Mark Schneider is President of The AXIA Group, a sales and management consulting firm based in Stamford, CT.
Many people enjoy bowling. When asked “Why?” most will say they enjoy the interaction with friends, the opportunity to do something fun and the exercise. Would people still bowl if the pins were hidden and the bowler couldn’t see how many were knocked down? Doubtful. We want to see how well we did compared to our past games, and if we are beating the team next to us. We need the feedback. The same goes for company employees. Many enjoy their jobs and companies, but that is not enough. Within each of us is a need to know “How am I doing? How can I get better? Am I meeting expectations?” Jack Welch, former CEO of GE Corporation said “We build great people, who then build great products and services.” It is a manager’s obligation to utilize the employee review as an opportunity to grow people and provide them with the feedback they deserve.
Benefits for the Employee
• Understand the company vision and how their position is an integral component of reaching it
• Exchange information, receive constructive feedback and assess how they can perform their job more effectively
• Discuss advancement opportunities and begin the process of preparing for those opportunities.
• Gain recognition for meeting expectations and increased satisfaction for performing the job well
• Eliminate stress and know if the job is being done well
• Utilize a process that is standardized, fair and equitable for all employees
• Create measurable results standards(metrics) and employees will manage their own performance more effectively
• Time managing employee performance will be reduced when they know what constitutes a job well done
• Gain new ideas and important information from staff members
• Manage people proactively rather than reactively
• Reduce the worry and stress that arises from unresolved performance gaps
Benefits for the Company
• Have all employees better understand the mission and vision of the company
• Create a culture of open communication. Many good ideas arise from employees and a performance review is an excellent vehicle to capture those ideas
• Save money by having employees ready for advancement with well defined career paths, thus reducing turnover
• Decrease litigation cost and unfounded employee lawsuits
• Have a well structured plan for employee training
A well conducted performance review can have a measurable and positive impact on the performance of employees. According to the American Management Association; “Most performance review systems in most organizations are so poorly designed and conducted that they actually do more harm than good.” The next blog will talk about how to deliver a motivating performance review… so stay tuned!
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