Transcript Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers Providing Feedback to Employees Bernard L.

Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Providing Feedback to Employees
Bernard L. Erven
Department of Agricultural, Environmental
and Development Economics
Ohio State University
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
“How Am I doing?”
• Nearly all employees want an answer to this question.
• Many employers and supervisors find it difficult to provide the
answer.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Who in your business now knows how
they are doing?
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No one.
Some do, some don’t..
They can all figure it out.
The ones who most need to improve.
No one - I don’t want them asking for more
money.
• Everyone. I tell others and the word gets back
to them.
• They all know they are doing well because I tell
them when they aren’t.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
“How am I doing?” is answered through
performance reviews.
• Communication is the foundation of
performance reviews.
• May be formal or informal.
• A manager responsibility.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Possible reasons to not provide feedback.
– Good employees know they are good; poor
employees don’t care how they are doing.
– Employee reviews interfere with personal relations.
– They make people unhappy and jealous of each
other.
– Some things are better not said.
– Feedback takes too much time.
– Supervisors don’t want to do it.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Outline
• Eight questions guide planning for successful
feedback.
• Target is farm managers who do not have
feedback procedures in place.
• Emphasis is on “what is right with the best
employees rather than what is wrong with the
poorest employees.”
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Eight questions can guide getting started
with performance evaluations.
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What are my objectives for performance reviews?
Who will be reviewed?
What will be the mix of individual and group
reviews?
Will the reviews be formal or informal?
What will be the mix of objective and subjective
measures of performance?
How often will the reviews be done?
Who will conduct the reviews?
What review processes will be used?
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
1. What are possible objectives:
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Help employees improve their performance.
Help employees with their career planning.
Take advantage of employee insights for improving the business.
Identify training and retraining needs.
Encourage and motivate employees.
Promote teamwork and employee cohesiveness.
Provide information for compensation decisions.
Increase satisfaction with human resource accomplishments.
Identify needed changes in human resource management practices.
Provide information for the redesign of jobs.
Eliminate legally indefensible personnel actions.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
2. Who will be reviewed?
• All employees should be reviewed.
• The top manager can set an example by starting
reviews with the people who report directly to
him or her.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Gaining understanding of who will be
reviewed.
• Carefully build the case for reviews among
members of the management team and with
employees.
• When starting with reviews for everyone is
impractical, first focus attention on new
employees.
• Employees having learned the value of
feedback during their first year will expect it to
continue.
• Long-term dedicated employees who have
never had reviews must be handled with care.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
3. Individual or group reviews?
• Employee reviews typically are person-byperson.
• Emphasizing individual reviews can detract
from teamwork and cooperation among
employees.
• Contributions to teamwork can be made part of
each employee’s review.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
4. Formal or informal reviews?
• Formal reviews occur on a regular schedule, e.g., twice
per year.
• Informal reviews occur on an as needed basis.
• A combination of formal and informal reviews works
best.
• Not all performance review objectives can be
accomplished by depending exclusively on either
formal or informal reviews.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
5. Mix of objective and subjective
measures of performance?
• Objective approach  Performance evaluated against
specific standards, e.g., times tardy for work per year.
• Subjective approach  Performance evaluation based
on supervisor’s judgment, intuition, and feelings, e.g.,
employee’s cooperativeness.
• Compared to subjective judgments, objective standards
can more easily be explained, measured and adjusted as
the job changes.
• Important to combine objective and subjective
measures.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
6. How often to review?
• Conduct formal evaluations at least once each
year.
• Do all reviews during a single month or spread
out by scheduling on anniversary of
employment.
• Avoid scheduling formal reviews more than two
times per year.
• Stick to announced schedule.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
7. Who conducts the reviews?
• Employees’ immediate supervisors are most
often in the best position to do performance
reviews.
• Supervisors can seek supplementary
information from coworkers, other supervisors,
customers and in some cases people supervised
by the person being reviewed.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
8. Process to be used?
• Master a simple approach first.
• Build on the supervisor’s and employee’s clear
understanding of tasks, duties and
responsibilities.
• Insist on two-way communication.
• Seek agreement on what has been accomplished
since the last review, needed improvements, and
longer run career goals and plans.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Simplest approach
Supervisor proceeds along the following general lines:
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Review expected outcomes.
Observe performance, collect performance data and
make judgments to be able to say to the employee, “I
see your three most important strengths (contributions,
accomplishments) as . . . “
Ask the employee, “What do you see as your most
important strengths (contributions, accomplishments)?”
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Simplest approach - continued
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Say to the employee, “I see this (or these two
things) as most important for you to improve
during the next six months.”
Ask the employee, “What would you like to
improve?”
Discuss what is needed for the employee to meet
performance standards.
Summarize what has been agreed to.
Conclude with a positive note about the future.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Advantages of the simple approach for
getting started:
• No forms are required.
• It builds on existing positive relations with
employees.
• Emphasis is on helping the employee improve.
• Compliments exceed criticisms.
• Can be tailored to individual employees, i.e.,
the discussions with new employees and
experienced employees can differ as needed.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Graphic rating scale
• A widely used alternative to the simple method.
• Usually built around a 1-3 page form.
• Employee is evaluated on each key
performance standard that is in the job
description.
• Form is designed to identify specific strengths,
areas for improvement and an overall
assessment.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Graphic rating scale - continued
• Supervisors provide supportive details or
comments on each task or performance area.
• Specific examples of excellence or mediocrity
(with date and setting) add helpful detail.
• Two-way communication should occur between
supervisor and employee.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Tips for starting employee reviews
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Train all supervisors to do employee reviews
before they start doing them.
Strive for a positive attitude toward employee
reviews among all supervisors.
Tell employees when their reviews will be done;
don’t surprise them.
Stick to the announced schedule.
Explain the review procedures to all employees
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Tips for Starting Employee Reviews
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Ask employees to think about their own performance, their
questions and their career aspirations before discussion with
their supervisors.
Discuss performance in private.
View employee reviews as an opportunity for open and honest
communication.
Make the review communication two-way.
Make the annual or semi-annual formal evaluation a supplement
to continuous informal communication.
Be prepared to deal with strong emotional responses from
employees.
Spend some time on career implications.
End the review on a positive note.
Ask employees how the review process can be improved.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Concluding notes
• Employees and employers like performance
reviews when they are win-win for both parties.
– Employees will respond positively to well planned
and conducted reviews.
– The responsibility, however, rests firmly with the
supervisor.
• No matter how frustrating and slow early
progress may be, the results will be well worth
the effort.
Strategic Business Planning for Commercial Producers
Strategic Business Planning for
Commercial Producers