Giving Feedback: The Annual Review
By: Diane Daum, Ph.D., Vice President, Research and Analytics, ddaum@valtera.com
January is a time for reflecting on the past as well as planning for the future. As part of the business cycle, this is often the time of year for conducting performance reviews. Many managers consider this to be one of the least pleasant tasks that they do all year, yet it is one of the most important. Here are some tips for making it go more smoothly:
- Invite input from others: To have a more complete picture of the employees’ performance, consider others who may have valuable input: key customers, peers, managers of projects that the employee has taken a key role in. Be sure they know how their input will be used. For example, will you mention them by name? Use their comments verbatim? Or compile the feedback and share some overall themes? You might also invite the employee to submit a “self-review” or a summary of their accomplishments.
- Find the right time and place: A review should not be rushed or interrupted and should occur in a private place where both parties will feel comfortable talking. Schedule a time and turn off electronic devices so that you can focus on the discussion at hand.
- Make sure the feedback is balanced:
- Consider both behavior and results. Did they deliver a great work product but alienate their coworkers in getting it done? Did they put forth some genuine, but misguided effort that didn’t lead to a good outcome? If so, praise what they did well, but offer constructive suggestions on how they might do things differently the next time.
- Offer both positive and constructive feedback. The balance of the feedback should match the balance of performance. If overall performance was excellent, be sure to celebrate their accomplishments in the review instead of just focusing on what should change. If overall performance was poor, beware that too much sugar-coating with positive feedback will weaken your message.
- Be specific: Give multiple examples of what was done well or poorly so they have a clear understanding of what should or should not change. When talking about poor performance, provide specific examples of what would have made it better. If they have performed inconsistently, compare/contrast their effective performances to those that were less effective.
- Make it a conversation: Don’t use the feedback meeting to read the review aloud. Instead, encourage questions and dialogue, and do some joint problem-solving about challenges faced. Allowing the employee the opportunity to read the review in advance of the meeting may facilitate this.
- Be prepared for reactions: Having input from others and providing specific examples should lend credibility to your ratings, but there is always the possibility that feedback may catch someone off-guard. If an employee may have a strong emotional reaction to your feedback, don’t let it escalate. Instead, request to schedule a follow-up meeting to allow a chance for the employee to absorb the initial impact and discuss matters more calmly.
Remembering that performance management is a year-round process and not a once-a-year activity should also help these conversations to go smoothly. The topic of our next blog will focus on how to do just that.
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