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Everyone
agrees that appraising performance is important. But
when it comes right down to it, no one wants to do
it. The line manager doesn't want to give the review,
the employee doesn't want to receive the feedback
(i.e., criticism), and the Human Resources professional
doesn't want to be responsible for the process. However,
every time we make a decision regarding who to promote,
who to transfer, who to retain, or how to allocate
salary dollars, we are indeed evaluating employee
performance. So the question becomes: How can we make
performance appraisal a useful tool for managing,
rather than a once-a-year chore? Simply put, we want
to know: "did the employee accomplish what he / she
was supposed to?" This implies a four-stage process
for effectively measuring (and managing) performance.
The
Four Stages of Influencing Performance
Stage
1. Setting Expectations Both supervisor and employee
must understand and be clear about what is to be accomplished
and why. This means that both should have common expectations
about the objectives / results to be obtained and
what constitutes professional performance.
Stage
2. Observing Job Performance Supervisors should
monitor and follow-up on their employee's performance.
They should observe what was accomplished as well
as how the employee did it.
Stage
3. Coaching & Counseling Supervisors should give
feedback to their employees. Employees need information
about how they are doing. They need to know when they
are doing something right (so they can continue to
do it); and they need corrective feedback so they
can get better when improvement is necessary.
Stage
4. Conducting a Formal Review The last step involves
summarizing the on-going feedback in a formal way.
Usually formal reviews are conducted at the end of
some meaningful period - e.g., annually or semi-annually.
This discussion should be a summary of all the activity
that preceded it. Influencing human performance in
a positive direction, is the REAL goal of performance
appraisal - and it's an on-going process.
Performance
Appraisal is not just a one-shot deal. It's a process
- a process of clearly setting and communicating expectations,
following up on those expectations, and giving feedback
so people know where they stand. We all need clear
and specific information if we are to be motivated
employees and top performers. Managers who work to
influence performance on a continual basis are less
stressed. Their direct reports are more motivated
and satisfied, and their organizations are more competitive
and productive.
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