(ISBN 978-1-63369-278-7)
Performance Management for a New Age of Work
Performance management is an interconnected set of tools used to measure and improve the effectiveness of people in the workplace. High-perfoming teams use performance management to achieve three goals: to develop individuals' skills and capabilities, to reward all employees equitably, and to drive overall organizational performance.
Traditional process began as a system for assessing and maximizing the productivity of industrial workers; the cycle generally began w./annual goals for each employee and at the end of the year, people were formally appraised based on how successfully they achieved those objectives. Assessment was based on production-based metrics.
These don't align with roles that prize creativity and innovation and staffed by knowledge workers and difficult-to-measure-results teams. While the industrial model aimed to reduce variation (in manufacturing errors, for example), many organizations today aspire to innovate by increasing variation.
Metrics to gauge performance have become more complex and harder to see as causation (as opposed to correlation).
Many orgs awnt nimble, flexible instruments that can truly increase and accurately measure performance; some are shifting away from cyclical calendar-based approaches toward those based on more communication throughout the year. Some are reappraising the approach--Deloitte created a new approach that removed traditional elements (360-degree feedback, cascading objectives, and 1/yr reviews) and instead focused on "performance snapshots" in which an employee's immediate manager answers four future-focused questions about an employee--essentially asking what they'd do with the employee rather than what they think of the individual.
Because
It's rare than an org (or individual) can make real progress without setting and working toward goals. Few companies can remain competitive or retain their best people without offering opportunities to grow.
We'll explore employee goal setting: the characteristics of effective goals, how individual and organizational goals align, and how to develop metrics to measure people's progress toward their objectives. We'll also discuss creating specific palns for enabling direct reports to meet those targets to ensure that you'll be satisfied with progress. But because established goals may no longer remain static over the course of a year, we'll also explain how to assess whether set goals are still valid--and how to make changes as necessary.
Make them clear and specific, achievable but challenging.
Setting clear goals is the starting point of managing performance. Goals define the results that your people should aim to achieve in a given period of time. Agreeing on specific targets is only part of the goal-setting process, however. You must also define how your employee's progress toward these objectives will be evaluated and how to measure results and gauge behavioral expectations. Defining the information at the outset will make assessing performance easier for you later, and your employees will have a clear understanding of how to proceed throughout the year.
Most managers know SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound), but this isn't enough to make the employee valuable. Consider different criteria; effective goals must be:
Each of your directs should have a set of goals that is based on their role, skill level, and development aims. Do this by drawing from a variety of sources directly related to your employee's needs:
You may be tempted to draw goals from a person's job description, but JDs tend to be more about the content of the role than about the aims that managers and employes agree to pursue. As you think about potential goals, dig deeper than a simple job description; aim toward descriptive, measurable targets in your goal setting.
How to make desired outcomes achievable but challenging. Stretch goals are objectives that require extra effort to reach. They're an important element of a high-performing culture and of employee development. People respond positively to a challenge. Aiming too low can lead to mediocrity.
Because they require significant effort, there's no guarantee these objectives will be achieved. When they're too valuable, stretch goals can backfire (employees discount outcomes, wind up frustrated, or act immorally/unethically). You want people to stretch, not to break. Keep in mind, too, what's impossible for one employee is an exciting test for another.
Fit the needs of the individual and the organization.
Each individual should have unique, personalized expectations of their own. Logically, goal-setting should be a top-down process that starts with strategy and cascades down, but the traditional "cascading goal" model has its downsides:
Consider a different approach: Let your direct reports take the lead in setting their goals. Develops ownership, commitment, and accountability. "Accountability is not simply taking the blame when something goes wrong.... Accountability is about delivering on a commitment. It's responsibility to an outcome, not just a set of tasks. It's taking initiative with thoughtful, strategic follow-through."
Keep it separate from the review meeting--better focus and less emotional (and other) distraction.
While your employee may be setting goals for the year in this meeting, it's possible that those targets will need to be adjusted before the review period ends--the goals you set may not be relevant for an entire year (or even quarter). Some companies have replaced annual objectives with short-term ones. (The Gap uses quarterly targets; at GE, shorter-term "priorities" have taken the place of annual goals.) A person's goals may need to be adjusted/adapted during the year.
Before you and your employee get together at the performance planning meeting, ask them to draft a list of goals for the two of you to review together. Give them some pointers about what makes for an effective goal, and review some promising sources for coming up with possibilities. Employees at every level should be able to articulate how their work feeds into the big-picture organizational strategy in addition to fitting with their individual skills, strengths, and ambitions.
