1. Welcome to this self-directed presentation. You can either let the slides move forward on their own, or use the arrow keys on your keyboard if you want to go a bit faster. Tips & Help for Employees to Get the Most out of their Annual Review APPRAISALS
2. This presentation is designed for any employee who has ever wondered… This presentation was created by an HR leader who believes it’s long overdue to tell the real truth behind the one annual (or semi-annual) activity that is often the most hated in most large companies. Tips & Help for Employees to Get the Most out of their Annual Review APPRAISALS
3. How should I write my self assessment? My work can’t be “measured” so how will my manager evaluate my performance? How can I get more frequent feedback than my annual review? (Why do we do these stupid reviews anyway?) How do I work with a boss who’s in a different state? I got a new manager late in the year. How are they going to evaluate me?
5. What is a Performance Appraisal, really? Paraphrased from a recent article by Dick Grote. http://www.dickgrote.com/
6.
7. How is Performance Evaluated, Really? Insisting that there must be quantifiable metrics can lead us astray in accurately evaluating the quality of performance. How do you assess the performance of a programmer? If you’re thinking, “Number of lines of code written” as your sole measure, you might want to rethink it. True merit requires the writing of elegant and parsimonious code. A skilled IT manager can recognize this when she sees it, but there is no quantitative metric. Paraphrased from a recent article by Dick Grote. http://www.dickgrote.com/
8. How is Performance Evaluated, Really? Some people mistakenly insist that objectivity requires quantitative metrics and that appraisals that are based only on managers’ opinions are inappropriately subjective. But if you’re like most employees, what you really want is this supposedly “subjective” information. You want to know your supervisor’s opinion of your performance. You want honest answers to your most important questions: Paraphrased from a recent article by Dick Grote. http://www.dickgrote.com/
9.
10.
11. Why do we dislike Performance Reviews so much? Just for a minute, stop to think about it… Can you think of lots of obvious reasons?!
13. It’s all about the limbic system Did you know your brain does not know the difference between a physical threat and an emotional threat? For human beings, status within a social group is a basic survival requirement.
14.
15. We’re not (only) a rational species. The deeper, more primitive brain regions have priority and the most influence on behavior (survival first!) As soon as a threat is experienced, our limbic system takes over. The neocortex (the “rational mind”) shuts down. “ Fight or Flight”
16.
17. What not to do Seriously. Don’t panic. We’ll show you how to get through each step and survive.
18.
19. Managing performance happens all year long 12 1 2 3 11 6. Annual Review 1. Set Goals 2. Plan Development 3. Evaluate 4. Monitor 5. Feedback If you think of the months of the year like hours on a clock, you can better visualize the year-round process of all the steps to managing performance. Ideally, with good year-round communication, less time and effort are needed for the Annual Review.
21. Annual Review & Appraisal Survival Guide In other words: don’t blame the tool if the process isn’t working . Take control of the process and work around the tool if needed. Don’t equate the PROCESS (preparing to receive performance feedback) with the TOOL Whether your company uses an online software system or a paper form, the tool probably has lots of limits in what it can do to make the process as efficient as possible. In some cases it seems to make the process even more difficult than it should be!
30. Assessing Competencies & Goals Most companies us a 5 point scale, but some use 3 or 7 or even 10. They might call the middle rating “acceptable” or “solid performer” or “purple giraffe.” It doesn’t matter what the label is, nobody likes to get that “middle” rating, but typically that is a good rating. Just like school, some managers are “hard graders” and some are “easy graders.” That’s the reality of the situation, regardless of how “objective” a company tries to make the process. Some companies are finally introducing more meaningful ways to identify high performers, but it’s still pretty typical to see a scale similar to this in most large organizations. 1- Unsatisfactory: Inability to demonstrate competency even with supervision. Corrective action required. 2- Needs Improvement: Meets competency expectations some or most of the time, but frequently requires direction. 3- Meets Requirements: Does not require direction to achieve competency. Consistently meets expectations 4- Very Good: Consistently meets expectations and occasionally exceeds expectations AND/OR can coach others to achieve competency. 5- Exceptional: Exceeds expectations most of the time. Regularly coaches or teaches others to develop the competency.
Performance Management as an ongoing process requires engaging in two primary activities: Establishing & Communicating Clear Performance Expectations Regularly providing feedback to employees so they always know how their work and actions either meet or don’t meet those expectations. We tend to focus on the “requirements” e.g., the appraisal (and more recently, goals) and approach them as “tasks” to check off a list at the beginning and end of year. Research is clear that the activities that have business impact are the informal conversations THAT BUILD TRUST throughout the year. This is where PI&T managers should focus the majority of their energy.
That said, we still need to get through this year’s annual review. Consider the appraisal the same as doing your taxes at the end of the year. It has to get done, it’s not fun. But if we managed our money well through the year and saved all the receipts, the tax return takes a lot less time. The same goes for appraisals.
That said, we still need to get through this year’s annual review. Consider the appraisal the same as doing your taxes at the end of the year. It has to get done, it’s not fun. But if we managed our money well through the year and saved all the receipts, the tax return takes a lot less time. The same goes for appraisals.
Review the competency and the behaviors that are expected in the competency. Review the ratings on page one of the form. Some behavior expectations in a competency may not apply to a specific employee. Rate them on the behaviors that do apply. If none of the behaviors apply to your employee (e.g., a manager level employee who may not have direct reports), assess them on whether they apply the competency with peers, team co-workers, etc). Only document N/A if NONE of the competency behaviors listed apply to the specific employee in their current position (should be rare) Some manager-level employees who do not have direct reports may still act as “leads” either in their discipline or on a work team.
So we’ve learned a few things over the past few years about why PM is important, and why it’s so hard. So What should we do differently?
Can you ask one or 2 of these questions every month? Or 3-4 each quarter at least?