Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/114548
Employees ("It's Time for Your ...Performance Evaluation!" continued from page 44) Put Your Calendar Where Your Mouth Is The No. 1 leadership skill is the ability to develop others – that's not a new idea. But, Boss, check your calendar: How much time are you devoting directly to people development? One manager I know formally dedicates 100 days a year to what, with a smile, he calls, performance reviews. Twenty-five people report to him, and twice a year they spend two days, one on one, reviewing where they've been together and where they're going next. Talk about putting your calendar where your mouth is!" – Tom Peters Second, regular ongoing informal conversations about performance should occur monthly or even weekly. What is a "Time Out" Really Worth? Taking time for meaningful communication with employees is incredibly important to your business. Performance evaluation provides a rare opportunity for a time-out. Think about it: A time-out can be a precious commodity in the world of professional sports. The recent blackout at the 2013 Super Bowl between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers provided such a time-out. This time-out produced an undeniable game-changing influence on the 49er's performance, much to the Ravens' chagrin, enabling them to come very close to victory in what at first seemed to be a certain defeat. Employees certainly need a time-out, as well, to help them refocus and perform to their full potential. Everyone needs – and deserves – occasional private and uninterrupted access to their boss to talk about important performance issues. Course Correction Course correction is a navigational principle and a business reality. Employees require regular feedback just like an aircraft requires frequent course correction to stay on track. Evaluation helps employees stay on course and focus their efforts on important goals. They need help anticipating obstacles and contingency planning. They need affirmation and recognition for their outstanding effort. Employees need to know that the boss is genuinely interested in their performance and development. Studies prove that performance evaluations – done correctly – actually reduce absenteeism and turnover. Evaluation also provides opportunity to identify training needs and make sure people are in positions where they can excel. Following are 12 tips for developing effective performance evaluations: 1) A performance evaluation is not supposed to be punitive. This is not the opportunity to release an avalanche of retribution for a year's worth of accumulated frustrating infractions. If an employee needs disciplinary action then it should have already occurred. Discipline should always occur independently of a performance evaluation. 2) No surprises. No one wants to hear, "Surprise! Your performance stinks!" An important rule of business is, "No Surprises." This is just as vitally true for employees as it is for customers. People do not like being surprised by bad news. Surprising negative news does not typically produce positive results. If an employee is surprised by news of underperformance, it is usually an indication that the manager has not done not been doing a very good job communicating. 3) Be objective. Subjectivity devalues this process. Use documentation to support conclusions about employees' performance. If you want to influence performance in a positive way then you must be able to reference measurable metrics and definable behaviors. Opinions are easy to refute but documentable data speaks for itself and leaves little room for debate. 4) Broaden your field of vision. Find out what customers, coworkers in other departments, and even vendors have to say about the employee's performance. Ask nonthreatening questions to facilitate this discovery process and other people will usually help you discover areas for improvement. Caution: discretion, privacy and tact are imperative here – no employee who is the subject of your inquiries should find out from a colleague that (s)he was the topic of conversation between the manager and his or her peers. If you speak with co-workers about each other, it should be an openly communicated part of the pre-evaluation process so that it's not misconstrued as gossip behind someone's back. 5) Use self-auditing. Let the employee fill out his own performance evaluation and then use your own evaluation as a comparison. Selfdiscovery enables employees to find the courage to confront themselves. Hard truth can be easier to accept if we come to that realization on our own. Self-auditing helps employees assume ownership and responsibility for themselves. When it comes to selfevaluation, high performers tend to be harder on themselves while average and below average performers tend to be more generous with themselves. Stephen Covey (of FranklinCovey fame) has said, "When you think about it, who should evaluate a person's progress and achievements? That person should. Traditional performance evaluation is clearly one of the bloodletting management practices of our day...this is where the boss uses the sandwich technique: say a few nice words, slip in the knife, twist it a few times – "area for improvement" – and then pat them on their way. When you have a high-trust culture, helpful systems, and people on the same page, then people are in a far better position to evaluate themselves...in most cases, self-evaluation is tougher than anyone else's evaluation." 6) Make sure employees are clear about their performance goals. Establishing challenging goals 46 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | March 2013 44_Performance_feature_KP.indd 46 2/27/13 4:10 PM