Assess the suggested goals: How do they fit into the larger picture? Can you see clear links between their expected contributions and the results they need to achieve as members of your team? Are the objectives realistic and challenging? Do they cover all the elements of the SMART rubric and meet the characteristics of well-defined goals? Make sure both organizational needs and the employee's professional aspirations are accounted for.
Aligning goals with those of the organization
Each unit, team, and individual should have goals that directly support the organization's larger strategic objectives. Your employee may already understand your team and organization's strategic efforts, but don't assume they do. Understanding why a goal is important, on both an individual and an organizational level.
Do each of the proposed goals line up with these big-picture efforts? Do they fit within a larger organizational/team strategy? By defining together how these goals can contribute to a larger organizational purpose, their sense of ownership and engagement can grow.
If it doesn't match a team/org aim, assess whether it's the right fit. Revise or remove.
Also discuss whether there are goals missing that would be important to add from the org perspective.
Aligning personal interests with professional goals
Understanding your directs at a personal level will help you both in the goal-setting process and every other facet of performance management. How can the unit goals be crafted to inspire the highest level of enthusiasm from each person? What are your employees' career ambitions? Are their professional goals compatible with those the unit/organization must pursue? Activities that contribute to organizational success can also spur individual employee development--and people can find the intersection of professional goals and personal interests highly motivating.
Ask your team members if they would be comfortable telling you about their personal interest during your performance-planning meeting if their list doesn't seem to include them. Even employees who share identical titles and roles can adjust certain goals or take on specific tasks that best suit their interests, tap into their strengths, and reflect their personal traits.
Instead of burying someone in a flurry of goals, prioritize: Focus on two to four challenging, specific, signficant goals.
People can also be overwhelmed by complex and large goals--it can be helpful to break a goal into smaller pieces, or to set shorter-term aims. Setting monthly or quarterly goals, rather than annual ones, can narrow the focus enough to make the target achievable while still having a big impact.
Once you/your employee agree on a set of meaningful goals, determine how you plan to assess progress toward each one. List anticipated outcomes and measures for each item. Keep the following pitfalls in mind as you define how objectives will be evaluated:
When goals aren't easily quantified
Some goals are more qualitative and therefore harder to measure. In such cases, you should still be able to pinpoint tangible, measurable targets within them. If you're struggling to find a suitable unit of measure, set a more specific, metric-friendly goal targeting something that can be measured.
Determine in advance how you plan to measure progress for each goal, whether it's a numerical or time-based target. Be specific: If you were evaluating an individual who wanted to improve their public speaking, you might want to agree on how you define "public presentations".
Don't make the mistake of dismissing what you can't quantify. When it comes time to assess an employee's performance, you'll want to look beyond simply measured aspects.
When you discuss objectives with your employees, you should also talk about what you expect of them in terms of behavior. Your direct may understand what they must achieve, but if they do so in a way that's detrimental to your team or the organization, their contributions won't matter. Talk through your expectations for citizenship behaviors (stepping in to help colleagues in need, serving as a resource for others, cooperating and demonstrating flexibility, and training new hires) as well as basic competencies like behaving professionally. Understanding behavioral expectations is important to creating a collaborative and productive work environment--and you should make it clear to your employees that you value their contributions and cooperation on this front as much as you do their work results.
Outline steps to accomplish objectives and adjust as necessary.
Once you have goals, create a practical plan for achieving them. "Creating goals that teams and organizations will actually accomplish isn't just a matter of defining what needs doing; you also have to spell out the specifics of getting it done, because you can't assume that everyone involved will know how to move from concept to delivery." (Heidi Grant, "Get Your Team to Do What It Says It's Going to Do", HBR, May 2014) Goals can seem impenetrable but they become much more manageable when there's a detailed plan to reach them.
The process of setting a plan can empower your direct and create a sense of ownership.
Steps:
Determine the tasks needed to accomplish the goal: Break the goal down into task-basde components. Some items may be completed simultaneously, while others need to be completed sequentially, so list them in the appropriate order.
Plan the timing for each task: Set a start and finish date for each individual task, and describe the desired. (Backlog, basically)
Gather the resources needed to fulfill each task: Many efforts fail because people underestimate the time and resources required to accomplish each task. Consider what the employee will need to complete the task. Do they have the bandwidth and equipment to manage these tasks in addition to their ongoing responsibilities? Does your direct report have the training and knowledge to be successful?
