Talking with Employees about Performance
Employees want and need to know how well they are doing in their jobs
. One of the most important functions any supervisor or manager has is to give their employees feedback about their job performance. Providing feedback to employees helps to ensure that the individual and the department are working jointly towards the goals of the organization.
Generally, feedback comes in one of two ways. The first is the feedback that supervisors should be providing on a daily basis. This feedback is usually specific to a recent event or activity in which the employee was involved. It is information and issue-based. It can be either positive or negative in nature, depending upon how the employee performed. The important thing is that it is based on constructive observations and that it happens. It is important that it occur as soon as possible, if not immediately, after the precipitating event.
Obviously, if the feedback is going to be positive in nature, it can be beneficial to provide it to the employee in the presence of coworkers. Be specific let the employee know exactly what they did and why it was properly done. It's important to show appreciation.
Negative feedback should always be provided in a private setting. The same things apply to negative feedback - be direct and specific. The employee needs to know exactly what was done wrong - what did not go right and why. They should be told specifically how they can improve their performance or do their job differently. They also need to understand what kind of impact their performance could have on the function they serve in the organization, or in a broader sense, the organization itself. There should be no emotion in these situations.
My experience has been that informal feedback is the most effective way to correct performance issues. Employees who perform well receive positive feedback and are often established as role models for other employees in their departments and the company. Employees who do not perform well receive specific feedback about their performance, are given an opportunity to improve, and also learn the consequences of failing to improve.
In either case, the supervisor is providing constructive feedback about real performance performance that has a positive or negative impact on the operation.
The second type of feedback is the formal employee review process. The employee review is an opportunity for the supervisor to communicate to his or her employees whether they are meeting goals and expectations, fitting their job description, and in general, how they are performing. Evaluations also help supervisors identify training needs, give feedback to their employees on where they are doing well and where they need improvement.
There are probably as many different types of reviews as there are companies. I will talk about the competency-based approach, which is the one that I have most successfully used. Generally, reviews of just about any type focus on traits, behaviors and/or results. As a general rule of thumb, the more your review process focuses on the results that your employees achieve, the more beneficial the process will be. The most successful review systems will have the following characteristics: it is based on an analysis of each job that is being reviewed; the review forms/ratings address specific job duties and responsibilities; the review forms are properly completed and the process is well documented; and the reviewers have personal knowledge of and contact with those whom they are reviewing.
A competency-based performance review system is formal with a structure designed to evaluate the job performance of employees against specific performance criteria. Although competency-based review systems vary by organizations, they usually have the following three components: specific, job-related criteria; a rating scale (usually 1-5 or 1-10); and an established process using review forms and procedures to determine and communicate the performance ratings.
The bottomline: providing performance feedback to employees is every supervisor's responsibility. Supervisors need to determine what each employee's responsibilities are and communicate that information. Once that's happened, the supervisor can provide feedback and coach each employee on a daily basis. Ultimately, the formal review process serves as the foundation for a company's compensation and progression programs.
Talking with Employees about Performance
By: Tom Stables
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