Performance Management

I Know It When I See It

Supreme Court Justice Potter said ‘I know it when I see it’ about defining hard-core porn during a court case. Many of our performance management practices appear built on this.

Alan Weiss talked recently about feedback in his Monday Morning Memo – and his biggest point was that feedback says far more about the person giving it than about anyone else.

In managing performance effectively, these two areas create issues for most founders and managers.

Feedback

The best feedback is where you ‘catch someone doing something right’ and tell them specifically to do more of that. It needs to be immediate and specific to help increase productivity. ‘That report you wrote last month was great’ is as useless as ignoring it would be.

When you have an issue with an employee’s performance, the first step to effectively solving the problem is not usually correcting the employee. It is discovering what created the error in the first place.

Do you consider the actual cause first? How do you know that the issue is the employee’s fault? And how do you explain the correct way to perform the task so that the employee learns and applies new knowledge.

I bet you can see where I am going with this – and it is not to simple beliefs. Pairing up good comments with a message of poor performance does not work.

Performance Appraisals or Reviews

Most organizations still have some form of performance reviews, whether annually or more frequent. Decades of research indicating that such appraisals have no positive effect on performance has not been enough to eliminate them.

If you have a performance review program, it is most likely to have a numeric rating (1-5 are most common) or 3-5 phrases (‘fully meets requirements’ is a […]

By |May 13th, 2019|Performance Management, Smart practices|Comments Off on I Know It When I See It
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Performance Management 8: To SAVE or to FIRE?

Early action to identify and resolve problems is the easiest way to solve them. Quick action reduces demands on your time and improves productivity throughout the work unit. You have the most options and the best chance of success at this time. And saving an employee who knows your organization and has been productive in the past is both time-saving and cost effective. Address and resolve problems early rather than let them continue!

First, clearly identify the problem. If you have not fulfilled any of your own responsibilities, correct this situation now. Once you have provided the needed guidance and tools, assess probable causes and possible courses of action. Document the problem with specific examples.

Second, talk to the person. Describe your concerns factually with specific examples of the problem performance or attitude and the impact on the work unit or others. Seek the person’s input and assess it honestly. Ask for their plan to address and correct the problem. Develop an action plan together and follow-up on it. For a first occurrence or a minor problem, this can be done informally and without written notice to the person. Make this a constructive discussion with a positive tone. But it is smart to keep some notes on what you discussed.

If resolution is not achieved, the problem re-occurs, or the initial problem is in a critical aspect of the work, your options are more formal. There are three potential options, other than ‘termination at will’, although the first two are useful only in rare cases. You can restructure the job, transfer the person, or take performance improvement action.

Restructuring the job is worth considering only if the person has very good skills in critical areas and the person […]

By |October 5th, 2015|Communications, Performance Management|Comments Off on Performance Management 8: To SAVE or to FIRE?
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Managing Performance 7: OH NO! Documentation

Many managers and most small business founders hate the thought of documentation of employee issues. “I don’t have time.” “I don’t want to upset him by writing it down.” “I don’t know what to say.” Standard excuses all. But wrong.

Recently I was talking with a store owner about a problem employee – one who did not follow basic practices, had a tendency to hide from work, and often got angry. We had talked about dealing with this employee on these same topics 18 months ago. Now the owner was quite upset that the unemployment decision had gone against the company.
But, had he done any of the documentation over this period of time – no. Did he document his discussions with the employee about the problems before firing him – no. Is this unusual? Sadly also no.

Documentation can be done quite easily much of the time. Got an employee coming in late time and again? Make a simple record on your calendar if you do not have an automated time-keeping system. Talked with an employee informally about a problem? Make a short note for your records so that if it happens again you have the info you need to refer to that informal counseling when you have to write a warning or more.

The value to you of doing simple documentation of positive and negative performance or attitude issues is quite high. It allows you to know who to promote, who to give pay raises to, who might benefit from some training, and who needs more formal efforts. When it is about a problem, your records can help you avoid paying higher unemployment costs and deal with regulatory or legal challenges.

You can maintain ‘working records’ in […]

By |September 11th, 2015|Performance Management|Comments Off on Managing Performance 7: OH NO! Documentation
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Managing Performance 6: Coaching and Counseling Employees

Smart Coaching

Coaching is the best way to develop talent and productivity. If you think back on your own life, you can probably identify teachers, relatives, sports coaches, or previous bosses who coached you for success.