Get it on paper: Specifically, include:
Regularly schedule check-in conversations to keep track of progress; if you don't know how well someone is doing, you won't know when to make adjustments in their plan to reach objectives--or in the goals themselves. For example: "What am I doing that I should keep doing? What am I doing that I should change?"
Timing can vary, and may be set by the organization. You're the best judge of how frequently you should meet with each of your directs. At the end of your performance-planning meeting, discuss with your employee when it makes sense to check in. Some meetings should be event-based: when they complete a task, reach a milestone, or achieves a goal. But others wil lbe between these points, simply to discuss ongoing progress.
If an employee's goals need to be revised, meet to review previously set goals and plans. Three questions:
If you're checking in with your reports on a regular basis, the need to change course or revise goals will come as no surprise. Additionally, every check-in will be another opportunity to monitor your direct's performance, offer feedback, or provide coaching.
We'll discuss the process of observing, documenting, and improving performance throughout the year. You'll learn how to identify performance gaps and assess why they occur, effectively coach and deliver feedback, recognize good work, and motivate people to do their best.
Note good and bad work, and identify root cause
Assessing performance and providing feedback is a continual process. You and your employees will both benefit if you give feedback often. Take advantage of your check-in sessions as opportunities to track your employees' strengths, weaknesses, interests, and ambitions. Periodic progress checks and ongoing observation are essential in order to help you:
To best track performance, observe your employees and how they are progressing toward their goals. Your mission should be to identify an individual's strengths and weaknesses and to understand the impact that their work and behavior has on the person's ability to achieve specific objectives, as well as their contribution to the organization as a whole. Perhaps someone demonstrates a behavior that is causing problems--it's important to assess whether it's an anomaly that won't cause future damage or an ongoing behavior pattern that requires your immediate feedback s your employee can change.
While your personal observations are important, where tasks are complex or involve a team, you may not have the ability to see the full picture. Feedback from other sources provides a useful reality check of your own views--and may provide you with new information about additional good or bad performance. When appropriate, discuss these situations with trusted colleagues--in confidence.
SIDEBAR: Document your observations
Keep a file on each of your direct's peformance, and update it throughout the year. Use it to keep track of both good and bad performance, so you have a balanced view of your employee's work. Update it after check-ins, or set a calendar reminder to add new information periodically. This document will likely be only for your own reference, so you don't need to write much--just enough so you can see progress (or lack thereof) over time and ensure that you'll remember notable successes or missteps. That said, if someone's performance is suffering to the point where you need to consider termination, you should be especially careful about documenting such actions, as your personal notes could become material in a legal case. Points to consider:
- Record the date and specifics of what happened.
- Stick to facts, not judgments.
- Make notes on the day you've given someone feedback (or soon after), while it's fresh in your mind.
- Keep a folder of emails or other correspondence highlighting your employee's accomplishments, whether they are instances you noted yourself or include praise from others.
If you aren't able to check in regularly with your employees and jot down notes yourself--perhaps they work remotely or travel often--request periodic progress reports from each of them every week, month, or quarter. Those reports don't need to be formal. An email with a few bullet points will suffice to gather the necessary information, such as key accomplishments, questions or concerns, and what the individual aims to achieve before the next report or check-in session.
Always ensure you have a complete picture of the situation, and continue to watch your direct's work and behavior. Avoid premature judgment, and recognize that, no matter someone's behavior, any assumptions about the causes are just that--assumptions. COnsider what might underlie an employee's disappointing work results, and make the effort to accurately assess what's causing the problem.
It's also important to perceive the indirect ways your employees may be asking for help. People don't always know what kind of help they need or exactly how to ask for it. Make a practice of actively listening when discussing projects or progress with your employee, and confirm that they understand exactly what you're asking of them.
If you've noticed an employee's work isn't up to par, your next step is to investigate what may be causing the issue. The underlying cause could be a skill definiciency, poor time management or personal work habits, lack of motivation, conflict with another employee, or unclear direction on your part. Underperformance may have a nonobvious cause; here a few possible reasons:
Assess whether you've played a role in the issue:
WHen you have identified the cause of a problem, decide if it's worth addressing. Is this a true performance gap or a temporary glitch? Avoid giving feedback in situations where your employee cannot change or control the outcome.
Discuss your observations with your employee
Positive feedback or praise (Here's what you did really well) can enhance confidence and incrase an employee's sense of commitment. Constructive feedback (Here's where you need to improve) is informative, providing a bsis for a discussion and redirection. Whatever the type, feedback is most effective when it's grounded in specific details that an employee can use.
