One of the practices recommended in Management 101 is to avoid the element of surprise in the Performance Review. This means that when you sit down with an employee for an annual review, the feedback does not come as a surprise. This requires foresight on the part of managers. What if you have been putting off a difficult conversation?
There’s the point! Every week, or every month, think about each employee and what you aren’t saying about their performance. Be sure to reinforce the positive aspects of each employee’s performance, and don’t put off difficult conversations. Are you concerned about:
- Attendance?
- Attitude?
- Relationships with others?
- Prioritization?
- Judgment?
- Project management skills?
- Technical skills?
- Writing or presentation skills?
- Follow through?
If you have concerns, now is the time to say something.
“I want to give you some feedback.”
“I’ve noticed that your project management skills aren’t as developed as I would like.”
“Let’s talk about how I could help you to improve those skills?”
If you get a defensive response, try repeating the above. If that doesn’t work, address the defensiveness:
“It’s really important to me that I can provide feedback and work with you on improvement.”
“If you get angry when I give feedback, it makes it hard for us to work on a plan.”
Make a note of the conversation. Jot down a date, what you said, the response you received, and a plan for going forward. Regardless of the outcome, there won’t be any surprises come review time.
Remember, should you need further support, CompEAP is available to help you work through issues with difficult employees.
What can you do now to prevent surprises at review time?
