Articles

Performace Review Battles
by Dr. Lynne Curry

Question:

How do you avoid the "I deserve a 5" battles when conducting performance reviews on employees who think they're "outstanding" even when they come in late to work and don't turn in projects on time? In our company, we rate employees on a 1 (needs serious improvement) to 5 (outstanding) scale annually. Every year I get into debates with employees who act indignant when they see "3's" or "4's" and not "5's."

One of my employees, "Michael," is a good performer when he wants to be. Unfortunately, he doesn't like to get to work until 8:30 and he always has excuses for why things aren't done. I like Michael and would like to give him a good review and a raise, but when I compare him with the other employees who work hard every day he comes up short. So when I'm filling out his performance review, I give him a mix of "3's" and "4's" with a "2" on punctuality. I could never give him a "5" first because he doesn't deserve it and second because I never give "5's". There's always room for improvement.

Michael's review is scheduled for this afternoon. Last year his review took two hours and was a total waste of time and after it was over he wrote a rebuttal to the review, help.

Answer:

You and Michael approach the review as a grading process. As a result he feels unfairly judged and you act like stingy teacher. If you want the performance review process to work, you need to totally change your approach.

Start by changing how you view a "5." If you insist no employee can earn a "5," how do you fairly reward employees who do an outstanding job? If you have an employee who does truly perform well above and beyond the normal in an area, that employee deserves an "outstanding". Further, when you set yourself up as a supervisor who refuses to give a "5" you shift the review focus from the employee's work to the supervisor's idiosyncrasies.

This doesn't mean, however, that you need to give out "5's" or even "4's" to those who meet only the job's minimums. Honesty counts and you undermine the fairness all employees depend on when you give out ratings just to please an employee with an overly inflated view of himself.

To avoid unproductive battles, outline to each employee before the review what "3," "4," and "5" mean. In most companies, a 3 means "does all that one expects of any employee;" those who get a 4 "consistently do more than the average employee," while those rated a "5" deliver outstanding performance by going above and beyond consistently."

Next, give each employee to chance to review him or herself in each area of job responsibility. Most employees who take the ratings and review process seriously generally give themselves a mix of scores. Also, by allowing the employee to self-review his or her performance first, you turn the review process from a monologue into a dialogue.

This afternoon, ask Michael to self-review himself first. Listen to what he says. Then, let him know you've heard his views, you plan to give him your perspective, and you hope he and you can come to an agreement on how he's doing. Then, when you give him your views concerning his performance, outline what you see, giving him both positive and constructive feedback.

After you give him your views on his performance, tackle the rating question. Walk through each area and discuss the rating you feel fair. By talking about the content of the review before discussing the ratings, you increase the chances Michael will hear what you have to say. In any area in which you've giving him a rating other than 5, provide him specific examples for what he needs to do to earn a 5 on his next review.

If you feel the tension between you and Michael might prevent his listening to your views, ask another supervisor to sit in on the interview to help two-way communication. Ordinarily, both parties behave better with a third-party observer present. When you pick a supervisor to sit in, select someone Michael feels comfortable with.

Performance reviews at their best give supervisors and employees a chance to talk seriously about what's expected, to reward each employee for doing great work and to help the employee identify ways to improve and succeed.