Don’t Judge Me…

February 14, 2019

It’s almost that time of the year . . . the dreaded employee performance reviews. 

Many employers are finally acknowledging that both supervisors and subordinates despise the appraisal process. It’s a perennial problem that feels more urgent now that the labor market is picking up and concerns about retention have returned.  More than one-third of U.S. companies (including Kelly Services, Deloitte, Accenture and KPMG) have actually abandoned annual performance reviews. From Silicon Valley to New York, and in offices across the world, firms are replacing annual reviews with frequent, informal check-ins between managers and employees.

As a manager, I’ve participated in all types of evaluation processes. In one company, we used the “open box” process where you were prompted by various questions such as “Describe the way the employee’s performance met your expectations?” In another company, we had to force rank employees based on the former GE CEO, Jack Welch method. At yet another, we used calibration meetings where leaders gathered in a room and each had a fixed period of time to provide rationale for an employee’s ratings.  The problem was many of these oral presentations had a wide degree of variation in what was covered. Ambiguity and implicit bias often crept in. In one such meeting, I literally wrote down many of the phrases that were used to describe individuals. Below is a sampling of them:

Delight to be around…lacks self-awareness…lacks leadership presence…relationship management issues…guarded/formal…insecure…lacks polish…too intense…doesn’t get the big picture…introverted…lacks courage/conviction.

What surprised me is that most of the phrases had nothing to do with an employee’s technical skills. The appraisals also indicate that while technical skills are important, how an employee engages is equally judged.

Most managers are not formally trained on how to write effective employee performance reviews and, quite frankly, hate the exercise. In fact, I’ve not met one leader that loves this task.  In addition, they are often saddled with writing a number of performance reviews within a short time frame and, therefore, cannot provide the focus needed to be thorough and objective.  

The question is, how can we as employees and managers minimize the bias and help provide a balanced view:

1. Clearly define employee goals and objectives—It’s important that an employee knows exactly what is expected of his or her performance. When the criteria are clearly defined, managers can be more specific in evaluating the outcomes and less biased.
2. Have an employee prepare a self-evaluation—Self-evaluation is one of the best methods to engage employees in the process of looking at performance and setting both job and career goals. Also, an employee can use specific measurable outcomes against their objectives to discuss their accomplishments, which tremendously helps the manager evaluate their performance.
3. Solicit Feedback—Get feedback from business partners who work with the employee. Feedback from colleagues can help to broaden the performance information that’s included in the review.
4. Hold Regular Conversations—Regular conversations about performance and development lead to more meaningful discussions, deeper insights and greater employee satisfaction.

Have any other ideas to make this process more effective? Please share them.