Performance reviews are like the spring cleaning of the managerial world. Everyone knows it needs to be done. No one wants to get to work and do it. Still, you’ve been tripping over those boxes, piles and stacks for so long now that you don’t even remember what’s in them anymore. And your spouse, or at least your human resources representative, has been nagging you to do something about it non-stop. If you stare into the depths of your computer screen long and hard enough, will that give you more insight into the capabilities and competence of your direct reports? Maybe this year we can resolve to make performance reviews a meaningful activity.
Here’s a statement I make about performance reviews which always gets an uncomfortable but affirming chuckle: “Most managers assess performance based on the last complaint they had within the previous four to six weeks.”
In other words, they haven’t kept track of how their report has performed or developed since the last performance review; instead, they base their assumptions, evaluation, and future coaching on whatever issue has revealed itself most recently. If the manager is kind-hearted, this is a mutually embarrassing Kabuki ritual which gets forgotten by both parties as soon as it is over. If the manager has a vindictive streak, this gives him or her the opportunity to be cruel and arbitrary with some hard-to-dispute evidence as back-up.
The root cause of this emptiness is that even though some managers do performance management throughout the year, few can summarize that series of discussions in a way that makes sense and drives improvement. What should a performance review look like? First we should note that a performance appraisal form or process does not equal performance management. The two are interconnected but mutually distinct aspects. Performance management is an ongoing series of conversations that enable open and frank discussion between manager and employee based on actual events of which at least one party has direct knowledge. Manager and employee might not interpret those events in the same way, but at least they can talk about them in a meaningful way. A performance review, on the other hand, is that final discussion which takes place at the end of the year period which provides a meaningful summation of all those previous discussions.
There are two classic elements in performance appraisal. First, there is the business objectives, which boils down to the numbers one must attain. Then, there is the development plan, which is the path by which an employee grows in ability to attain those numbers. Connecting these two zones of concern are the employee’s behavioral competencies, which should be the focus of the development plan. In other words, if the employee gets the behavioral competencies right, the numbers should be attainable.
This mix of three elements cannot be dissected and parsed in a single session on a Friday afternoon. Instead, it takes careful thought and planning and requires regular meetings throughout the year interspersed with coachable moments and off-the-cuff conversations. Managers who think about what performance appraisal entails in its full entirety generally have one response: “I don’t have time for that! I need to get my job done.” And all that I have to say to that excuse is: “You don’t have time to do your job?”
If a manager’s job is not to develop and coach his or her direct reports, what is it? After all, how is a manager supposed to achieve the group goals set by his or her own manager? Surely, the manager is not meant to do this alone¾aren’t employees supposed to contribute? Not having enough time is an excuse which doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, even or especially in terms of the demands of the business. It also sends a very clear message to direct reports. Essentially, the manager is saying: “I don’t have time for you. You’re not important. Your success does not have anything to do with my success.”
The impact this attitude has on employee cynicism cannot be underestimated. Consider also, the organizational impact when such behavior is taking place across a number of managers. Not only is the organization getting low commitment and creativity from its employees, but it’s also losing them in droves. After all, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: “People don’t leave companies. They leave managers.”
Who, within your organization, is “auditing” the quality of performance appraisals? The organization that doesn’t ensure that this activity gets the time it needs to be meaningful is sending the message that people development adds no value to the business. All businesses are under the gun. All managers are being asked to do more with less, including less time. But we have plenty of time to do what really matters. The breakdown is not because of time; it is because the event does not rank in terms of our priorities.
It’s time to get those priorities straight.
David Cohen is president of Strategic Action Group and the author of Inside the Box: Leading with Corporate Values to Drive Sustained Business Success and The Talent Edge: A Behavioral Approach to Hiring, Developing, and Keeping Top Performers.
