There are many companies that have found a wonderful performance appraisal system while
others continue to review systems to match their corporate culture. To all those companies that have found a great fit, I say bravo. To those who are still looking, take a deep breath.
You may say I’m a dreamerImagine for a moment if you could say what you truly feel about performance appraisals as a manager or an employee without fear of those words coming back to haunt you, without fear of retaliation, without fear of being sued, and without fear of being rejected or ostracized. I can hear John Lennon singing the chorus below from the song “Imagine”….
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
For those who don’t know who John Lennon was….Google the Beatles and listen to the song because the words inspire us to dream of a time where living together and peace can be achieved if we only believe. By now you must be thinking, “So enough of the trip down memory lane you HR dreamer.” Yeah, you’re right. What was I thinking?
As an HR practitioner, I’ve had the privilege of training new employees who have accepted their first supervisor/manager role. New supervisors are always eager to show their previous supervisors, how to do things the right way. Lo and behold, it’s time to conduct the first performance appraisal and almost without fail, I saw the dazed look after leaving that first employee meeting.
Traditional check-the-box evaluations that are used to rate an employee’s performance can be flawed, at best. If the supervisor or the employee cannot substantiate the excellent, very good, average, or poor rating; then there is little that can be gained other than a tense and uncomfortable review meeting.
Imagine (now you see my cleaver pun) what the world could be like if we had 5 minutes to say what we feel in the appraisal session…without fear. Imagine if a manager
wrote a letter to the employee…..
Dear Employee,
I think you are a terrific worker but I just read your peer reviews and now I’m wondering what happened over the past year? Also, I wish I could tell you that the statement you made during the interdepartmental meeting about 4 months ago possibly hurt your chances for promotions because some of the other Managers think you are a hot head even though I know you were just having a bad day. You are usually cordial, upbeat and positive and I appreciate that about you. Now those same Managers have expressed concerns during our pre-performance appraisal meetings that we have with HR and I am not going to be able to place you in the SuperDuperExcellent category to be considered for the 2% salary pool increase. Heck, you barely wrote any accomplishments on your self-evaluation; yet, I know you worked overtime to cover your work and
some of your co-workers’ projects. I don’t remember everything you did this past year but it’s up to you to remember. I going to help you be better and hope you can get a raise next year. Sincerely, Your Manger.
Now imagine if the employee wrote a letter to the manager….
Dear Manager,
I appreciate my job and how you took time to explain my duties during the first week of employment. I’m curious, why did it take 6 months before we had another m
eeting about my job description and to let me know what I was doing wrong? Now it’s time for my performance appraisal and I don’t know what the categories really mean. My co-workers told me there is a “SuperDuperExcellent” rating but that’s for someone who is a Rock Star! What is a Rock Star? I wanted to tell you that I was drowning in some of my duties but I overheard you “yell” at another new employee that “it should only take six months to learn your job.” This is a cool place to work. So I’ll just keep quiet because I heard rumors that if you speak up too much you may be viewed as a troublemaker and it will be placed in your performance appraisal hurting your chances for promotions. Sincerely, Your Employee
Misunderstandings and knee jerk reactions over performance appraisals never help anyone. Today, my goal is not to tell you which appraisal systems are the best. Today, I just want to leave you with thoughts for further discussion and let you know you are not alone.
Imagine, as the manager, if you:
- Took time to ask all new employees during the first 30 days of employment what worked well, or didn’t work well in their previous performance reviews. Would it provide insight that could be useful for supervising that employee for the next year and allow you to lay the ground work to improve your company’s review process so that it becomes a valuable tool?
- Ask the employee at least quarterly how they are doing in their job and clarify expectations on both sides of the table. Would this allow you, as a manager, to re-set job expectations as needed?
Imagine, as the employee, if you:
- Live as if there are no stupid questions, ever. Confirm the expectations of the job duties listed on paper vs. those job duties that fall under “other duties as assigned” so that you can determine what effects the overall ratings in your performance app
- raisal.
- Had the opportunity to give feedback as well as receive it. What valuable ideas are being missed by not tapping the resources you have available to you and what potential problems could be avoided?
Employers and Employees unite. If you want a partner who can help you tap into a better corporate culture that leads to a better appraisal system then sing along with me……..
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one