In the past fifteen years, I’ve been in and out of dozens of organizations, all of which had some process for conducting Performance Reviews. Of all of them, only one organization did them consistently, and did them well. The rest of them conducted performance reviews that ranged between ineffective, and highly offensive.
This got me to thinking what all these organizations have in common when it comes to Performance Reviews, so here are the top five (of several dozen) reasons why Performance Reviews usually suck:
1) Everybody wants more feedback – as long as it’s good. Yep… as much as your Gen Y types tell you they crave feedback, they really only want it if it confirms their worldview that they are beyond fantastic. Any suggestions for improvement are usually met with a thud. It is only the most elite of corporate cultures that have overcome this aspect of human nature. These organizations train and encourage people to constantly seek out feedback that will make them better – which sometimes requires facing up to the fact you don’t do some things well.
2) Performance Reviews are non-specific. They often contain broad sweeping statements about someone being “good with customers”, or “needing improvement on follow through”. These observations are about as useful as a chocolate teapot. If it’s not specific, don’t bother. Bring data or specific behavioral observations.
3) People are too polite. Most supervisors hate performance reviews more than the employees. So they try to get through them as quickly as possible, without hurting anyone’s feelings. Great organizations, and great leaders use performance appraisals as catalyst for improvement. This actually requires giving people feedback on how they can improve – rather than just trying to keep the peace.
4) Performance reviews are structured too much like report cards. If the performance review is simply “the year in review” without any mention of the future, or developmental opportunities, then it is a waste of time. Even more of a waste of time is a 4 or 5 point rating system that employees are graded on with little thought or explanation. No wonder people hate them.
5) They are disconnected with what people do every day. The big problem with performance reviews is that they are designed by HR people, or external consultants who have absolutely no idea what people in a particular role do everyday. Hence people are assessed on things they rarely or never do, and the bulk of their efforts are not captured by the criteria or format used.
Employees don’t have any accountability for the Performance Review process. OK… I said five reasons, so this one is a bonus. In most organizations, the employee merely shows up for a performance review meeting, having lent no thought or effort to outcome. Great organizations and great managers insist that employees complete some form of self-assessment in advance of the meeting so that the success of the process is shared.