While we all know the intended purpose of a performance review, over the years performance reviews have become so routine that its true purpose or value may be getting lost among the ratings, weightings and vague employee performance goals. As a management consultant, I find conducting performance reviews to be the most problematic area for leaders as far as their responsibilities go. It is a dreaded and often despised exercise. Yet, performance reviews are a vital part of the performance management process. The key here is that it is a part, not the whole. Could this missed distinction be contributing to the angst managers are feeling towards performance reviews? Could the process itself be flawed?
Performance reviews are conducted to review past performance, which is measured against specific goals and objectives defined at the beginning of the performance period. These goals and objectives should originate from the overall company’s performance goals and objectives and cascade down to the departments and employees responsible for executing them. Sounds simple enough. But is it really?
Let’s say a company developed poorly defined goals that are not measurable and lack specificity. It would be very difficult to hold employees accountable to goals that were not written well and therefore lack the key elements that all goals should have and that is that they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound (SMART). Let’s add to the mix the absence of a competency model or framework. The competencies are the behaviors a company expects employees to exemplify during the course of performing their duties. It is the how and not the what of how an employee performs.
The above are major developmental components to a successful performance management process, but there are other key elements. Let’s assume for a moment that the stars were all aligned and the company did an excellent job at defining their core competencies and business performance goals. This should make it easier for managers to conduct their reviews right? If the goals are written well and the behaviors are well defined there shouldn’t be an issue. Sadly, even with clearly defined goals that have been communicated, the process can still hit major snags. One such snag, which is perhaps the main reason why managers would prefer to avoid conducting a performance review, involves feedback.
Giving positive or constructive feedback is not an easy task even for the best of us. Great goals are only as good as the feedback the employee receives about his or her progress towards the accomplishment of the goals. This is often where all of the challenges come into play. We can drill this down to so many possible contributory factors like communication, relationship building issues, constant organizational changes, just to name a few. And we would be correct as all of the above can impact the quality of the feedback an employee receives because they all would have an impact on the employee’s performance. It is my belief however, that it all boils down to training and development.
Because giving feedback is a crucial element to managing the performance process, it is a competency that should not be taken for granted. The ability to give honest, unbiased, motivational, accurate, and constructive feedback, for many of us is a learnt skill. It doesn’t come naturally. Especially when we have our natural human tendencies working against us. Body language, not the words we are verbally saying are the true signs as to what we are actually saying. This makes feedback sessions even more complex for both the reviewer and the reviewed.
An organization can combat the issue of managers avoiding performance reviews by obviously starting off on the right foot with well-defined goals and objectives. But even in this process training is a necessity as goal setting is not always an innate skill set. Training is essential to the performance management process. Managers and supervisors need to understand how vital performance measures are to the company and to the employees. This can only happen through training and development.
Performance management training should give specific tools and techniques to managers in assisting them as they prepare and relate feedback. Once armed with the proper tools and resources, the anxiety level most managers may be experiencing going into the performance review, is likely to decrease.
In the end, if you want to truly see the value of a successful performance management process, which contributes to the success of the business and the development of the employees, then put performance management training on the agenda for next year. Give your managers what they need to be successful at conducting motivational performance reviews. It would definitely make your HR manager a lot happier.
