The Answer to the Dreaded Annual Review: No Surprises

The$Answer$to$the$Dreaded$Annual$Review:$No$Surprises

No#ma&er#what#business#you’re#in#or#what#posi4on#you#hold,#there’s#one#guarantee.

Everyone(hates(annual(reviews.

• Big%companies%hate%them%because%reviews%are%a%poten5al%point%of%conflict%that%mean%stacks%of%paperwork%and%missed%hours%of%produc5on.

• Small%companies%hate%them%because%reviews%destroy%the%idea%that%everyone%is%just%one%big%happy%team.

• Managers)hate)reviews)because)they)don’t)want)to)appear)like)Big)Brother)breathing)down)the)worker)bees’)necks.)

• And)employees)hate)them)because)they)never)know)what’s)coming==a)raise)or)a)reprimand.)

The$reality$is$that$everyone’s$fumbling$around$for$a$good$framework,$hoping$that$this$uncomfortable$;me$for$judging$employee$performance$can$pass$without$too$much$drama$or$antacid$consump;on.

As#a#result,#the#“let’s#just#get#this#over#with”#mentality#drives#companies#to#choose#lousy#review#formats.#Some#appear#as#rigid#forms,#long#ques?onnaires#and#li@le#room#for#feedback#for#management.#Others#show#up#as#laidDback#conversa?ons#full#of#encouragement,#empty#promises,#and#li@le#direc?on.

Bad$Reviews

Examples)of)lousy)reviews)abound.)If)you’ve)been)in)any)company)for)any)length)of)<me,)you’ve)had)one)or)given)one.)

If#so,#don’t#despair.#You’ll#get#another#chance#to#improve#the#process99for#both#you#and#the#employee.#But#first,#let’s#talk#about#some#of#those#dysfunc?onal#review#methods#so#we#can#steer#clear#of#them.

The$Naughty$and$Nice$List

This%is%the%annual%airing%of%praise%and%grievances%that%can%cover%everything%from%a%huge%victory%to%that%6me%you%walked%in%late%twice99about%eight%months%ago.

This%barrage%of%disjointed%performance%feedback%is%not%helpful%because%the%employee%either%doesn’t%remember%the%incidents%or%isn’t%emo9onally%invested%in%them.%Usually,%the%focus%is%on%trivial%ma>ers%like%a>endance,%and%the%employee%leaves%the%mee9ng%feeling%beat%up%and%confused,%especially%if%their%overall%performance%is%good.

The$Coffee$Chat

This%approach%is%used%by%managers%who%want%to%tone%down%the%anxiety%that%naturally%appears%around%reviews,%so%they%try%to%stage%the%event%like%it’s%just%a%couple%of%buddies%going%out%for%coffee.

The$tone$is$usually$casual$and$friendly,$but$o4en,$the$manager$doesn’t$communicate$clearly$about$issues$that$need$a8en9on,$and$he$comes$off$looking$uncomfortable$with$his$authority.$This$leaves$the$employee$confused$and$less$than$confident$in$the$manager’s$leadership.$

No#Review

Companies*that*skip*reviews*do*usually*do*it*for*understandable*reasons:*they’re*not*comfortable*giving*them*and*it’s*easy*to*put*them*off*for*another*day,*another*month,*or*another*year.*

Hopefully,*there’s*s0ll*a*regular,*structured*method*for*communica0on*in*place.*If*not,*the*company*has*just*missed*an*opportunity*to*invest*in*their*people.*Employees*don’t*feel*valued,*and*an*essen0al*communica0on*pipeline*is*missing.

Good$Reviews$Offer$Power$and$Poten2al

Yes,%Virginia,%there%is%such%a%thing%as%a%good%review44and%even%an%excellent%one!

Great&annual&reviews&can&happen&in&many&ways&that&integrate&smoothly&into&your&management&style&and&your&company’s&expecta8ons.&In&fact,&they&can&even&be&a&tool&that&creates&be>er&communica8on,&increased&focus&and&produc8vity,&and&employee&reten8on.

Think&of&it&this&way.&If&being&a&manager&means&that&you’ve&moved&from&a&produc;on&unit&to&a&communica;on&hub,&then&planning&and&using&good&annual&reviews&are&like&swapping&out&a&dial>up&modem&for&a&fiber&op;c&link&to&your&team.

Everything+happens+more+smoothly.

