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To improve communication, performance and productivity, effective performance reviews with balanced critical feedback will improve your bottom line.
Yet for many organizations, performance reviews are not well-utilized and appreciated.
Here are dos and don’ts for giving effective performance reviews:
1. Do be direct and objective
Some managers are shy about telling the truth so as not to offend their employees. Employees are left with the impression that the status quo is OK.
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To be constructive, managers must squarely assess and explain bad performances and what good performances look like.
2. Don’t procrastinate
As problems occur, talk with employees. Don’t wait for the annual performance review.
By waiting, problems keep hindering the organization and employees are overwhelmed and agitated if they do finally get the criticism. And it’s unfair to the employees and the organization.
If for some reason you fail to give real-time constructive feedback, admit your mistake and inform the employee you won’t wait in the future and that the matter must be discussed.
3. Do avoid psychoanalyzing
Don’t focus on personality or labels, focus on the important principles of employees’ behavior.
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Give specific feedback on what the employees are doing or not doing correctly. Request the performance by the employees that the company needs.
In other words, the definition of a good employee – the person knows the responsibilities of the job and does it. If the person doesn’t know, then the employee needs to ask questions.
4. Don’t focus on just negatives
Balance is required. So focus on the overall talent in terms of the positives and negatives.
Unless the employee should be terminated, most employees have some negatives but have many more positives. Be comprehensive in your feedback.
If you don’t recognize good work, too, you’ll risk demoralizing the employees They’ll become jaded and come to believe they can’t please you no matter what they do.
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And you’ll experience disastrous results.
5. Do engage the employee
Make the review a dialogue, not a monologue. Otherwise, the employees won’t hear you.
Ask questions of employees at every juncture of the review. Good employees often provide good explanations for suspect behavior. They’ll also offer good ideas.
Discuss the persons’ past performance, objectives and plans for improvement.
6. Don’t argue
Don’t risk letting the discussion go off track and deteriorate into an argument.
When you give examples, many employees will react with an argument. So steer the review into positive territory.
If you think the employees are worth saving, focus on the future. Get back to the goals and what you expect of the employees.
From the Coach’s Corner, additional performance review strategies:
4 Mindsets for Leadership in Performance Reviews – Are you nervous at the thought of giving employee-performance reviews? You’re not alone. Your employees aren’t exactly thrilled, either.
Management – 3 Common Mistakes in Performance Reviews – Not only do most workers stress over getting performance reviews, many bosses stress over having to give them. For management solutions, see these management tips.
Avoid HR Documentation Mistakes that Cause Legal Issues – You must anticipate possible adverse ramifications – how a jury or judge even months later would view your paperwork if the situation becomes a legal issue. Here’s how.
HR: Avoid Bias in Evaluating Top Employees Who Backslide – Don’t be too lenient with talented employees with a history of strong performance but who decline in their work. Document every event in any downtrend of performance. Inevitably, many terminated employees will file claims accusing you of discrimination.
HR Pros Typically Rescue Managers Who Make 11 Errors – Beware: Many problems are not caused by HR professionals but by managers who don’t use best practices.
“When you hire that first person, then you’re a boss. You’ve got performance reviews. You’ve got complaints about not making enough money. You’ve got people who are just going to sell your story to the tabloids.”
-Scott Adams
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