Positive feedback should pinpoint particular actions of merit. Vague praise may not do harm, but it doesn't communicate much useful information.
Constructive feedback should target specific opportunities for improvement. Clear statements help an employee understand what to work on. On the other hand, unvarnished criticism is neither specific nor helpful and offers neither insight nor room for improvement.
Specific feedback is effective at different times w/different kinds of people. Positive feedback is especially helpful for early-stage employees or for individuals trying to master new things. "When you don't really know what you are doing, encouragement helps you stay optimistic and feel more at east with the challenges you are facing." (Heidi Grant, "Sometimes Negative Feedback Is Best", HBR.org) More experienced employees will likely find constructive criticism more helpful and informative. "When you are an expert, it's constructive criticism that can help you do what it takes to get to the top of your game."
Frequent feedback is necessary for all employees, even top performers. People may find constructive feedback easier when they feel genuinely appreciated for what they've done well. It's important to maek your feedback frequent and timely. Check-ins allow you to regularly assess progress and discuss performance, but don't hold off on giving feedback right away just because you have a meeting on the calendar set for a later date.
No one likes to deliver bad news; but if you avoid relaying the message, the unsatisfactory work will most likely continue or worsen. Remind yourself:
If your aim is to improve performance, giving feedback is the most effective and efficient tool for redirecting and enhancing your employees' work.
Not giving feedback will undermine the team. Poor performers demoralize others and thwart the success of the unit as a whole.
You're doing the person a favor. The poor performer may actually think that they are doing satisfactory work. A frank discussion will clear up the misconception and give the employee an opportunity to improve, perhaps saving their job.
Some employees like getting constructive feedback. Since it's essential to improving performance--and by extension career development--many people find it valuable.
You'll want to tailor your delivery to the particular situation you're discussing as well as the person you're talking to, but here are some general guidelines to follow:
Make a few notes about what you want to say. Don't dwell on the past: Your goal is to elicit positive change in future performance or workplace behavior, not to rake someone over the coals for past failures.
Consider the logistics of your conversation. Be thoughtful about when you offer unexpected feedback--don't risk throwing your employee off-balance with constructive feedback if emotions are running high or they're anxious about an upcoming situation. Nor do you want to minimize the effect of giving positive feedback because you're rushing back froma meeting that ran late--or cut a productive feedback conversation short to get to your next meeting. Choose a time close enough to the event that it is fresh in everyone's minds, while still taking into account other considerations.
Choose a meeting place where you won't be distracted or interrupted, can easily interact, and where you're free from social interactions that could inhibit your employee from being open and honest.
A feedback conversation gives each party an opportunity to tell their side and to hear the same from the other. If your goal is to elicit change, your best tool is a two-way discussion. It's easy for an employee to shut down when feeling criticized, so to make progress, involve them in the conversation. Deliver your feedback, and give your employee your undivided attention. Listen to what they have to say, but also note physical cues.
Open the conversation by soliciting their thoughts/reactions to assess if you see the problem in a similar light. Don't impose your own judgment at first. Start with an evenhanded question. Asking the right questions will help you understand the other person and their view of performance. Open-ended questions invite participation and idea sharing:
To clarify causes of a problem. "What do you think the major issues are with this project?"
To uncover attitudes or needs. "How do you feel about our progress to date?"
To explore alternatives and feel out solutions. "What would happen if...?"
Closed questions lead to yes or no answers; use them for the following purposes:
To focus the response. "Is the project on schedule?"
To confirm what the other person has said. "So your main issue is scheduling your time?"
Focus on observed behaviors, not assumptions about character traits, attitudes, or personality. Statements about assumed motivations can quickly lead to your employee becoming guarded, which will make it nearly impossible to persuade them to change; to make any progress, you need your employee to be a receptive, active participant in the discussion. Offer a specific observation that's free of personal judgment.
Your employee may not be fully aware of the consequences of their behavior, so lay it out clearly. The details communicate that this is a problem, not just a matter of your preference, and that it impacts no only you but others as well.
Managers sometimes mistakenly think they need to act tough when giving constructive feedback, but the aim of feedback should be to motivate change, not make the employee feel attacked. Take a thoughtful, nonaggressive approach to allow the receiver to take in, reflect on, and learn from, your feedback.
It can be tempting to couch constructive feedback in praise, in an attempt to soften the blow; it may lessen your own anxiety, but it sends mixed messages.
