.
– Do not schedule at the very end of the day where
the need to wrap things up will preclude extended
discussion of important points.
– Hold the meeting in your private office – if your
office is not private then conduct the meeting in a
conference room.
– Do not conduct the discussion in a non-business
setting such as a coffee shop.
4.B. Employee Self Appraisal (optional)
• When Advising the employee of the meeting you may
want to ask them to conduct a self appraisal, by
requesting that they answer the following questions:
– Do you have any questions about what is expected of you
on the job?
– What do you consider to be your most important
accomplishments in the past twelve months?
– What job related areas do you view as strengths?
– What job related areas do you view as weaknesses?
– What do you feel you need to do to improve your
performance? What can I or the University to help you
improve?
– Please tell me about any special acknowledgements,
awards, activities or recognitions that I should be aware of.
– Are there any goals that you would like to set for the
future?
4.C. Planning for the Discussion
• Review the completed performance appraisal
form.
• Review the performance documentation.
• Review the job description.
• Establish an agenda for the meeting.
• Develop a discussion plan that focuses on 1-3
core messages.
– Studies show that employees retain little of the
totality of information communicated during a
performance appraisal discussion. What they often
do remember is irrelevant or just the opposite of
what the appraiser meant to say.
Possible Core Messages
Final Rating
Meets
Requirements
Most Likely Prospect
Discussion Objective
Promotion
Review opportunities
Growth in present assignment
(vertical load)
Make development plans
Broadened assignment
(horizontal load)
Review possibility of extending
responsibilities
No change in responsibilities
Decide how to maintain current
level
Performance correctable
Plan correction / gain committment
Performance uncorrectable
Consider reassignment and/ or
prepare for termination
Does not Meet
Requirements
4.D. Conducting the Meeting
• Open the discussion by laying out the agenda
for the meeting.
• Allow the employee to discuss their self
appraisal first – putting the conversational ball
in their court.
• Confirm and discuss the areas of agreement
prior to moving to other items where there may
be disagreement.
• Discuss core message(s) with the employee.
• Wrap up meeting by summarizing the key points
that were discussed.