Performance
Appraisal - Ten Stupid Things Managers Do To Screw It Up
By
Robert Bacal
Performance appraisals are almost
universally disliked by both managers and employees, but they have to
be done. Worse, managers make errors in how they conduct appraisals
that virtually guarantee they will be unpleasant, adversarial, and
virtually worthless. Learn about the most common mistakes made in
employee reviews.
Performance appraisals aren't fun.
But a lot of the time they are agonizing because managers do really
dumb things, ending up destroying a process that is important to
everyone (or should be). Appraisals are always going to be a little
bit stressful for everyone, but these errors guarantee that the point
of appraisals -- improving performance, is lost in the shuffle.
Stupid Thing #1: Spending more
time on performance appraisal than performance PLANNING, or ongoing
performance communication.
Performance appraisal is the end
of a process that goes on all the time - a process that is based on
good communication between manager and employee. So,more time should
be spent preventing performance problems than evaluating at the end of
the year. When managers do good things during the year, the appraisal
is easy to do and comfortable, because there won't be any surprises.
Stupid Thing #2: Comparing
employees with each other.
Want to create bad feelings,
damage morale, get staff to compete so badly they will not work as a
team? Then rank staff or compare staff. A guaranteed technique. And
heck, not only can a manager create friction among staff, but the
manager can become a great target for that hostility too. A bonus!
Stupid Thing #3: Forgetting
appraisal is about improvement, not blame.
We do appraisal to improve
performance, not find a donkey to pin a tail on or blame. Managers who
forget this end up developing staff who don't trust them, or even
can't stand them. That's because the blaming process if pointless, and
doesn't help anyone. If there is to be a point to performance
appraisal it should be getting manager and employee working together
to have everyone get better
Stupid Thing #4: Thinking a
rating form is an objective, impartial tool.
Many companies use rating forms to
evaluate employees (you know, the 1-5 ratings?). They do that because
it's faster than doing it right. The problem comes when managers
believe that those ratings are in some way "real", or anything but
subjective, often vague judgements that are bound to be subjective and
inaccurate. By the way, if you have two people rate the same employee,
the chances of them agreeing are very small. THAT'S subjective. Say it
to yourself over and over. Ratings are subjective. Rating forms are
subjective. Rating forms are not behavioral.
Stupid Thing #5: Stopping
performance appraisal when a person's salary is no longer tied to the
appraisals.
Lots of managers do this. They
conduct appraisals so long as they have to do so to justify or
withhold a pay increase. When staff hit their salary ceiling, or pay
is not connected to appraisal and performance, managers don't bother.
Dumb. Performance appraisal is FOR improving performance. It isn't
just about pay (although some think it is ONLY about pay). If nothing
else, everyone needs feedback on their jobs, whether there is money
involved or not.
Stupid Thing #6: Believing they
are in position to accurately assess staff.
Managers delude themselves into
believing they can assess staff performance, even if they hardly ever
see their staff actually doing their jobs, or the results of their
jobs). Not possible. Most managers aren't in a position to monitor
staff consistently enough to be able to assess well. And, besides what
manager wants to do that or has the time? And, what employee wants
their manager perched, watching their every move? That's why appraisal
is a partnership between employee and manager.
Stupid Thing #7: Cancelling or
postponing appraisal meetings.
Happens a whole lot. I guess
because nobody likes to do them, so managers will postpone them at the
drop of a hat. Why is this bad? It says to employees that the process
is unimportant or phony. If managers aren't willing to commit to the
process, then they shouldn't do it at all. Employees are too smart not
to notice the low priority placed on appraisals.
Stupid Thing #8: Measuring or
appraising the trivial.
Fact of life: The easiest things
to measure or evaluate are the least important things with respect to
doing a job. Managers are quick to define customer service as
"answering the phone within three rings", or some such thing. That's
easy to measure if you want to. What's NOT easy to measure is the
overall quality of service that will get and keep customers. Measuring
overall customer service is hard, so many managers don't do it. But
they will measure the trivial.
Stupid Thing #9: Surprising
employees during appraisal.
Want to really waste your time and
create bad performance? This is a guaranteed technique. Don't talk to
staff during the year. When they mess up, don't deal with it at the
time but SAVE it up. Then, at the appraisal meeting, truck out
everything saved up in the bank and dump it in the employee's lap.
That'll show 'em who is boss!
Stupid Thing #10: Thinking all
employees and all jobs should be assessed in exactly the same way
using the same rocedures.
Do all employees need the same
things to improve their performance? Of course not. Some need specific
feedback. Some don't. Some need more communication than others. And of
course jobs are all different Do you think we can evaluate the CEO of
Ford using the same approach as we use for the person who cleans the
factory floor? Of course not. So, why do managers insist on evaluating
the receptionist using the same tools and criteria as the civil
engineers in the office?
(c) 2005, Robert Bacal, Bacal &
Associates. You are welcome to "reprint" this article online as long
as it remains complete and unaltered (including the "about the author"
info at the end) all links are made live, and this copyright notice
and indication of authorship are included.
