Achieving Goals_ Define and Surpass Your High Performance Goals - Kathleen Schienle [26]
Difficult Evaluations
For many employees, evaluations are upsetting. Some people become morose and passive, or they get nervous and fidgety in anticipation of the review or during the review meeting. Some lose control of their emotions and become loud and angry. Others refuse to take responsibility for their poor performance and try to blame their coworkers. Still others push aggressively for a promotion or a raise, even to the point of threatening to quit. Perhaps the most difficult to deal with are the employees who don’t accept any of your comments and argue every point.
Work at making the situation more comfortable right from the start. If staff members seem nervous or withdrawn, talk about a few non-work topics to set them at ease. As you move into the review itself, don’t speak in terms of the person, but rather talk about the work and the job. Keep the discussion focused on your agenda and away from personality issues. Negative feedback, or criticism, is best handled in the same way as positive feedback—honestly and directly. Show your employees the respect they deserve by remaining calm and businesslike when you deliver a negative evaluation. Encourage an open dialogue between you and the employee—but be prepared for surprises.
Some people—most likely your more accomplished workers—will accept your evaluation, will be pleased at the positive feedback they received, and will agree to make the necessary changes to improve their performance. They are receptive to suggestions for training courses, additional responsibility, and new goals. But not every performance review is that easy.
Dos & Don’ts
DIFFICULT EVALUATIONS
A performance evaluation meeting creates a forum in which employers and employees alike can raise issues that may need to be addressed. They are as important for employees’ personal development as they are to the growth of the company. Sometimes, employees are intimidated or feel uncomfortable with the process. Here are some ways to handle the difficult aspects of evaluations:
Do try and create a comfortable and nonthreatening atmosphere when evaluating. This will help to put nervous or difficult people at ease when they are being evaluated.
Do reschedule if you feel that an employee is not in an agreeable mood to handle being evaluated and receiving constructive criticism.
Don’t return an employee’s hostile attitude; suggest that the evaluation be rescheduled for another day.
Do keep your temper and emotions in check during a difficult evaluation.
Do take the time to find out what is bothering a dissatisfied employee.
Don’t give into a dissatisfied employee’s demands for a promotion or a raise if you don’t feel that their productivity deserves special recognition.
Do emphasize how valuable an employee is to the company if you feel she is about to accept another job offer.
Don’t focus on personality in the evaluation, but rather on performance.
Do approach the evaluation process as a constructive way to deal with problems of which your employee may be unaware.
Do listen closely and politely, but unemotionally, if an employee feels unappreciated, resentful, or angry.
If you are greeted by hostility or an oppositional attitude toward the evaluation process, suggest meeting on another day. The employee simply may not understand the benefits of goal-setting and evaluation, and you’ll have to explain their merits before you can conduct a successful review. Eventually the goal-and-review process will become a departmental value that most of your staff will accept and appreciate.
The BIG Picture
CONTROVERSY OVER MONETARY REWARDS
Linking compensation to performance is based on the idea that rewards and bonuses motivate employees to excel. However, the value of incentive programs is