| Make appointments for performance appraisals because the review process takes preparation and time. Formally scheduling appraisals protects managers from having workers claim to be surprised or ambushed by an evaluation. Whether you do them quarterly, twice a year, or annually, performance appriasals must include regularly assessing each employee’s personal work and progress. Self assessment, manager’s appraisal, peers and client input are all valuable data that can be gathered to give a well-rounded picture of the employee’s performance. Appraisals should evaluate “what” employees achieve, in terms of activities the organization measures differently fo reach person, including work responsibilities and goals, competencies, behaviors, individual capabilities and promotion worthy considerations. |
| 1) Goal setting and revising: Since change occurs rapidly in business, it’s imperative that goals are set and revised at least quarterly. Research indicates that the more frequently organizations revise their objectives, the more successful they will be. Make sure all goals cascade downward through the organization. Individual’s objectives should align with the organization’s goals. 2) Managing and coaching: Managing is a command-and-control function, while coaching is a “best performance” function. Managing and coaching involve assigning management responsibilities, developing work plans, providing feedback and, of course, coaching, a hands-on activity that helps employees perform better. 3) Development planning: Create formal career development paths for all employees. For real operational impact, give individual development plans a high profile. 4) Rewarding and recognizing: Make honoring performance a regular, not an annual, event. Rewards can be financial or not,k but they should be motivational. Without proper acknowledgement, top performers will lose motivation, and it’s possible some of them will leave. |
| In order for a quality performance management program to stand the test of time it must be continually re-evaluted to ensure the program remains relevant and effective. Too often, we put a program on the proverbial “shelf” thinking we have the corner on the brilliance market and fail to make sure we’re not letting an old stale concept linger past it’s prime. Focusing on sustainability enables an organization to keep performance management activities and processes aligned with what the organization needs. |
| If you buy into the fact that this is not just an annual appraisal, then as a performance manager you believe at the very core of your being that its primary purpose is to support and improve performance – everyone’s goal in the organization AND everyone’s responsibility. |
| “Performance Management” everything managers do that involves leading, managing, assessing and developing their employees. Despite the broad range of activities, most leaders treat performance management as an annual event, much like we do trips to the dentist. These often look like a single, highly circumscribed appraisal with some goal setting thrown in for good measure - completely the wrong strategy. Performance management should be an on-going activity, the very fiber of your organization – just as essential as answering the phones in your office. Performance management is the very foundation of meaningful management. |
| Reid really hit the nail on the head when he made this statement at a recent ASCnet Leadership Retreat in Florida we attended. Congratulations to Reid for taking the helm and setting an aggressive course for the future of the organization – and the automated agencies we serve. |
| I love this concept of including your staff in the plan – though I can say I learned the concept the hard way. I used to be so proud of my annual planning outcome, presenting it to my staff, even the elaborate tracking tools I’d create in excel. It was successful, but not near as successful as when I included my team in the plan, the process and the praise. ”We-engineering” is exactly this concept. Sure, there are senior levels of planning that has to go on, but there’s no one better to include in logistics, procedures and evaluating practice than those in the trenches. Ask yourself how much “we” you’re using as opposed to “I” and there’s your answer on what needs to happen next. |
| Sounds like a crazy concept in business, but if you think about it you know ”servant-leaders” and more than likely you respect them highly. Servant-leaders are those people who inspire you, because they walk the walk, not just talk the talk. My Mom always says “you can’t lead where you don’t go” – never truer words were spoken, especially as it relates to the Servant-leader. Servant-leaders empower those they lead with inspiration. |
| It seemed as though the “fire bell” would ring every day, at least a few times and everyone would fly off in all directions. I’m not sure how long it took me to realize that there were a few of those “fire bells” we could avoid simply by being more proactive with our relationship management. Sure, not every “fire” can be avoided, but if you think about them and what you can do to minimize or at least manage them, you’d be surprised. |
| “Trust” oh my, what a four-letter word for some people, but it doesn’t have to be (and that’s coming from a reformed primo control freak!) If you’ve been diligent to make sure you’ve got the “right people on the bus” then have the guts to ”let” them do their job. So many managers I meet are micromanagers, distrusting everyone and everything in their wake. If you’re in that situation you need to go back and look at your people and really ask yourself the tough questions. Need help with profiling, we’ve got a fabulous new tool that’s helping manager with exactly this challenge. Let us know how we can help free you. |
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