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Performance Reviews
I wonder how my new puppy would improve if I only corrected and praised her every six months? How well would your children learn under the same circumstances? The answer is obvious -- they simply wouldn't learn to conform to our needs and rules. And how do your employees do with that every-six-months-whether-you-need-it-or-not review?
Supervisors and the supervised frequently dread performance reviews. And if they are linked to potential pay raises the staffer listens to every comment with an eye to whether it might, or might not, mean a raise. "You are a good multi-tasker," says the supervisor. "A raise," thinks the employee. "But you tend to drop the ball where putting things in writing is concerned," continues the supervisor. "Uh-oh, maybe no raise," thinks the employee.
An article on reviews in The Washington Post (by Amy Joyce, 3/24/02, "Why Wait to Evaluate?") began "Oh, those employee reviews. They make the worker bees feel as if they're walking into the principal's office. And the managers find them even worse...." But if your job includes training, mentoring, and coaching, how do you improve on this age old process? Here are some tips.
* Train all supervisors to give constant feedback to those they supervise. That feedback should be primarily positive and sincere and only secondarily negative. The negative critiques should focus on practical ways to improve. One of the best books on this subject (and it is an easy read) is The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard. In it Blanchard talks about giving one minute praises and one minute critiques. He advises making them concise and to the point. In this way your folks get constant mentoring and coaching. There is no way they will walk into reviews wondering what you or their supervisor think of them.
* Do semi-annual reviews but make them enlightening and mostly positive for the staffer. Take them to lunch or breakfast or arrive at the jobsite with coffee and danish for a quiet (but scheduled chat). Get their summary of how things have been going. As in your sales calls, take time to develop rapport. Talk about their personal goals and their company goals. Ask what skills they are working on and what they see they might need to improve.
After listening for a half hour, it's your turn to talk about the improvements you've seen. Pat them on the back for the growth they've made. Then discuss how they might move to the next level in their work. End by agreeing on an area they will work to improve and discuss how the company can help. Should they take a course? Should they visit another remodeler? Should they work with another carpenter who will help them?
But, you might say, what if I have a really poor worker or someone with a really poor attitude and there's little to be positive about? The answer is simple -- you shouldn't have this person on staff. Everyone on your staff should meet minimal requirements and be a constant improver with goals which you helped set.
* In all your feedback, be sure you are evaluating, praising and critiquing not only their job performance skills and their results but also their attitude -- their acceptance of the company's core values.
* Divorce pay from reviews. In the best of all worlds you will have adopted a pay-for-skill policy which makes clear what you have to do to achieve a certain level of pay. But even if you haven't (and 99.9% of remodelers haven't), make pay announcements apart from reviews. Keep the focus of the review on acknowledgement of improvements and setting of new goals.
* Consider asking your employees for advice and help in devising a performance review program. By getting them involved and getting consensus up-front, you'll have much more buy-in with the program you develop.
* Go wild. At the end of each review, ask the employee to answer these questions as quickly and honestly as they can:
1. What would you like me to stop doing?
2. What would you like me to continue doing?
3. What would you like to to start doing that I am not doing now?
Performance reviews are an important and effective part (but only a part) of an effective mentoring and coaching program. Do them but don't forget the day-to-day honest feedback which is even more important.
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Official Charity of 2008
Remodelers Advantage Inc.
535 Main Street, Suite 211
Laurel, MD 20707
ofc: 301-490-5620
fax: 301-498-6869
Info@RemodelersAdvantage.com