The Importance of Honest Performance Reviews

There are a lot of issues surrounding performance reviews and you may be surprised to know that they not only come from the employees but from the managers as well. In a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, more than 90% of managers that were surveyed approach performance reviews with anxiety, difficulty, and apprehension. Why? This is because managers are aware that some of the feedback that needs to be shared may be negative and hurtful. That sharing these information might trigger unwanted reactions, conflicts, and unnecessary thoughts. Preparing and writing your performance review is already a very difficult task let alone delivering and discussing it directly with the person whose performance is being reviewed.

Despite the mental and emotional stress, managers need to accept that giving performance reviews is a critical element of them being someone else’s boss and mentor. There is no other way for your relationships with your employees to flourish and work effectively but for you to give them your honest appraisal on the quality and amount of efforts that they put in to their jobs. In this article, we will discuss key points to help manager’s most especially junior managers in understanding how important giving honest feedback to their employees is. I would like to somehow alleviate the pressure experienced by managers when going through this experience which we all know is going to be very frequent all through your life as a leader.

1. Consider performance reviews as a means for you to discuss rewards and recognition. It is always a good experience for an employee to hear his or her boss discuss their company’s rewards program. Use this as a way to segue to your own honest feedback of that employee’s performance and if you need to discuss areas of improvement, mention that you want him or her to work better because you also want to grant the reward to them.
2. Know that you have no choice but to say what is true and correct. Even if what you will need to share is very negative, you just need to let the employee know because if there is no improvement done and if it will come to the point where you will need to ask the person to leave the company, then your previous appraisal will be everybody’s basis as to whether the termination is just and correct. There are already accounts of companies being in hot water because manager’s sugar-coated low performance grades and then months later, they were already asking the employee to leave because of the very same reasons.
3. Giving small and frequent feedback to your employees is also important. You don’t have to collect everything and wait for the annual or quarterly performance reviews. Practice giving appraisals or candid feedback in small doses and whenever necessary so that you get to solve bad performance not when it is already a habit or a long-standing problem which you know could negatively impact the overall performance of your team. Consider this also as an exercise which will definitely give you the feel of discussing issues with your employees.
4. Honest and open discussions about performance contributes to positive employee engagement. If delivered correctly, these performance reviews could even work to your advantage. In your sessions with your employee, let them know that despite the bad performance or their shortcomings, you are there to help them improve and that you do want them to improve because you still see them as a valuable member of your team. Make them feel that you are hanging on to the very same reasons why you got them on board and that you still believe that there are ways for them to fit in efficiently within your team. Be clear though that the change needs to happen soon and according to your own timeline. Many studies suggest that appraisals done this way even result to a higher employee engagement score.
5. The initial anxiety caused by giving an honest performance review offsets the long-term effects that takes place after. Consider all the uncomfortable emotions and thoughts brought by this exercise as birth pains. It may be very difficult at first but what comes after and in the long run are changes that can positively affect your overall team performance.

Nicole Grundy is the Chief Operating Officer at Evocca College and is responsible for managing the operations of the business across all states. Nicole is responsible for the strategic and operational development of the growing company ensuring streamlined operations and procedures are in place across multiple platforms and locations. Nicole manages a large team of professionals and is key in bringing Evocca’s mission to being a leader to life.