Shedding The Excess "Weight" Of Performance Reviews in 2013

Can you believe it?  The end of yet another year is upon us already.  I don’t know about you but I feel like I blinked and it was June.  Blinked once more and here we are in December.  As I reflect back on the year I recall a few memorable accomplishments.  2012 was a great year and one that brought wonderful opportunities for me and my colleagues.  But like most people, I am struggling to remember all the great things my team members accomplished this year.

Let’s face it, this is the time of year many of us are responsible for completing those dreadful annual performance evaluations.  I don’t know about each of you but I can find a million other things I would rather be doing than participating in this disengaging, ineffective process.  And if you ask your employees how they feel I can almost guarantee a very similar response.  Unless, their salary increase is tied directly to the process and then you may see a glimpse of excitement if they believe they are getting a big fat raise.

Let’s stop and really think about this for a minute.  Many of you probably have a team of talented individuals who have worked hard over the past 12 months.  Now, unless you are having continuous discussions about their performance or using some form of a social performance solution, you probably don’t have a good handle on all the things they did over the past year.  Don’t beat yourself up for it.  It’s reality.  Many of us have a hard time remembering what we wore to work last week let alone remember the wins of our people over such a broad timeframe.  Especially when we have numerous people on our team. 

Add to this the fact these people are individuals.  They all do their job differently based on their work style.  Not everyone has the same talents or skillset yet we try to measure them all against the same set of competencies.  We struggle to maintain clarity between each person when we are asked to rate them on 10-12 areas.  Things become clouded, we grasp for any resemblance of a performance that could relate to one of these models.  Let’s just call it what it is, an outdated, archaic process that should be thrown out with the turning of the year.

Now I realize this may sound crazy to some of you but there are better ways of measuring contributions.  And what better time to start over than the start of a new year.  We all make resolutions for our personal lives. Why not make a resolution that will have a profound impact on many people? Isn’t that what this time of the year is all about?  Thinking about others before ourselves?  Plus, wouldn’t you be much happier if you didn’t have to go through this experience next year?

So, how do you get started?  Well it just so happens I have a few suggestions for you.

·       Move to a more continuous experience – meaning, have more than one or two conversations a year.  At a minimum at least four.

·       Let each individual set no more than 2-3 goals for the coming year – buy-in is key – let them own this experience.

·       Get rid of all numeric rating scales – does being a 3.26 really mean anything to your people?  I think not.

·       Take a strengths based approach rather than all encompassing.  Let’s be honest, no two people are alike so why do we measure them all the same?

·       Disconnect compensation from contributions.

·       Build a strengths based development plan not a remedial focused plan.

This is going to take time, commitment and buy-in just like any other resolution.  Think about all the goals of losing weight in a new year.  The fitness centers love us because we bring them a lot of business in the first month or two of a new year.  But their business strategy doesn’t rely on us.  They know it will fade out quickly and they need something bigger.  Don’t let that be the feeling your people get with this change.  Make it part of your “lifestyle”.  It needs to become part of who your organization is versus just another great idea. 

Here’s to dropping the “weight” of performance reviews in 2013.  Good luck to each of you!