Performance appraisal (or performance review) is an opportunity for individual employees and those concerned with their performance, typically line managers, to engage in a dialogue about their performance and development, as well as the support required from the manager (FN 1)
It’s been "annual appraisal week” in the office. That rather painful process that enables your bosses to analyse how you have performed over the last year, instantly forget it, then set you objectives for the next year.
I have been extremely lucky in my current role, in that I have out-performed (possibly by luck, rather than judgement) and I have two bosses who are extremely good at giving feedback. But not all of my peers have been that lucky and I hear so many stories (usually fuelled by the nervous anticipation that breeds from the build-up to the meeting) of poor appraisals and the very de-motivated month that is inevitably going to follow.
The stories are as varied as they are cringeworthy, but it did get me thinking about why such an important aspect of your role could literally reduce the most strong and powerful professional into a nervous wreck.
To me, there is one fundamental aspect of an appraisal that is usually always a recipe for disaster … no matter how impressive an individual can have performed, employers find an insatiable need to include the section entitled “areas of improvement”. Ah yes … constructive criticism.
Now let’s be realistic here. The very purpose of an appraisal is to consider all aspects of performance, both good and bad, and it would be counter-productive to ignore ares that genuinely need improvement. The problem I find with this process is that we seem to have become so obsessed with including advice of how one’s performance can be improved that it has become mandatory to include it. Time and time again, (in previous employment I stress) I have seen feedback forms returned, or managers scolded for not including a plan of how that individual can improve for the next period.
Take "Exhibit A”: Employee Smith receives a performance grade of “excellent”. He has excelled in all of the listed skill sets. He has billed over and above his target. He has introduced more work than what was budgeted for. He has won a large client contact, even thought that was not part of his objectives for the year. Is it too much to ask for a
"well done, you couldn’t have done better (taking into account all circumstances) and let’s set a plan for next year”? Leave that box labelled “areas for improvement” blank?
But it isn’t left blank. Instead it is filled with some shoe-horned comment along the lines of
“Needs to work on networking with internal contacts”, included because he doesn’t spend lunch with his team. Or something equally as ludicrous.
The reality is that many managers are promoted as a reward for performing well in their own roles throughout the year. They aren’t natural managers and they aren’t trained in the specific skill set that managers require. They feel uncomfortable in praising a subordinate and they are worried about attaching too glowing a report to specific employees, to avoid the inevitable salary increase request that follows. There is also the 'self-preservation’ factor; a nervousness that flows from a potential leadership challenge meaning that the manager goes into defence mode.
A successful business is built (amongst other things) on finding the delicate balance between two fragile and conflicting concepts. The first is the notion that a business must not fall stagnant and must constantly evolve in order to succeed. It therefore needs its employees to mirror that strategy in applying their own skills and technical knowledge. The other concept is that individuals thrive on positive feedback as it builds self-esteem; they tend to perform better when they are within their comfort zone. I imagine it’s pretty hard to find that delicate balance between the two.
Sadly, there’s probably not an answer here. You can’t stop carrying out appraisals as they are a legitimate tool for monitoring progression. They just need to a) be delivered better and b) prepared for appropriately (yes, accountability for own progression; employees take note).
It seems a funny topic to post in a poker blog. But given that my contribution to your reading matter has been entirely lifestyle-based, I did wonder how often you all take time to appraise your own life. Do you set yourself personal performance goals? Do you reflect each year on what you have achieved? Do you monitor growth or decline in areas such as finance, relationships, hobbies etc?
I don’t. But I would like to. And I am going to. I have recently stumbled across a self-imporovement theory called “20 Little Promises” and I will elaborate on this in a later post. In the meantime I hope that you are all enjoying the last of the weekend and that you are in a good mindset to attack the coming week with positivity and determination.
Until next time.
B
1
http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/factsheets/performance-appraisal.asp
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