Hate To Do Performance Reviews? Does It Matter?

Can you remember how you felt the last time you did a performance review? Or how you felt about writing objectives?

Those feelings are the reality of the performance management process. Even if you are a member of the minority who believes in performance management, you've got to admit that it's not much fun.

So why treat performance management as if it were some soulless analytic process? Ignoring attitude just makes the relationship more complicated. (Ask any parent of teenagers!)

When it comes time to exhort managers to schedule a) 30 minutes for each appraisal discussions or b) an hour for a team briefing on 2012 strategy and objectives, recognize that checklists aren't going to be enough to influence their behavior.

Make this messy, inefficient process simpler, by all means. It's a demonstration of respect and your effort will be noticed. But also address the feelings of irritation, confusion, personal inadequacy and so on.

Most corporate training and communications seem like public service commercials. Write it SMART. Use an action verb.

Wouldn't you be more likely have an impact if you dealt with the feelings of:

• Irritation over the time commitment -- by providing techniques for managing the time efficiently?
• Antagonism that it's a waste of time -- by providing case studies on how admired companies handle business planning? Better yet, a case study of one of your own departments that improved through planning and measurement?
• Confusion about the "art" of the process -- by briefing managers on the basics of strategic planning like gap analysis and business drivers, so they know how to talk over strategy alignment with employees.
• Inadequacy about the interpersonal aspect of leadership -- by encouraging managers to speak openly about the difficulties they have had, so they can commiserate and encourage each other?
• Distrust of corporate commitment -- by actually doing what you say. Corporate classics are saying performance management is important and then making other things priorities . . . promoting individuals who are terrible at performance management . . . insisting performance management is a strategic necessity but not providing a way to align objectives vertically, audit the alignment, calibrate ratings and so on.

These are thoughts, not recipes. Brainstorm your own ideas for your managers. Just don't give up because the whole thing feels frustrating. If it were fun and easy, we would have put this one to bed a long time ago.

Margaret O'Hanlon is founder and principal of re:Think Consulting.  She has decades of experience teaming up with clients to ensure great Human Resource ideas deliver valuable business results.  Margaret brings deep expertise in total rewards communications and change management to the dialog at the Café. Before founding re:Think Consulting, she was a Principal in Total Rewards Communications and Change Management with Towers Perrin. Margaret is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Pacific Plains Region. She earned her M.S. and Ed.S. in Instructional Technology at Indiana University. Creative writing is one of her outside passions, along with Masters Swimming.

Thanks to Margaret O'Hanlon / Compensation Café
http://www.compensationcafe.com/2011/10/can-you-remember-how-you-felt-the-last-time-you-did-a-performance-review-how-about-how-you-felt-about-writing-objectives.html