Category Archives: Performance Feedback

The Truth About Performance Appraisals

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“What do you hate about performance appraisals?” I asked, gazing into a classroom full of rolling eyes. The snickers and muffled laughter hinted that I struck a chord.

Each table created responses that sounded like these:

  • They are a waste of time.
  • They are supposed to cover a whole year, but no one remembers anything earlier than three weeks ago.
  • My manager hardly knows what I do, anyway.
  • My manager is just trying to remember the bad stuff, so he doesn’t have to give me a raise.
  • The only score I ever get is a 3 out of 5, because any other score requires an explanation, and no one wants to spend the time on the paperwork.
  • My manager is out of touch with the problems I face on a daily basis, and he uses some sort of rating system that doesn’t make any sense.
  • Sometimes, I think my manager is wrong about the way he sees things.

If you are a regular reader of Dilbert, you can come up with another hundred observations. The reason they are funny is that they most accurately describe the truth.

So, if we were to create an appraisal system that addresses these issues, what elements would we include? -TF

That Time of Year

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

This is the time of year when I’m expected to conduct annual performance reviews on my engineering staff. For the most part it’s a positive experience because I have a good group. It’s a part of my job that I really don’t look forward to though, since there are some people who will be disappointed with my evaluation. I’m looking for ways that would make this process more objective to eliminate any perception of personal bias. Do you have any suggestions or procedures for conducting these discussions that could help?

Response:

Before you can determine an appropriate format for a performance appraisal, you first must determine your purpose.

Temper your consideration with the research findings of Dr. Edward Deming related to performance appraisals. “Those efforts that focus on improving the attentiveness, carefulness, speed, etc., of individual workers—without changing the systems, processes, and methods–constitute a low-yield strategy with negligible short-term results.”

I would concur with Dr. Deming, that if you are conducting annual performance appraisals “just because,” then it is likely a waste of your time.

So, over the next couple of days, we will explore this slippery slope. Here are some purposes we will talk about.

  • Reviewing a team members participation in the systems, processes and methods to identify improvements to those systems, processes and methods.
  • Establishing the scope of a role, both the required elements and the discretionary elements.
  • Personal effectiveness related to the established role.
  • Capability assessment related to Time Span (for the purpose of additional responsibility or promotion).

Each of these purposes is a conversation, but a different conversation, with a different format to get there. -TF
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You Didn’t Do That Right

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“In what way can we, as managers, deliver negative feedback, without triggering the fight, flight or freeze response?” I asked.

Patrick shrugged. “I know when I have to do that, it sounds critical, but I just don’t know how to make it sound any better. I have tried that sandwich thing where I start with something positive, then criticize the person, then end with something positive.

“But, they know I am making up the positive parts just so I can slide in the criticism. They are smart. They know the game. Sometimes, it just makes the person angrier.”

“Patrick, I want to talk about words. We understand the intent of negative feedback, and we have to find the words. Words mean things.

“I want to change the pronoun. Criticism uses the pronoun you.

You didn’t do that right.
If you would do it this way, it would be better.

“To a rebellious child (state of mind), you sounds like a critical parent. Even if it is a statement of fact or said in a nurturing tone of voice, you sounds like a critical parent and invites more rebellion.

“I want to change the pronoun to I.

I need help with this.
I am seeing this process a different way.
I want to speed things up here.
I would like to change this.
In what way can we make this better?

“This one simple change invites a different person into the conversation. Do you know why?” -TF

Competent at Accuracy

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“But, I just told you that my people are competent,” Emily protested. “They have been working on the line for several years.”

“Yes, they are competent at the task, but not competent at accuracy and speed,” I explained. “I used to work in an accounting firm. When I started, I thought I was great at adding up numbers. And I was. I was extremely competent at adding numbers (after all, I did manage to graduate from the second grade). But I was incompetent at accuracy and speed.

“Never in my life, was I taught to error-check a column of numbers by adding the column twice and comparing the totals. That practice had never occurred to me. And if it had occurred, I would have immediately concluded that it would take twice the time to add the numbers twice. Logic told me so.

“I had to learn a new skill. I had to become competent at using an adding machine without looking. I never did it before, because I couldn’t.

“Before, I would add numbers up with an occasional mistake. Now, I add them up twice in less time, virtually error-free.

“Your people on the line are competent at the task, but not competent at accuracy and speed.”

Emily was silent. Finally she spoke, “Okay, I think I get it. But I am not sure what to do. How do I bring up their competence in accuracy and speed?”

“First, we are going to have to count some things. Meet me back here tomorrow and we will take the next step.” -TF

Out of Town, Out of Touch

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I am a Regional Manager, responsible for seven locations across the Midwest. I feel I have the ability to manage effectively without talking to my team on a daily basis. But, at times, I feel as if I am not in touch with their issues, challenges or daily routines. In fact, some are not even “available” for lunch or dinner when I am in town. Have I lost touch? Can you recommend a book to read, symposium to attend to improve my management skills? What has been your experience in managing people in multiple locations?

Response:

Thank you for your question. Reading a book will not solve your problem. Staying in touch with your location managers is tough when face-to-face meetings are not frequent. It’s tough, but not impossible.

First, create a master schedule of all the touches for the next six months. This includes face-to-face meetings, conference calls, 1-1 coaching calls, birthday cards and handwritten notes that are snail-mailed.

