Annual Performance Reviews

First, face the reluctance.
Ah, the annual performance evaluation! Let’s face it. Nobody likes to do them. If the person has done a great job all year, the individual probably knows it and so do you and it all seems rather tedious and time-consuming.

Or, in contrast, if the person has not done such a good job all year, then it is a task you put off in your calendar and at the bottom of the pile of papers on your desk. Who wants to wallow in all that old, bad news? … If you are the least bit conflict-avoidant, you would rather do three drafts of the budget than do a tough evaluation once.

Then, take a new approach with a new attitude.
In either case, I invite you to reframe your expectations according to a different model altogether. When evaluation is ongoing, the official annual performance review becomes more of a milestone or marker than some major drama that is then documented for posterity and the ongoing discomfort of everyone involved. Ongoing evaluation alters the dynamic – for the better – between supervisor and staff member.

Aim at improving performance.
By on-going evaluation, I mean the habit of being deliberate about offering feedback in a timely manner. First, reinforce work well done at the time it is done. Secondly, offer constructive feedback on work not so well done immediately afterward so that it can be better understood and the insight can be applied to future circumstances. The overall aim is for continuing quality improvement of the individual’s work performance in terms of results. The point is not just to make the person feel bad or good, or better or worse than others.

Just how do you do on-going evaluation?
In your regular weekly or monthly meetings with your direct reports, always take a few moments for review. Don’t assume that the person knows you think he or she did an especially good job with that last assignment. The person may have received compliments from others but those are never the same as feedback from a supervisor. They just don’t reinforce in the same way.

Likewise, don’t assume that the person knows you really wish he or she would have done the job altogether differently and that, at the moment, you are unhappy, unsatisfied and uncomfortable even being around the knucklehead. Talk it through!

Finally, when there is something of major importance in either direction, write a note for your own future reference following the conversation with the staff member. Then, if you keep these notes, you will be fully prepared to write your annual review with ease, accuracy and thoroughness. Just as importantly, because you have already discussed the items at the time of their original occurrence, there will be no surprises at the official annual performance evaluation meeting. No one likes surprises at such meetings and there really is no excuse for them.

To sum up…
Good evaluation is ongoing evaluation, emphasizing positive reinforcement and including timely constructive feedback. It should never prompt comparisons to other notorious annual traditions such as dental check-ups and tax filings.