When%you%take%the%pressure%off%yourself%to%perform%admirably%in%this%uncomfortable%situa7on,%you%have%room%to%hear%what’s%important%to%the%employees%you’re%managing.%They%have%the%chance%to%tell%you%what%ma?ers%to%them,%and%you%all%have%an%opportunity%to%make%your%work%together%more%than%“just%a%job”.

But$this$doesn’t$happen$overnight.$I’m$a$firm$believer$that$regular$feedback$on$small$issues$has$the$biggest$impact$to$shape$a$posi;ve$employee=manager$rela;onship.$

The$annual$review,$if$done$well,$is$simply$an$extension$of$those$conversa8ons.

I’m$happy$to$say$that$I$now$have$years$of$prac3ce$giving$great$reviews$under$my$belt,$and$it$has$made$all$the$difference$in$what$I$can$expect$from$my$teams…$and$what$they$can$expect$from$me.$

Great&reviews&=&possibility

The$biggest$surprise$that$most$managers$get$from$an$excellent$review$process$is$that$employees$actually$look$forward$to$this$process.$

No#kidding.

Employees)see)it)as)their)/me)to)reflect)back)to)you)what’s)working,)what’s)not,)and)what)they’d)love)to)do.)It)has)the)poten/al)to)feel)like)a)great)jam)session)rather)than)a)trip)to)the)principal’s)office.)

Now$let’s$talk$about$how$to$make$this$possible$for$you$and$the$team$you$manage.$

The$Best$Review,,No$Surprises.

I"was"lucky"enough"to"work"for"a"company"for"several"years"that"was"dedicated"to"having"a"great"annual"review"system."Seeing"that"process"in"ac:on"and"having"it"supported"at"every"level"of"the"company"definitely"transformed"my"review"process.

But$even$if$you’ve$never$had$a$good$review33from$either$side$of$the$table33you$can$s9ll$make$it$happen$for$your$department.$

Here’s&how.

No#surprises,#period.

My#first#rule#for#reviews#is#that#no#employee#will#ever#hear#informa5on#for#the#first#5me.#No#excep5ons.

It#doesn’t#ma,er#if#their#performance#has#been#exemplary#or#just#so9so,#I#refuse#to#blindside#them#with#that#informa<on#during#this#significant#closed9door#mee<ng.

Of#course,#this#Zero#Surprises#approach#depends#on#a#policy#of#consistent#feedback#throughout#the#year,#and#I’ll#cover#that#issue#in#detail#in#an#upcoming#ar=cle.#But#for#now,#remember#that#this#is#not#the#=me#or#the#place#to#break#big#newsAAgood#or#bad.

Even%if%you’ve%had%a%nasty%blowout%or%a%huge%win%with%an%employee%just%days%before%the%review,%handle%that%in%a%separate%mee:ng.%Don’t%derail%the%agenda%with%one%issue%when%you%need%to%take%the%long%view%for%an%en:re%year.

The$No$Surprises$Annual$Review$checklist

Yes,%prepara)on%is%the%key%to%success%everywhere,%and%cra6ing%good%reviews%is%no%excep)on.%Here’s%the%founda)on%to%crea)ng%a%great%annual%review.

Set$a$date.!Employees!should!know!exactly!when!the!review!is!coming!and!have!8me!to!prepare!their!materials!such!as!goals,!feedback,!and!ques8ons!for!you!(see!below).!I!suggest!scheduling!this!at!least!2B6!weeks!in!advance!and!leaving!at!least!an!hour!to!cover!the!material.

Choose&a&loca*on.!An!annual!review!needs!to!take!place!one3on3one!in!a!private!se4ng,!so!choose!a!conference!room!or!an!office!with!door!so!you!can!speak!openly.

Check&in&with&management&about&the&financials."Know"well&before"the"review"whether"or"not"you"can"offer"raises33and"know"what"that"number"will"be."“No"Surprises”"means"no"nego?a?ng"during"the"review.

Prepare&a&simple&evalua-on&form.!Asking!employees!to!rate!their!own!performance!automa6cally!turns!the!review!into!a!dialogue.!My!standby!form!includes!several!(about!5!to!10)!performance!areas!like!produc6vity,!quality,!financial!impact,!and!so!on.!Ask!the!employees!to!indicate!whether!they!did!well!or!need!to!improve!in!those!areas.

Create&an&agenda&that&you&share&with&the&employee.!This!lets!everyone!know!exactly!what!the!mee4ng!will!cover!so!you!have77you!guessed!it77no!surprises.!Make!sure!you!leave!4me!during!the!mee4ng!for!their!ques4ons!or!unexpected!issues!that!crop!up.

