Don’t Shy Away From Annual Performance Reviews
Photo by Amy Hirschi
We did it! 2022 is in the books and it’s time to reflect and get ready for conducting A LOT of annual performance reviews. Are you ready? Are you excited? No??
Don’t be shy, not many business leaders out there look forward to this time of the year. Sitting down with your employees and criticizing their work and telling them all the ways they could and should do even better is about as positively anticipated as a root canal. But it doesn’t need to be that way.
These reviews should be a two-way street and aim to create a long-term win/win employment relationship together between company and employee. If there is anything in the way of accomplishing that, these reviews should not only uncover those obstacles, but address them. As a business leader, could you imagine anything better than having every single employee in your stead happy and productive as you work hand in hand to actualize the company’s vision? For an employee, could you imagine them being able to work for a company that takes an interest in understanding their career aspirations, and then creating a plan to help them get there, and in a way that also benefits the company? It isn’t rocket science, it’s really quite simple.
Everyone wants growth, everyone wants more money. People aren’t lazy, they often just lack understanding and alignment with the company vision and how getting the company what it wants, helps them get what they want. Connect the dots.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a business or an individual in this capitalistic society, it’s what we all want. However, it’s not up to an employee to ensure those visions align, it’s up to YOU as a business leader. So how do you get it done?
First have a conversation with yourself, that’s right…me, myself, and I. If you have any emotions within that are pulling you away from really being all in on the annual review process, then that’s where you need to start.
Create a standardized document for your assessment of your employees which includes two sections: places to determine if people are a fit for the company and a fit for their role.
Find an assessment model that works for you and your business. I recommend using a 3 tiered system of measuring whether people are meeting expectations, exceeding expectations, or not meeting expectations for various performance factors.
Using this document, assess your employees both objectively and subjectively. Provide the real data to backup your claims and ensure there are real goals referenced with people fall short.
Spend time really helping people understand where they stand on each part of the assessment. Provide insights and examples.
Resist any urge to omit anything from the review because it’s difficult to discuss, especially when it relates to money. You need to have the hard conversations head on, it’s the only clear path through.
When you sit down with the person for the review itself, it’s important to prompt how important the time being spent with each other is. Do not fall into a casual banter about how annual reviews are silly and just rush through it to get it over with. This is the time to make sure the company’s vision is clear to the employee, but also for the employee to make sure their own vision is clear to YOU and the company. Only when those two visions are clear, can there be a path to mutual success.
If you can stomach it, encourage the employee to prepare a review for YOU and the company. This will give you direct insight into how you are doing as a business leader. Your people are the greatest insights you have into obstacles of your vision, leverage them.
Through really leveraging reviews on a regular basis, I’ve been able to make turnover within my organization almost non-existent. Every single employee in my stead has made more money, and while I can’t quantify it, I feel more happiness and joy from my employees in the work they are doing. Does that mean there aren’t bad days for any of us? Of course there are! But there is something to be said about feeling heard and feeling aligned with your goals and sharing in the value that gets created from that mutual success. At the end of the day, companies and employees are exchanging value to each other, and the more aligned and equitable the strategies to achieve those values are, the more sustainable the relationship becomes (and more successful).
People are any business’s more valuable asset, and the amount of time we spend on them as business leaders should align with that prioritization of that value creation. Build a properly motivated community of talent, and watch your business soar.
Unsure where to start? Message me and let’s discuss how we can take your business from good to great!
