Streamlining the Performance Review Process

As a manager, one of the most challenging tasks you have to tackle is conducting performance reviews with your employees. Even if your team is performing at a high level, there are always areas of improvement to point out and items that need to be worked on. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to strike the balance between too much positive information that does not trigger improvement and too much criticism, which can dampen morale. If you have a performance review scheduled with your employees in the near future, consider the following four tips to ensure your reviews are effective.

Focus on Outcomes, Not Opinions

Personal opinion of your employees tends to color the way you think and interact with them, but it’s important to put subjective feelings aside when conducting a review. You may not approve of your employee’s dry sense of humor or choice of cubicle décor, but is that really influencing their performance? Focus on measurable outcomes that need to be improved rather than subjective opinions that have little to no bearing on productivity.

Be Specific

“You need to get projects done quicker” is a lot less effective feedback than “Your last two projects have been five days past due and that has set our team back a month.” When pointing out areas of improvement, be as specific as possible. Give examples, timelines for improvement, and clear expectations. If feedback is positive, you should also use specific examples to show that you’re really paying attention to and appreciating your team’s strongest qualities.

Communicate Clearly

Do your performance reviews sometimes wander into the vague territory? Do you feel your employees are no clearer on their goals when they leave your office after a review? If so, you need to focus on communication. It’s vital to conduct reviews when there are few distractions around and when you can focus fully on your team member. Encourage them to ask questions and to ask for clarification if they don’t understand. At the end, tell them to sum up the main points of what you went over to ensure you communicated everything clearly.

Follow Up as Needed

It’s easy to set out a plan for improvement with your employee, then completely forget about it until the next performance reviews rolls around. Follow-up is key to an effective employee evaluation. Set a time to go over goals a few weeks in the future to make sure progress is being made and to see if any tweaks are necessary. More follow-ups may be needed with specific team members if they seem to be struggling. The important thing is that your employees see that you’re paying attention and that their efforts are being recognized.

Streamlining your employee evaluations helps you become a more effective and respected leader. If you’d like to talk to a business management professional about running your organization more effectively, please visit our website.