Failing to Manage Employee Performance
In last month's newsletter, part of our "Seven Common Mistakes That Business Owners Make With Their People" series, we explored Common Mistake #2, which was Maintaining Single-handed Control of All Authority and Decisions. This month focuses on Common Mistake #3: Failing to Manage Employee Performance.
"If I hire the right people, give them the proper tools and provide a decent working environment, shouldn't they be able to manage themselves?"
If we had a day for every time one of our clients had made a similar statement we could take the entire summer off. Yes, in theory, it would seem that smart, skilled people who want to do a good job would just go ahead and do so. Here are some reasons why they don't:
They may not fully understand your definition of a "good job" so they use their definition.
Here is an example: Three months after a client hired a new receptionist, he mentioned that he didn't like the way that she answered the phone - a critical aspect of her job. We suggested that he speak with her about it. We made the same suggestion on three other occasions, to no avail. Two years later, she was still answering the phone the same way and the manager was frustrated. The receptionist never had any idea that she was failing to meet expectations. Her way of answering the phone wasn't bad - it just didn't harmonize with the manager's vision, which he had never shared with her!
They start out a little off course and no one corrects them.
Imagine if an airplane began heading for its destination by being off course by 1 degree. Initially, this would not represent a big problem and as a matter of fact, airplanes are constantly going slightly off course and then correcting. Now imagine if there were no correction - the airplane could end up in the wrong country! Similarly, an employee's small errors can build up to a huge mess if left uncorrected.
They may be slightly under qualified.
These are the people you hired for less money because you thought they could "grow into" the job. It's fine to do that, but hiring someone on their potential requires that you provide some coaching and feedback about their performance so that they can develop.
They may have "blind spots" in their personalities or working habits that no one has pointed out to them.
No one has a complete understanding of how others perceive them; how they work in a specific context; how they interact within a team. Without feedback from their manager, they are blind to their performance problems in these areas.
They may not have been trained properly.
Even good people can lack the necessary knowledge or skills to perform capably. Employees often "don't know what they don't know" and will struggle to do a job that could be more easily done after some training.
They may be motivated by something that you are not providing.
True, we are all responsible for motivating ourselves, but the smart manager knows that some people are motivated externally by things such as rewards, recognition, praise, money, time off, etc.
They may be intentionally neglectful.
If you don't manage this person's performance, it may take months or even years before you find this out.
Fact: Employees won't always manage their own performance. The solution to every one of the above self-management problems is for the employer to have and use a performance management system.
Performance management does not have to be complicated - actually, simple is better, particularly in a small to medium sized business. Even in large corporations, managers are more likely to avoid using lengthy complex performance management systems.
Here are four components to a simple performance management system:
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Measure against last year's responsibilities / objectives.
Evaluate employees (in writing) on their achievement of each of the responsibilities / objectives of the job. Use adjectives that describe exactly what you wish to convey. Be specific. Be sensitive, but be clear. (E.g.: "Excellent research on project A. Well executed meeting. Sales need to be improved by 20%" etc.).
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Set up a meeting.
Arrange semi annual (or quarterly or annual) meetings with employees to let them know that you will be discussing their performance and giving them feedback. Don't make the meeting sound ominous. Ask them to prepare for the meeting by thinking about their performance and bringing some ideas for next year's objectives.
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Meet and discuss: what was done well; what could be better.
Conduct a confidential meeting with each employee. Communicate what they did well and how they can improve. Ask employees for their opinions and ideas - make it a discussion not a monologue. Be sensitive - most employees take criticism to heart. Be generous with praise if you can do so honestly. Don't make it an unpleasant experience unless you are building a case for termination. Most managers don't give enough positive feedback.
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Set objectives for next time.
Discuss with employees how their performance will be measured next time. Agree on any special projects, targets, goals and tasks that they should complete by the next meeting. Include dates, numbers and as many measurable criteria as possible. |
Feedback, coaching, praise and correction do not have to wait until the next performance evaluation meeting - these can and should be informally communicated throughout the year.
"Most employees want to do a good job. How they perform is simply a matter of whom they work for."
- Darryl Hartley-Leonard, President, Hyatt Hotels Corporation
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