Driving Performance... 

Much has been written over the years about the dreaded and oft-hated annual performance review. Managers often consider them an administrative nightmare and a waste of time; and employees often leave them feeling disheartened, demotivated and no clearer about what it takes to do an excellent job. Is there a better way to drive performance outcomes?

A quick review of articles written on the subject over the past 15 years shows two things: (1) most companies have not gotten better at doing performance reviews and (2) the jury is still out on whether or not a formal review process should be implemented in the first place. There's no question that part of running a business successfully involves having mechanisms in place to measure performance of any number of things, including employees; but how and when you measure them impacts future outcomes.

Fearing confrontation in the review process, it's not uncommon for managers to rank everyone as "satisfactory" providing little guidance to the employees about development opportunities they should consider, things they're doing well, and where they honestly need improvement. By taking a middle of the road approach and not providing honest feedback, a giant opportunity is being missed to truly coach and mentor staff to be excellent performers and meaningful contributors to the company's success.

So where does the problem lie?

Well, there are a number of things to examine and questions to answer if you want to get the most out of driving performance. Here are a few to consider.

1. Do managers see their roles mostly as managing the work or managing the people doing the work?
2. Is performance reviewed just once or twice a year or are managers taking the opportunity to provide feedback and have constructive performance conversations throughout the year?
3. Is there a "performance culture" within the company where everyone is seeking the opportunity to lift their game and reach for excellence?
4. Are you focusing more on personality traits or on the behaviours that drive strategic outcomes?
5. Are expectations of performance clear and mutually understood? Do your employees know what it will take to do excellent work?
6. Are you clear about the purpose of performance reviews? Clue: it's not just to determine salary increases and bonuses.

Setting the stage for getting the best out of everyone actually starts before the interview process. It starts during your strategic planning process when you set your company's direction, objectives and implementation agenda.

Part of that strategic conversation should entail discussion of those behaviours that will drive desired outcomes. It should also cover the kind of organisational culture and systems/processes that will encourage those behaviours to occur naturally. And, finally, it should include a discussion of those human characteristics and attitudes that make people a good fit with your organisation.

Armed with this information, you have a better chance of determining and communicating expectations during the interview process and building them into job descriptions and operating systems. But that's not enough. It is also important to encourage managers to have ongoing conversations with employees about their career growth goals, about those things that inspire them and rouse their passion about their work and about ways the manager can support the employee to do his or her best work. Having this conversation only once a year just won't do. It needs to happen regularly throughout the year.

If you do choose to have a formal review process, there is much to choose from. Not every process is right for all companies. At Rag Trade Recruitment, we're passionate about helping our clients succeed. We'd be delighted to review your performance management systems and make recommendations about how you can hire the best, inspire your staff and drive performance for the benefit of all concerned.

The quality of the performance review process is a function of the engagement of both the manager and the employee. Look for our article next month where we'll discuss how both parties can contribute to and get the most out of formal performance reviews.

Submitted by Managing Director, Gaye Harford in collaboration with Lorraine Warshaw