Appraising Performance

While working for many years in the banking and healthcare industries, I noticed that many managers and supervisors detest writing performance appraisals. How do I know they detest these annual evaluations? They often don’t complete them on time and, in some cases, a manager may never complete them before moving on to his or her next role.

That resistance can stem from a number of sources, chief among them:

• I’m too busy to get to this task.
• My employees don’t like getting appraisals – they just want raises.
• No news is good news. They know I’ll speak up if there’s a problem.
• I don’t want to demoralize anyone by giving bad news.
• I inherited a group of employees with no documentation.

Well, I have news for you resistant types: Your organization is paying you the big bucks to coach, appraise, correct, and reward the employees on your team! So let’s tackle these objections one by one:

I’m too busy to get to this task. Really? You’ve had a year to plan, organize, and schedule this task. Your job includes people management. This sounds like a problem with time management and prioritization to me. Get some help; learn to delegate; elevate this responsibility to a higher place on your priority list, please.

My employees don’t like getting appraisals—they just want raises. I’m not so sure about that. You don’t think people are motivated by honest, clear feedback? When was the last time someone gave you positive feedback or a pat on the back? Didn’t that feel good? Don’t you appreciate the focused attention from your boss on that most important person in the company: YOU?

No news is good news. They know I’ll speak up if there’s a problem. That’s an interesting perspective. Will they speak up if there’s a problem? Do you know what they’re thinking? What concerns or issues may be preventing them from contributing their talents? Do they have a forum for talking about their personal development needs?

I don’t want to demoralize anyone by giving bad news. Well, shucks. It would be great if your unit could run without feedback. Is there any possibility that they could handle your feedback given objectively and supportively? Would it make sense to engage them in problem solving and partner with them to improve their performance, instead of blasting them for failing to meet objectives?

I inherited a group of employees with no documentation. I’m sorry. Don’t you just hate that? So your predecessor didn’t fulfill their obligations as the manager. Is that really the example you want to perpetuate? How about raising the bar for everyone? Get input from your employees; get input from their internal and external customers; get input from their peers. Write the appraisals and make the commitment to leave the place in better shape than you found it.

I guess what I’m really talking about is taking personal responsibility for creating a better experience for your employees, for the organization, for your colleagues and, ultimately, for yourself. Managers who develop the self-discipline to perform this most critical of management tasks are well-respected and appreciated. Why not be one of them?

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