What did they do to help you grow and develop?
What common methods can you identify?
How could you apply these techniques to developing your staff?

Research indicates that common characteristics of good coaches include:

a. creating an atmosphere of support and trust
b. recognizing and building on the strengths of an individual
c. expecting excellence
d. providing continuing information on the company, its goals and the role of the work unit in the organization
e. providing clear guidance on expectations and priorities
f. letting the individual have freedom to do the job

You can become a good coach. Coaching requires generally consistent behavior on your part. This starts with being a good role model for those behaviors you expect from others. When you recognize that your own and the company’s success are built on the success of each member of your staff, recognition of their partnership and needs becomes easier. Basic actions you can take to become a good coach include:

solicit and be receptive to others’ ideas
provide guidance, information, and advance planning details routinely
explain your actions and decisions or reasons for procedures
provide training and support needed
establish and communicate performance standards and hold individuals accountable
provide periodic feedback on job performance routinely
give visibility, recognition and credit to individuals

Coaching is a pro-active behavior in which you help others to grow and develop.

 

Effective Counseling

Counseling is the key to changing problem behaviors into productive performance. Counseling differs from coaching in that it is in response to problems in work performance or behaviors. Since counseling is often seen as criticism or punishment, many managers do […]

By |August 24th, 2015|Communications, Performance Management|Comments Off on Managing Performance 6: Coaching and Counseling Employees
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Managing Performance 4: Getting Work Done Effectively

A key managerial role at every level is guiding and developing employees. The performance and success of your staff is the key to your own success. Your ability to build trust with your staff and to keep them actively involved in the company’s and their own success will improve your own and your work unit’s productivity. Research shows annual performance appraisals have no significant effect on individual productivity. What does work is an interactive program where manager and employee meet regularly to discuss work plans, performance, expectations, problems, and goals.

The best leaders have constant check in with their employees and inherently understand how to balance a team to focus on the “we” and the “me” — they have a pulse on their workers so that everyone has a sense of how to make the team work together towards a common goal (focus on the “we”) but to also balance the individual so that each worker knows that they are playing to their talents and strengths (focus on the “me”.)  Marcus Buckingham, SHRM2015

Tip 1. Work Planning and Standards

Work planning underlies much of a supervisor’s and work unit’s effectiveness. It is important to ensure work is completely effectively, on time, and within allocated resources. Standards are the established expectations on how work will be done. These are also often driven by the demands of customers, regulatory/industry or ISO standards, and the need to create a consistent environment for achievement. They include:

clearly identify expectations for performing the work
specify requirements and minimum levels of acceptable performance
define accountability
provide reference points for measurement
support improvement efforts and excellence

Tip 2. Manager Defines Work Objectives

A manager’s role in work planning is to establish specific work goals and measurements which enable the work unit […]

By |July 28th, 2015|Performance Management|Comments Off on Managing Performance 4: Getting Work Done Effectively
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Managing Performance 3: Delegating Work

Delegation involves entrusting the work and goals of your unit to others – a passing on of authority. While simple tasks are included early on, effective delegation also includes work that involves independent action, decision-making, and the ability to change as the situation demands change without referring back to you.

This means you must ensure that the person you select to do a job:

knows what you want
has the authority to achieve it
knows how to do it

To do this requires, first, that each team member has all the relevant information flowing in as needed. Second, you must allow them to exercise control on your behalf which means you must train your staff to apply the standards you do.

Delegating successfully depends on knowing your team members well. You start small with tasks which can be done by the person with a little ‘stretch’ and then add tasks as the person achieves success. This presents the person with the opportunity to use their knowledge more and to increase their knowledge and skills in a supportive environment. Further, you must set up a progress reporting process at the onset so that you have the knowledge you need to provide support and feedback – as well as to keep you comfortable enough not to destroy the process.

When you delegate, you need to be clear on what results you expect. While ineffective, many managers delegate a task and then expect the person to do it exactly as the manager would. This does not usually result in effective delegation since it does not allow the person to develop their skills or learn from the process. In fact, your way may not always be the most effective way either. So be clear about […]

By |July 17th, 2015|Performance Management, Smart practices|Comments Off on Managing Performance 3: Delegating Work
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