STEVE JACKOWSKI

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Eliminating Performance Reviews

3/25/2014

3 Comments

 
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Aside from the HR types out there, everyone hates performance reviews.  And truth be told, I suspect even the HR folks hate giving and receiving reviews, though they push hard to make managers and their reports go through the reviews and formal review processes. 

I guess I understand why they are so insistent on performance reviews.  Without them, many managers wouldn't take the time to sit down one-on-one with their reports.  A 'review' might only take place when the manager is preparing to terminate the employee and needs to document his/her inadequate performance.  Without the structure of the formal review process, a performance review, even with the best employees, degenerates into a brief conversation where each party knows they'd rather be doing something else. 

But even with the process and the regularly scheduled reviews, the experience is at the very least, uncomfortable and all too often, unproductive.  What is it we really want the performance review to accomplish?  I suspect that most people would agree to the following goals:
  1. Give the manager a chance to provide feedback on the employee's work,
    recognizing accomplishments and identifying areas that need improvement.
  2. Give the employee the opportunity to provide feedback to management on the job, the company, the work environment, the manager, and their career/developmental goals.
  3. Agree on new goals and what is needed to achieve them.
  4. Provide motivation for the employee to perform at his/her highest level.
When I started work at IBM years ago, we had an onerous review process done annually.  The forms managers and employees had to fill out were long and difficult to customize to individual situations.  HR was often present in the reviews.  This created an intimidating atmosphere and I don't think the process worked well.

Thirty years later, a 'big company' which had acquired one of mine,  had another completely different review process.  Each quarter, the employee was expected to lay out goals for the coming quarter.  The manager then approved the goals or made modifications.  This was done via a browser-based tool, no actual face-to-face communication took place.  Theoretically, during the quarter, the goals could be updated by either party.  At the end of the quarter, the employee rated him/herself and submitted the ratings to the manager.  The manager could approve or change the ratings and the performance review process was done.  Well almost.  HR required a follow up conversation about the review.  Raises were determined based on the ratings that managers and employees agreed to. 

While the idea of setting goals quarterly, reviewing them regularly, and doing quarterly employee reviews seemed like a good one, in practice, overburdened managers took cursory looks at goals and signed off.  Busy employees often just copied goals from one quarter to the next and submitted them.  Self-evaluations were haphazard and any changes by the managers were usually driven by budget - you needed to adjust ratings so that raises would fit within your budget.  Of course, then HR would step in.  If you had too many highly rated employees, they made you adjust some of them downward or sometimes they or your own manager would make rating adjustments without consulting you.  HR had standards that dictated how many Outstanding, Excellent, Average, and Below Average employees existed in any group.    It didn't matter if your group had the best performers in the company. 

Clearly the process was flawed.   And as I reflect on all the Performance Review processes I've seen in my long career, I think it's the nature of the beast.  Classic Performance Reviews need to go (away).

So what do we do instead? 

If we review the four key objectives for performance reviews above, doesn't it seem like they should just result from good management? 

As a manager, your job is to help your reports do their jobs better.  You're a facilitator.  This means agreeing on goals, checking in on progress, bringing resources to help if there are problems, adapting goals as necessary, and doing post-mortems to identify the good and the bad aspects of any project/task. 

Setting the initial goals should be done in person, or, for a telecommuter, via a video call.  Make the time.  Depending on the tasks and goals, checking in on progress should be done at least weekly.  Ideally this is done one-on-one, but depending on the project/size of the team, a group meeting isn't necessarily a bad way to check on progress.  Often another team member has time or experience that can help out when problems arise.  Employees should be encouraged to ask about changes to goals and their priorities (which may change frequently during the course of a project, particularly if the employee has multiple responsibilities, like doing both development and customer support). 

Again, depending on the nature of the tasks/goals and the team, post mortems can be done individually or as a group. 

There is one aspect of those formal reviews that rarely went well but which you need to incorporate into your non-review paradigm:  You need to regularly talk to your employees about their career and development goals and how their job, the company's direction, and your efforts are helping (or hindering) them to achieve them. 

Have a one-on-one meeting over lunch, coffee, or, if you're so inclined, join them in a recreational activity.  Make it clear you're listening, even if you can't give them everything they want.  Acknowledging their needs and desires, and  showing a path to realizing them is critical to keeping your team members motivated.   

Okay, the truth is, this approach hasn't really eliminated reviews.  Instead, we've just made them continuous by incorporating them into our daily management.

But good management is what it's all about and all too often, the formal review process just impedes our ability to connect with our employees and to be the facilitators they need.

Startups - The CEO Must Understand Operations
Preserving Startup Culture
3 Comments
E. A. Creger
3/29/2014 10:00:37 am

Steve brings up some excellent points. It would be mission impossible to try to preserve the culture of a small company and expect it to be identical as it grows and matures. As he points out, a more realistic goal is to identify the core elements of the original culture you wish to preserve and figure out how to keep the intent of that spirit alive in the bigger version. In order to make it stick, communicate regularly from the top, don't forget to listen, and remember to be clear and transparent. Most employees will behave like adults if you treat them as such.

Reply
E.A. Creger
3/29/2014 10:53:16 am

As an HR professional who has been around a long time, I feel compelled to comment on the subject of Performance Evaluations. While I do think it may be true that a majority of HR professionals are in favor of the formal Evaluation process in some form, those of us HR types who are anti-performance reviews do NOT enjoy being lumped in with the masses.

There are many books out on the subject of professional life without performance evaluations, and there are many new and innovative alternatives beginning to emerge. I agree that the fundamental purpose of any evaluation system should be to provide ongoing feedback--more of a regular and natural conversation about aligning the work with company goals; giving and receiving feedback; making sure the employee has necessary resources, training, access to information. Additionally, conversations about the employee's growth and development should be ongoing.

I believe that what many HR professional can't get past is the sense that one must have documented formal reviews to refer to when moving into corrective action, progressive discipline, terminations, etc. Fear of violating employment law, trying to avoid future lawsuits--no doubt a big driver of all the bureaucracy. But haven't we gone overboard?

I like Steve's approach of boiling Performance Reviews down to the essence of the communication, which is the feedback, focus, employee development. If everyone in a leadership position were a great manager providing regular feedback, we would be golden and could eliminate the formal process entirely. I believe there is a way!

Reply
Tuscaloosa Blinds link
7/24/2022 02:10:50 am

Nice post thanks for sharring

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    Steve Jackowski

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