Whether you do them annually, bi-annually, or quarterly, performance reviews are an important part of ensuring that you have the right employees in place to get the job done right. And even though many employees and bosses stress out over these sit downs, reviews help everyone in the company know what areas they are excelling at, know where they can work to improve, and help set goals for future success.
So, whether you are the one performing the review or the employee being reviewed, here are some tips for avoiding any anxiety and ensuring that everyone walks out of the meeting ready to move forward.
Tips For Managers
- Everyone Needs To Be Reviewed. If you are going have performance reviews, all staff members must be reviewed. Now, that doesn’t mean that you need to do all of your performance reviews on the same day, in fact you shouldn’t. However, you should make sure that they are all done within a reason amount of time. If reviews are done by department managers, give them a time frame to have them all completed.
- Be Prepared. While it seems logical, sometimes managers do performance reviews on the fly. This isn’t helping anyone, so take the time to gather some information to share with each employee. Have a form that has the information that you are going to present, a place for the employee to add anything they feel is necessary, and a place for goals. Both you and the employee should sign the form. If you don’t have a form for your performance review, you can download a sample of one from the ACCA Forms & Document Library.
- Don’t Be Vague. Talk about specifics, not just general items. Instead of saying things like, “You’re doing a job,” and leaving it there, try saying, “This quarter your call-backs have decreased by 50 percent and you are now able to do two more calls a day.” Being specific helps the employees see where they have improved. The same goes for when you are bringing up an area that needs improvement. Your employees aren’t going to get better if they don’t know exactly what they need to work on.
- Focus On The Entire Review Period. It is so easy to focus on the near past, but you need to look at the employee’s performance during the entire time since their last review.
- Be Honest About Performance. No one is perfect and everyone has areas in which they need to improve. On the other end of things, everyone does at least one thing really well. Make sure that you are honest with your employees about both the things they do well and the areas that need to be improved upon, because nothing will change if you sugar coat everything or gripe about everything.
- There Should Be No Surprises. Even though you may only sit down once or twice a year to go over an employee’s performance with them, there shouldn’t really be any surprises. You should on a regular basis let your employees know when they are doing a good job or if you notice there is an area needing improvement. This will also help keep your business running as efficiently as possible.
Tips For Employees
- Be Honest. You want your boss to be honest with you during the review, so you should also be honest with them. Make sure that you share anything that you think could help you better perform your duties.
- Come Prepared. Before your review, think about your performance since your last review. What do you think you can improve on? What goals do you want to set for yourself? By having these things in mind, you and your boss can come up with reasonable and attainable goals that will help fulfill your professional goals and help the company in the long run.
- Don’t get bogged down by insignificant details. Use your review to make sure that your goals are aligned with the company’s goals and to set performance objects for the next three, six, or 12 months. There is no need to squabble over small stuff. However, if there is factually wrong information being presented, speak up.
Performance reviews are oft en seen as a pain, a bother, or are dreaded by bosses and employees. The fact is, performance reviews help keep your company running at a high level. By conducting them for everyone on the team at regular intervals, you are ensuring that you have the right people in place to keep you reaching new levels of success.
Director of Member Communications and Committee Liaison at ACCA
Melissa Broadus is publisher of ACCA Now Magazine and its associated websites. She also serves as Director of Member Communications and Committee Liaison for ACCA. She can be contacted at melissa.broadus@acca.org or 703-824-8842.
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