Ask your location managers what interaction is the most helpful, how you can provide the best support for them. Each person is different and may require a different frequency and kind of touch.

Tomorrow, I will talk about that in-town dinner your managers are not “available” for, but in the meantime, let’s open this up for posted comments. As a manager, how do you stay in touch with out of town direct reports, to support their issues, challenges and daily routines? -TF

A Shouting Match

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I’m new to the middle management game. I supervise on the weekend. I’ve got a great team with one exception, a young woman whose attitude will surely get in the way of her career. But, she doesn’t seem to care. She leaves early, complains when she has to work late, and runs to upper management every time she feels slighted. I’ve tried reducing her workload to get her out of the office on time. I’ve listened when she cries. I’ve tried being the tough supervisor. Nothing seems to work. Today (Saturday) she was called in early, but then left early without completing her regularly scheduled work. She said if I had a problem with it I should call upper management. The conversation deteriorated into a shouting match and she left.

I don’t want to run to management with this. I want to solve it myself. I just don’t know how. Any advice?

Response:

You are in a tough place. As the weekend supervisor, you have no authority to hire and fire and she is under the wing of a protective manager who doesn’t have to put up with her negative behavior on the floor. I have a few specific recommendations, but I would like to throw this out for general discussion.

Here is the discussion question. As a weekend supervisor, with only limited contact, how would you change this dynamic? Let me stipulate two rules. You cannot fire her and you cannot send her to a Dale Carnegie course. Please post a comment. -TF

How Well Should It Be Done?

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We were kicking around the new job description for a Project Manager. Howard was holding a copy of the current description. Current should be taken with a grain of salt. It was created three years ago and was little more than a starting place.

“Okay,” I started. “It says here that one of the responsibilities is scheduling.

The Project Manager is in charge of scheduling materials, equipment and personnel for the project.

“Remember our two questions? How well should it be done and by when?” I paused. The looks around the table were puzzling. I would have to dig deeper.

“Is part of scheduling actually publishing a written schedule?” I asked, finally getting nods of agreement.

“How far in advance should the schedule go?”

Matthew raised his hand. “At least a week.” He looked around to see if he was right. No one challenged him.

“Okay, by when should this schedule be published?”

Henry jumped in first. “By Friday, the week before, so on Monday, we know what is going on.”

“What time on Friday?”

“By 5:00 o’clock.” Henry replied.

I smiled. “Why not give yourself some time on Friday to review the Project Manager’s schedule to make sure it will fly?” Henry thought a minute, then slowly his head nodded.

By Friday at noon, the Project Manager will publish a written schedule detailing the materials, equipment and personnel requirements for each day of the following week.

“Is that better than the Project Manager is in charge of scheduling?” -TF

What Do We Pay You to Do?

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We were convened. I looked directly across the table at Matthew. “Just exactly, what is it that you think we pay you to do around here?”

“What?” Matthew had a puzzled look on his face. He had been paying attention, but this question caught him off guard. No one had ever asked him that question.

“It’s a fair question,” I repeated, “what do you think we pay you to do around here?” Matthew started to stammer out something, but I stopped him. I looked around the group. “Look, I am picking on Matthew to make a point. We are here today to create a job description for the open position of Project Manager. This is important work. If we fail to clearly set the expectations for this position, it is no wonder the last person fell short.”

Howard looked up. “But we have this old job description. It lists out all the stuff he is supposed to do.”

“That’s why most traditional job descriptions don’t work. They are just a list of tasks. In addition to what is supposed to be done, I want to ask two critical questions.

How well should it be done?

When should it be done?

“I want to create very clear performance standards that we can measure and I want to communicate that up front in the job description. Now, we have a good start because we have a list of tasks and responsibilities. We just have to answer those two questions about each.” -TF

Don’t Set Them Up to Sink

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“I just don’t know if he can do the job,” lamented Morgan. “It always seems to be a throw of the dice.”

“Why should it be a gamble?” I asked. “Why shouldn’t you be absolutely certain if Randy can do the job? He has worked here for two years.”

“Yes, but he has never been a supervisor before. And if we promote him and he can’t do the job, we will be stuck. We will either have to demote him or fire him. And demotion doesn’t work very well.”

“How can you be sure that he can perform all the tasks of a supervisor before you give him a promotion?” I probed. Morgan had a blank stare for a moment, and then he realized it was a leading question.

“You mean I should give him the tasks of a supervisor before I promote him?” Morgan was smiling now.

“Yes, not all at once. If you test him with all the tasks of a supervisor over a six week period and he is successful, you promote him. If he fails, you just stop giving him supervisor stuff.

“A promotion should not be sink or swim in the deep end of the pool. A promotion should be earned during a tightly controlled period of testing.” -TF

The Next Level

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“So, Travis, we have been talking about our on-the-job training program and how we use colored shirts as a reinforcement tool. Why did we go to all this trouble? I mean, it’s just a loading dock.”

Travis was bright and learning fast. “It’s not just this loading dock, and it’s not just this shift. And it’s not just the other four branch locations we have. This next year, our company has a pretty aggressive goal to open six more branches. If we have any hope for consistency in our operations, we have to have some sort of system, even in our loading procedures.”

“And when we build in this kind of consistency, what happens to our capabilities in opening more branch locations?”

“Well, now we can move people around with more confidence that everyone is doing things the same way. New branches won’t have to go through trial-and-error. They can get efficient faster. Just fewer headaches.” -TF