Employee Performance Reviews: It’s Time to Make Them Meaningful Again
(Ed. Note: Lenore S. Litwin is MIPRO’s Human Resources Director.)
It’s almost that time again at many companies, and it’s the time that most HR people dread. No, it’s not open enrollment, but rather performance review
season. What was probably a good idea at one time has morphed into a process that is hated and dreaded by both managers and employees alike.
And really, to be candid, what is the point? Why are we wasting valuable time talking about things that have already happened – sometimes months ago? And since the performance review period is almost always tied to salary reviews, the employee just wants to get to the bottom line. The review discussion is just a prelude to the “real” point of the process, so the review platitudes and preamble isn’t meaningful as it could be.
Such was the case here at MiPro last year – performance reviews were, in a nutshell, a waste of time. Our President, our Executive Vice President and I agreed on that – as I am sure our employees did. Our consultants know how they performed on a project when the project ends – why talk about it again months later? Our Client Executives knew how well they were meeting their quotas. I knew we needed to do something – but what did we really want the process to accomplish? Here’s what:
- Identify key performers
- Develop skills
- Identify potential problem areas
- Challenge
- Communicate, communicate, communicate (a key issue in this business since most of our employees are off-site)
This year, we no longer have a performance review process. What we do have is a Performance Management system with three components – a planning stage, on-going communication, and the evaluation stage.
During the planning stage, employees and their managers meet to discuss goals and objectives and performance expectations. On-going communication is vital – is there anyone who argues that employee performance warrants more than one discussion a year? Staff members and managers meet at least quarterly; in addition to monitoring goals, this allows for better management of substandard performance. And finally, the evaluation stage – review and discussion of actual performance and goal-setting for the future. We assess talents and skills and focus on challenge and growth, not weaknesses.
This isn’t some banality we ripped out of an airport business book: this is a dedication to reviving a once-critical function so that it’s meaningful again to the business as a whole. And, fundamentally, that means a strong understanding and line of communication between managers and employees.
Since the majority of our employees are consultants, they know what their basic goals are – a certain number of billable hours. Our Client Executives have annual quotas. So we look at things like expanding their knowledge beyond their areas of expertise, giving presentations or writing white papers. The goal setting for these employees is no different than for our operations and support staff – we want everyone to go a little outside their comfort zones. It’s the only way to grow in any area of your life, personally or professionally.
Managing performance instead of reviewing it – looking forward instead of looking back – not exactly a revolutionary idea, but one that is a much better fit for our culture, our corporate goals and, most importantly, our employees. If your organization is struggling with the credibility and purpose of this important-exercise-cum-HR-drill, consider a similar change.
