End Performance Reviews

House (yeah, the TV House) says, “I don’t think the time to tell the dog not to pee on the rug is semi-annually.” Is not that how we all feel? But if we were doing a House style differential on Performance reviews, we would find that is not nearly the biggest issue.

Is your associate rating destroying morale?

Associate perception of Reviews

In fact there is so many things wrong with them, maybe it is time to abolish Performance Reviews altogether. If you are aware of how deeply I have internalized measurement as a feedback mechanism, your jaw may have just touched the floor. Let me explain what I mean.

You see, I’ve been conducting an informal survey (yeah, I know, what’s that?) for 20 years. I’ve been asking friends and trusted business Associates from other companies to rate their company’s Performance Reviews and the reasons why. When I get the chance, I’ve even asked people to give me a look at them, so I can get my own first hand impression. After all this time, let me tell you that it’s almost universally bad.

We’ve got infrequent, subjective, ill-informed, gossip filled, one-sided, rumor filled, he said, she said, power vs. weak, badly managed reviews that everyone very rightfully hates. The whole situation is childish. It is no coincidence that perhaps the most common Employee dream is to walk into the boss’ office during appraisal time and really get it off your chest.

Purpose of Reviews

First, appraisal systems have clear purposes;

Objective feedback on earlier agreed upon objectives.
Documentation for promotion and remuneration.
Forum for motivation and coaching.
Forum for equal footing for both Manager and Employee communication.
Formal review and revisions of Goals.

That is the least we might reasonably expect. There’s a lot more we could do as a respectful, encouraging, helpful part of an overall Performance Development Plan that Associates should really feel is part of the normal course of their work. If done correctly they should see the performance appraisal (which is two way) as something that is OWED TO THEM on an ongoing basis. You know, like a collaborative team. But hardly any of those things are being done, and certainly not helpfully. Instead, we have got few objective job descriptions, and highly subjective reviews held by untrained managers giving ill informed advice.

The process is so terrible in so many places that if this article sounds like your company my advice would be to just stop doing them, and document an employee only when you’re getting ready to fire them for total non-performance. At least then you’d avoid frustrating the rest of your employees so often.

Job descriptions as a leading indicator

During job interviews, if you have the confidence to bring it off, I encourage you to ask to see performance review forms. I want to know how I’m going to be measured. I want to see the form. And I want to see the job description. Because those two forms and the accompanying description of the format and process by which it’s used will tell you an incredible amount about who is sitting across from you, and how the company is managed.

If the Appraisal Form is nothing but a subjective ranking system for the Manager, think seriously; do you really want to spend years of your life being rated by the person sitting across the desk? Are you comfortable performing a job with no clear direction and subjective feedback after the fact? Because I guarantee you that at least half the employees there are working in some combination of frustration, fear, or anger.

I strongly urge companies to provide clear direction and objective feedback for their employees’ life’s work. It is a sign of respect and has a chance to improve morale and productivity. And at least begin to slow down playing politics. Put another way; I have never talked to a person with a clear performance development program that didn’t like it, and at least felt begrudgingly valued as a person. Conversely, I never talked to a person in a subjective review policy that trusted their employer. It is that simple.