People generally feel more ownership of solutions they suggest themselves, but if your direct has trouble coming up with a reasonable suggestion for changel, offer one yourself and check for understanding. It's important that the employee leave the conversation with a concrete step for improvement.
Ask question to help them solve problems and master new skills
Coaching--an ongoing learning process in which you help your direct reports build mastery--won't bring about a quick fix. When an employee is driven to improve and wants your help tackling a problem or building mastery, coaching is a rewarding and effective option.
Coaching is a supportive rather than a directive approach that relies on asking questions; coaching is "asking questions that help people discover the answers that are right for them." (Ed Batista, executive coach) Rather than suggest what your employees should do or explain how to do it, you should prompt them with question to help them solve problems in new ways themselves. "If you keep providing all the answers, people will keep lining up at your door looking for them." (Candice Frankovelgia, Center for Creative Leadership)
Target your coaching to situations where you will get the highest return on your time/effort:
A new employee needs direction.
A direct report is almost ready for new responsibilities and just needs a bit more help.
A newly-minted manager under your wing is still behaving as though they were an individual contributor.
A strong performer is eager to develop a new skill or explore career development opportunities.
A significant performance problem has arisen in an employee's work.
The goal of coaching is not to reprimand your employes for shortfalls but to catalyze their growth and improvement; your objective is not to simply identify what they did wrong (draining motivation) but to elicit positive change.
When you've spotted a coaching opportunity, talk it over with the employee to make sure they agree there is indeed that opportunity and that they are willing to tackle it through coaching. Agreement is the foundation of successful coaching: For it to work, the individual must take ownership and responsibility of the process. (If they disagree, explore how they'd prefer to proceed; they may be open to coaching but not with you, or perhaps they'd rather take a class.) If they are open to coaching, identify at the start of the process exactly what they're hoping to get out of it.
Identify an explicit goal to target with coaching; this should be a goal separate from the performance goals set in Section 1 and should generally be focused on learning.
Learn more about their point of view on the performance gap and which skills they need to master in order to close it. Skillfully-worded, open-ended questions can help draw out answers. Start your questions with what, how, when, or tell me more. Listen deeply to their answers. When someone senses you're completely focused and actively listening to what they say, it can be a deeply validating experience that helps build rapport and trust.
With a stronger understanding of the situation, you can open a two-way dialogue to help your direct report consider new choices, strategies, or skills they might develop. This is different than offering a solution--instead, it leads your employee closer to developing their own answers. Try these tactics:
Hold up the mirror. Redescribe the situation they have outlined to you, paraphrased from your own perspective, and ask for their response.
Reframe the situation. Offering another angle can help your employee see things differently.
Rehearse. A coaching session is a safe environment to role-play an upcoming interaction, such as how they might interact with senior management. You can also review a presentation that they delivered well to this audience and discuss what made it effective. Or you can go over how they should prepare for these kinds of meetings and fine-tune preparation techniques.
The observations, suggestions, and practice opportunities you offer are the heart of coaching, and they need to be tailored to your employee's particular situation. They likely should also be complemented with ongoing "homework" that will help them prepare for your next meeting.
Near the end of your coaching session, assess whether they are ready to move forward by asking them to summarize what they've learned. "What are the top two or three things you're taking away from this conversation?" To maintain momentum between sessions, set a date for when you'll meet again, and identify any tasks to be completed before then. Rather than assigning tasks, build your employee's accountability by asking them to formulate and implement their plans, and establish associated deadlies for each clearly-defined action. It could be that you leave the session with homework, too.
Coaching doesn't end after the first meeting. Effective coaching to close performance gaps and encourage growth includes checking in to track progress and ensure understanding. Doing so prevents backsliding, reinforces learning, and continues improvement.
Don't wait until the target date to assess how things are going; in a fast-paced workplace, it's easy to lose track of longer-term plans and agreements. Hold yourself and your employee accountable by sticking to your planned check-in dates, and follow through with the resources or introductions you planned to provide. Your employee is more likely to take your coaching efforts seriously if you keep your commitments.
Then, observe growth and communicate impact. Are you seeing progressin your employee's results, behavior, or relationships? Explicitly communicate to your direct the impact of the progress you observe--it may be hard for them to recognize it themselves. Helping them acknolwedge changes and growth can increase their motivation.
Expect a few stumbles in the process. Perfection isn't necessary for someone to make real progress. Remind yourself that you may not see results right away. When you do see improvement, celebrate, even if they still have room to grow.
Recognize good work, and encourage progress
Motivation is at the very heard of performance management--something that managers must attend to all the time. A person can understand the importance of ambitious goals but is unlikely to achieve them without being motivated to do so.
