Change Your Company Culture—Tools
Employee Performance Reviews
The best performance reviews help employees improve their performance. You can do this by identifying areas the employee wants to improve, and then helping them to do that.
Here is a review process I have used that gets great results. Many of my clients have used this same review process and say that in addition to getting results, supervisors enjoy giving these reviews—instead of dreading performance-review-time.
Agree on Performance Areas
You begin this review by sitting together with the employee at a table with a blank sheet of paper. Ask the employee to write down the six areas that they consider most important in doing their work. If they do not write an area that you consider very important, you might discuss it with the employee and see if they share your opinion.
Agree on Performance
Now ask the employee to draw a line representing the first area. On the left-hand ask them to write “needs improvement” and on the right end of the line write “meets expectations”. Now asked the employee to draw a flattened circle (ellipse) on the line that covers the range where they think they are with that area in the last six months. Ask them to do the same with each of the six topics.
Next you draw a similar ellipse where you see the employee’s performance over the last six months. Usually you will find that the employee evaluates themselves more harshly than you do. This sets the stage for discussion.
Agree on the Plan
Now asked the employee which area or areas they would like to work on with your help over the next few months. You might ask them to meet with you again the following week with ideas or a plan on how this might be done, or they may have some ideas right then to discuss. Either way the next step is for you and the employee to agree on a plan, together with an understanding of how you will know whether it is working.
This plan must include your meeting with the employee at least once a month to discuss progress on the plan. If you allow months ago by with no discussion you almost guarantee nothing will change.
This employee-centered, results-based performance review can be used to complement the more formal evaluation processes used in many companies.