During'the'review

LISTEN.(Then(listen(some(more.!You’re!a!communica-on!hub,!so!make!sure!the!communica-on!goes!both!ways.!Take!as!much!-me!as!needed!to!go!through!the!material!they’ve!provided!so!you!have!a!clear!sense!of!their!perspec-ve.

Pay$a%en(on$to$their$dreams.!Once!your!team!members!understand!and!trust!that!you!are!listening,!they!will!open!up!and!offer!sugges8ons!you!never!imagined.!These!might!range!from!revamping!a!workflow!frustra8on!that’s!been!plaguing!the!team!or!something!like!a!company@sponsored!smoking!cessa8on!class.!You!never!know!when!you’re!going!to!hear!a!great!idea.

Be#clear#with#comments,#pro#or#con.!If!their!performance!is!substandard!in!a!certain!area,!state!that!clearly.!Be!equally!as!open!about!the!stellar!work!they!contribute.!Don’t!leave!them!wondering!what!you!think!of!their!contribu?ons.

Keep$your$comments$short$and$sweet.!This!isn’t!the!*me!to!pon*ficate!about!your!frustra*ons!or!hammer!home!the!company’s!mission!statement.!An!excellent!review!is!*me!for!two<way!communica*on,!not!soapbox!rants.

A"er%the%review

Hang%on%to%the%evalua-on%form.!This!becomes!the!compass!for!weekly!or!quarterly!reviews!and!is!a!simple!way!to!maintain!the!“No!Surprises”!policy.!When!employees!know!you’re!taking!their!comments!seriously,!they’ll!honor!yours,!too.

Use$the$“needs$improvement”$column$as$an$opportunity$for$investment.!Once!you!see!the!annual!review!process!as!a!communica4on!tool!instead!of!a!yards4ck,!you!have!the!ability!to!iden4fy!areas!for!growth!and!ways!to!provide!real!support.!This!support!can!yield!huge!posi4ve!outcomes.

Be#flexible#on#the#goals#and#dreams#you#set.!Yes,!it’s!great!to!have!accountability!for!goals!and!outcomes,!but!realize!that!about!30%!of!the!items!you’d!love!to!accomplish!for!the!year!don’t!pan!out!for!a!number!or!valid!reasons.!Don’t!threaten!your!team!with!their!own!words.

But$What$if$My$Company$Has$a$Firmly$Established$Review$Process?$

Or$None$at$All?

No#Surprises#Annual#Reviews#s2ll#have#a#place#in#companies#where#the#human#resources#department#handles#all#of#the#reviews...#or#the#company#is#so#small#that#it#fits#in#one#room.

Big$companies$occasionally$insist$that$reviews$are$best$handled$by$professionals$who$can$manage$and$contain$these$interac7ons.$Some$small$companies$squirm$at$the$perceived$constraint$of$a$process$that$feels$like$needless$bureaucracy.

In#either#case,#I"completely"stand"behind"the"idea"that"a"direct"rela3onship"with"employees"is"essen3al"to"excellent"outcomes.

U"lizing(excellent(annual(reviews(has(eliminated(confusion(and(dras"cally(reduced(turnover(in(the(teams(that(I’ve(supervised,(so(I(make(sure(I(use(them.

If#you#can’t#officially#conduct#an#annual#review,#find#a#6me#and#place#off:campus#to#make#it#happen.#Go#out#for#coffee#or#a#beer,#but#be#clear#with#the#employee#that#this#mee6ng#is#significant#to#you.#

Make%it%Count

If#I#had#one#piece#of#advice#for#new#managers#facing#the#dreaded#annual#review#process,#it#would#be#this:

Take%the%(me%to%do%an%annual%review%that%ma3ers.

Why$go$through$a$process$that$just$gathers$dust$in$a$file$cabinet$when$you$can$have$a$tool$that$creates$trust,$loyalty,$focus,$and$imagina;on?

One$of$the$best$management$moves$I’ve$made$was$to$trade$my$apprehension$around$annual$reviews$for$a$real$communica:on$plan$that$offered$you<<and$my$team<<no$surprises.$

Become&a&Be(er&Technical&Manager

I"get"paid"to"coach"newly"minted"technical"managers."My"clients"quickly"feel"drama:cally"more"confident"and"capable"and"start"seeing"be=er"performance"from"themselves"and"their"team"within"weeks.

I"am"taking"the"same"insigh-ul,"ac2onable"lessons"I"teach"in"my"coaching"and"pu8ng"them"out"as"a"free"newsle<er."Sign"up"to"become"a"be<er"manager"here.