Nothing strikes fear into the hearts of managers and employees alike as much as the words Performance Review.
Typically this is the annual kick in the groin delivered from management to employees telling them why they aren’t getting a raise, or what they did wrong eleven months ago. W. Edwards Deming famously wrote that the annual performance review should be eliminated as it contributes no positive impact to the employee, the relationship between employee and management, or the company culture as a whole. No value added here. So why do we do it?
It’s to cover the corporate butt, of course. It’s to collect and present evidence that the company might need in the case of a lawsuit from termination. No kidding, this is the main reason it exists.
If management was doing its job, anytime an employee did something worthy of this kind of recording the recording and the discussion would happen immediately. Right now, when everyone knows what happened. If management cannot get motivated to tell an employee they are behaving improperly then that manager – and the manager above them – need to be counseled. The management is MORE at fault than the employee. The employee likely had little or no idea they did something wrong, but the manager did. If the manager KNEW something was wrong and did NOTHING then the manager has made a large and intentional failure. Managers – get off your butts and work with your team. Cheer them on. Ask what they need. Give them support. and when they are outside of the boundaries, ask “why”. If they need help, help them. If they are intentionally doing something wrong – address it RIGHT NOW.
But that’s not what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about Annual Performance Reviews.
If a production line or a team is not performing the way the company expects, the fault is NOT with the employee. I assure you, everyone on the team wants great output. Nobody showed up to work today to do a bad job. Output from processes is the result of the process – not the people. If you – as a corporate leader – want to make an improvement in the process output look at the PROCESS. And the best folks to tell you how to improve that process are the experts – the team that do the work every day.
How to Review Performance
What does the company expect from the process? If you open the procedure for the process and read the requirements section. What does it say? Start there. Ask the team, “is this process as effective as it could be?” I bet they say “no”. And I bet they start telling you how to make it better.
Step One – Data
Have the team collect data on the process performance for the last year (or quarter, if that’s your cadence). Make sure everyone knows how the process is measured, what the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are. Then compare those to last year (or quarter). Look back at least three intervals and map how the process is performing. Once that is out for all to see, discuss what it looks like.
Step Two – Team Review
Work with the team to put together a presentation of current status, the status quo. Look at what is working, and find those things that are not working. Make sure this is a team project – this is not the time for managers to shove opinions down the open beaks of the team, this is time to empower the team to make things happen. Charge the team with time to consider what they would do if they could – because right now they can.
Step Three – Individual Review
Spend time with each team member alone. Let them tell you what they see and listen. Just listen. Don’t question, don’t dismiss, don’t judge – let the information come out. Put together a set of sticky notes for use with the group (use your handwriting). Everyone gets to put out their ideas, everyone gets heard. Don’t put names on notes, and it’s okay for the same idea to come up more than once.
Step Four – Empower the Team
Hold an event with the team and the senior management. Put all the ideas up for everyone to see – let the light of day hit everyone’s suggestions. Apply the PICK process to each idea (Possible – Implement – Challenge – Kill) and find those that need to be done. Make sure the whole team is involved – they need to know how their idea and suggestion was treated. Make sure management understands they are handling the hard work of others, and treat them with respect. In the end the team should have a clear direction to improve the process performance, and they will have the backing of senior management to get things done.
Step Five – Implement
Use A3 as a tool to document and manage the work. This is not a cowboy exercise, this is real, structured, managed, improvement. The team needs a champion, a coach, a leader, and a focus.
Congratulations!
This is how to do an Annual Performance Review that has actual value to the company. Strengthen the team. Listen to the experts. Make things better. Everyone will feel amazing.
And for those of you who prefer to use the annual review to punish folks – please look up. Those above you may share that perspective.
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