Performance Reviews - what if you are the boss?

Being in a performance review with your boss is one thing. But what if you are the boss? How can you turn the dreaded performance review into a quality interaction for your staff?

For the manager giving a performance review there are two purposes, each of which has a different goal. The first is completing the annual review of an individual against previously agreed criteria for the purposes of establishing a level of performance that may trigger payments or other benefits. The second is to coach each individual with detailed feedback for the purpose of guiding their learning and development.

In most organisations the annual review (the first purpose) is assessed using a combination of the employee’s self review and the manager’s employee review. Commonly these reviews are completed on standard forms by employee and manager respectively and then compared and gaps/differences discussed in the annual performance review meeting.

For more senior roles a 360degree assessment may also be used. In this methods a group of participants who may be supervisors, peers, subordinates, or external stakeholders of the employee being assessed are asked to provide feedback on the performance and behaviour of the employee. Feedback is usually requested via a survey format in order that the feedback can be aggregated to identify common strengths and areas for improvement. This information is provided to the employee prior to the performance review and frames the subsequent discussion between manager and employee.

Depending upon the method used in your organisation, how you conduct your meeting may differ. However here are a few ideas for delivering on your coaching role, so that your team members leave the meeting in a positive frame of mind, with a spring in their step.

Start by acknowledging this moment, this meeting, can be triggering

All of us know that performance reviews are moments when feedback may respond in each of us feeling rejected. Humans hate being rejected. It threatens our cultural norms around safety, security and belonging. So as we are walking into the meeting for the most part we are feeling nervous and hyper-sensitive to potential rejection in the form of criticism. This heightened state of arousal means we are closer to the trigger point, where flight or fright kicks in. Of course if that happens then cognitively the amagdayla takes over and our pre-frontal cortex, (where all our complex thinking comes from) gets quickly overwhelmed and we end up in a messy situation. By acknowledging this reality for the employee at the outset the manager allows them a moment to relax.

Outline how the review will work and introduce the principals that will guide the meeting

Managers are pretty used to starting with the “and here is the agenda for today’s meeting” opening. This opening is also your opportunity to say how you will conduct the meeting and that you will ask them how you went at the end of the meeting. This is an important and effective offer for a few reasons. The first is you are setting expectations about what is going to happen next, by stating the principles that you are going to use (eg. open, honest, fair, constructive, purposeful) you are letting the employee know that they will not be attacked. Of course they are really not expecting you to leap up from your chair and wallop them over the head with your performance assessment, but their brain is currently on high alert, and by sharing what motivates you, you are reassuring them that they are not in danger which will help them to settle. The second reason to do this is that by setting this principled standard, you are opening yourself to being held accountable by your employee. This is not only an inherently respectful thing to do, but it also creates a reciprocal feedback exchange. Now the nature of this meeting means that the feedback exchange is not balanced, however by offering it, you are signalling your desire for a more equal exchange between the two of you. This is very empowering for your employee and while they may yet not take you up on that offer, they are going to feel pleased that you asked.

Countering negativity bias

Now it’s time to break down your employee’s performance. Of course despite there being ten things you thought were really fabulous strengths and very awesome performance, your employee is going to zero in on the two “areas for improvement” and focus on them as intently as a kookaburra watching a sausage sizzle. In the psychological literature this is called positive-negative asymmetry and it means that we feel the sting of something negative far more powerfully than we feel the joy of something positive. It would appear that the reasons for this are all about how our memories (and thus our leaning) is laid down in our minds. We start developing negativity bias from a very young age (about 1 year old) and it continues developing as we age. It’s why we learn so much more, that stays with us for so much longer, from the mistakes we make throughout our lives.

To counter this, at the conclusion of the discussion on performance, share with your employee your top three take-always from the discussion - and choose the ones that reinforce the positive. Then acknowledge that your employee might be focusing on the negative, but your view is that it is super important to acknowledge the wins from the past year.

Move the conversation towards remuneration

The worst managers are the ones that do not acknowledge that good performance deserves improved salary and benefits, or don’t manage the time of the meeting for this very important part of the conversation. So towards the end of the conversation say something like; “Now let’s talk about your remuneration package”. I cannot tell you how much women in particular will appreciate this. By doing this you are refusing to have an elephant in the room, you are putting this very important and sensitive conversation on the table in order that you can talk openly about it. It is a great illustration of your values based management style. Of course you will only be able do this with confidence if you have prepared earlier. You should have thought through any budgetary constraints and considered any other additional benefits you could reasonably offer. Finally it’s critically important for high performing employees, that you provide them with opportunities to continue to develop their skills by providing them with new career opportunities.

Close with reciprocal feedback, gratitude and personal thanks

Now is the time to ask your employee to reflect on how you are doing. A simple “So how am I doing here? Have you got any feedback for me? What could I improve?” Can help to lift your employee out of the depths of what you have been talking about, and invite them to contribute right away to making improvements. If you are lucky enough to get feedback: (i) know that you are a trusted Manager (you wont get feedback if they don’t trust that you will take it well) and (ii) listen without interruption and (iii) thank them for being so open with you. Ultimately you getting feedback is an opportunity to role model what great management looks like, so take it!

Finally, coming into an organisation for the first time, we are often attracted by the promise of or reputation of the organisation. However the thing that keeps us in any employment situation is working with good people doing enjoyable, stimulating work in constructive workplace cultures. This personal connection is a very human part of our working lives. As the saying goes “people don’t leave bad workplaces, they leave bad managers”. So as the manager who sets the tone for connection and engagement in that space, this is your opportunity to strengthen the connection between you and your employee by sharing with them, what their performance meant for you personally and why you are grateful to them for it. Yep, get a little vulnerable with them so that you get a moment of genuine human connection.

Why? Because one of the most personal things that we can give in this lifetime is our personal energy in the pursuit of someone else’s goal. As stated so eloquently by Erin Brockovitch in the move of the same name, “Not personal? That is my work! That is my sweat! That is my time away from my kids! If that’s not personal I don’t know what is!”