Employees value being treated with respect. Unfortunately, respect isn't the norm everywhere. Motivation and performance plummet in response to offensive behavior. Rudeness in the workplace costs organizations dearly and is insiduously infectious. Engagement rises as respectful treatment increases. There are a few steps you can take as a manager to minimize bad behavior and foster a culture of respect, thereby boosting motivation and engagement.
Model good behavior. Managers establish the tone--or lack thereof--in their workplace. As a manager, you have a unique opportunity to set an example of respectful treatment. Employees who see that higher-ups tolerate or embrace offensive behavior may follow suit.
Respect your employee's dignity. Discourage public criticism. A basic tenet of supervision is to praise in public and criticize in private. Being reprimanded in front of one's colleagues can have devastating effects on an employee's sense of fairness, pride, and motivation. You cannot motivate people whom you have stripped of their dignity. Treat your employees with respect at all costs, even when you must share constructive feedback about their performance.
Hire resepectful candidates--and stop bad behavior. Candidates who do not fit the culture, no matter how qualified, are not hired.
Take note of the behavior of those already on your team. If you see a direct report being disrespectful, address it immediately. You may also want to reassure, in confidence, the recipient of that rudeness. This will communicate that you're invested in the well-being of everyone on the team.
Rewards and motivation fall into two categories: extrinsic and intrinsic.
(see "Why Motivating People Doesn't Work")
When people think about rewards, they often immediately think of ones that are extrinsic: external, tangible forms of recognition, such as pay hikes, promotions, bonuses, and sales prizes. On the surface, extrinsic rewards tend to be easy to execute. Extrinsic rewards don't necessarily make people work harder or better. Rewards typically undermine the very processes they are intended to enhance. ("Why Incentive Plans Cannot Work", Alfie Kohn)
The biggest problem with extrinsic rewards, by far, is that while many people believe monetary compensation is a major driver of performance, research has found little evidence to back up that assumption. In fact, bonuses and other financial incentives in some cases can do more harm than good. Extrinsic motivators don't change the attitudes that underlie behavior.
The opposite of extrinsic incentives, intrinsic rewards produce nonquantifiable personal satisfaction, such as a sense of accomplishment, personal control over one's work, and a feeling that efforts are appreciated. Intellectual stimulation, skill development, autonomy, or challenge. When intrinsically motivated, people do things for their own sense of achievement because they inherently want to.
Intrinsic rewards must be thoughtfully tailored to individuals. There are a variety of ways that one can encourage good work through intrinsic rewards:
Acknowledge good work Recognition is one of the most powerful tools in a manager's toolbox--and a far more powerful motivator than money.
Provide decision-making discretion
Introduce challenge
Recognizing your employees' good work and challenging them to do more can motivate them to continue exemplary work and contribute more to the organization. As you consider ways to encourage, engage, and build your direct reports' skills, think about what they may aspire to and how they want to grow in the long term.
We'll address employee career development: how to ensure that your people are growing professionally. Regardless of how your organization's formal performance management process is run, employee development efforts are becoming a focus of every manager who wants to lead an engaged, high-performing team and drive business. You'll learn how to discover your employees' unique needs and ambitions, identify the tactics available to your direct reports to build their skills, determine a direction for growth, and create individualized development plans to propel people forward--even those who are struggling.
Know what your direct report aspires to
Basic tactics to learn new areas of expertise
Define a specific plan for future growth
Good performers aren't the only ones who need to grow
We'll delve into the details of formal performance reviews. This section first presents current arguments for and against formal appraisals--and for those who do conduct them, offers a detailed process for success. We'll help you navigate the practice of assessing a direct report's progress toward previously established goals and show you how to put your appraisal in writing, including how to use ratings most effectively. We'll cover how to conduct the review session, from detailing performance to preparing for the review period ahead.
How companies are changing the way they look at reviews
Take an individualized approach
Tips and tricks for a productive discussion
Adjust objectives for continued growth
We'll explore topics that managers struggle with in performance management. We'll begin by explaining how to support and nurture your B players: those who are neither amibitious standouts nor strugglers. We'll also discuss howto avoid burnout on your team--a problem that tends to affect the most valuable, hardest-working employees. Finally, you'll learn how to manage the performance of remote employees you rarely (or never) see in person.
What to do with your stalwarts
Make sure your people aren't running out of steam
From giving feedback to conducting annual appraisals
Last modified 05 July 2022