Index

,

accomplishments

—acknowledging, 59–62

—connecting to goals, 39

—documenting top three, 43

—employee self-appraisal of, 17

—keeping notes on, 13–16

—praising, 42

—See also strengths and weaknesses

appraisal form. See forms

assessment. See evaluation

attributes, employee. See competencies

 

business outcomes, performance related to, 58–59, 68–69

 

calendars

—jogging your memory with, 16

—scheduling performance reviews, 50, 96

—See also timing

capabilities, employee. See competencies

career development, 70–71. See also employee development

character attacks, avoiding, 57–58

coaching, 6, 78–80

communication skills, assessing employee, 33–34. See also feedback

compensation, 89–91. See also raises

competencies, employee, 33–34

content of the review meeting, agreeing on, 51

contingency plans, 78–80

conversation. See meetings

corrective action, 14. See also development plan; employee development

 

development plan

—creating, 75–77

—employee input on, 70–71

—feedback on, 57

—gathering information on, 26

—monitoring progress on, 78–80

—ownership of, 75

—promotion requests and, 94

—taking notes on, 55

—template, 83–85

—See also employee development

difficult topics, dealing with, 89–100

discussion. See meetings

documentation, 4, 6, 8

—copies of performance reviews, 27, 52

—of development plans, 76–77, 83–85

—note taking, 15, 53–55

—of performance, 14–15, 38–43

—of specific examples of performance, 39–43

—templates for, 44–46, 83–85

—before terminations, 42–43

—See also information gathering; forms

 

emotional responses to a review, 50, 52, 67, 96, 97–98

employee development, 5, 8

—career ambitions and, 68, 70–71

—employee input on, 70–71

—feedback on, 57

—gathering information on plans for, 26–27

—monitoring progress on, 78–80

—ownership of, 75

—planning, 67, 75–85

—promotion requests and, 91–94

—raise requests and, 89–91

—taking notes on plans for, 55

—template for planning, 83–85

employee files, official HR, 55

—employee self-appraisal, 16–23

—sample self-appraisal form, 20–23

employment records, for evaluation, 27

engagement, employee, 69

evaluation

—assessing performance, 32–35

—considering your role, 35–38

—documenting, 38–46

—employee competencies, 33–34

—gathering information for, 13–27

—goals, 32

—involving employees in, 9–10

—self-appraisal and, 16–18, 23

—template, 44–46 (see also forms)

—360-degree feedback and, 19, 24–25

—See also performance reviews

examples

—including in feedback, 43, 59–60

—of unacceptable performance, 42–43, 97

—use of in documenting performance, 39–43

expectations, setting employee, 37, 72. See also competencies

 

facts

—examples of performance, 39–41

—in negative feedback, 41, 97, 99

—See also documentation

fear/anxiety

—in employees, 52–53

—in managers, 3–4, 53, 57, 97–99

feedback

—goal-related, 57

—including examples in, 40, 59–60, 97, 99

—in information gathering, 19, 24–25

—negative, 41, 61–64, 79–80, 94–100

—ongoing, 4, 78–80

—overly harsh, 36

—on performance review process, 81–82

—positive, 42, 59–61, 79

—responses to, 79

—sandwich approach to, 62, 97–98

—360-degree feedback, 8, 19, 24–25, 40, 93–94

—value of, 57

firing. See termination

follow-up, 4, 5, 78–80

forms

—annual performance review, 39, 44–46

—employee development plan, 83–85

—employee self-appraisal, 17–18

—sample employee self-appraisal, 20–23

 

goals

—challenging but achievable, 72–73

—connecting accomplishments to, 39

—for correcting unacceptable performance, 97–98

—documenting, 76–77, 83–85

—employee input on, 60–61, 69–70

—employee self-appraisal on, 18, 20–23

—evaluation based on, 58–59

—feedback based on, 57

—gathering information on, 26–27

—number of, 74

—quantifiable measures for, 32, 73–74

—resource allocation for, 77

—setting, 5, 67–74

—sources for, 68–69

—taking notes on, 54

 

human resources (HR)

—on notes of review meetings, 55

—performance review guidelines/templates, 7, 38–39, 44–46

—terminations and, 99

 

improvement, assessing employee, 34

information gathering, 13–27

—analysis after, 27

—job description in, 26

—observation and progress tracking in, 13–16

—self-appraisal and, 16–23

—360-degree feedback in, 19, 24–25

 

job descriptions, 26

—goals based on, 69

—performance assessment based on, 32–33

—updating, 27

job satisfaction, 18, 22–23, 70. See also employee development

 

legal considerations, 6, 42–43

listening, active, 56

locations, for meeting, 51, 95

 

managers

—accountability of for employee development, 79

—assessing role of in employee performance, 35–38

—employee self-appraisal and, 18, 22

—observing employee progress, 13–16

—self-assessment of, 8, 35–38, 81–82

measures of performance. See quantifiable measurements

meetings, performance review, 49–64

—agenda, 58

—agreeing on content for, 51

—discussing employee performance in, 57–64

—discussing employee development in, 70–71, 75

—discussing performance gaps in, 61–64

—discussing strong performance in, 59–61

—preparing for, 50–52

—summaries in, 64

—taking notes on, 53–55

—tone of, 52–56

—for unacceptable performance, 94–100

micromanaging, 36, 37

milestones for employee development plan, setting, 76

motivation, 36, 63

—career development and, 70–71

—goal-based, 68–70

—manager’s role in, 37

 

neutral locations, for review meeting, 51

next steps, establishing, 67–85

note taking

—on employee accomplishments, 14–16

—in performance review meetings, 53–55

 

objectives. See goals

objectivity, 9, 39, 63

observation, 13–14, 40

ownership, sense of, 61, 69–70, 75

 

partnership, creating sense of, 9–10, 79

—with employee self-appraisals, 16–23

—by setting the right tone, 52–53

peer appraisal. See 360- degree feedback

performance

—addressing gaps in, 61–64

—assessing results of, 32–35

—basing feedback on, 57–58

—determining causes for poor, 35–38, 63–64

—discussing employee, 57–64

—evaluating, 31–46

—goals related to, 74

—impact of on the team and the organization, 41

—manager’s role in, 8, 35–38, 81–82

—recognizing strong, 59–61

—related to business outcomes, 58–59

—tracking, 13–16, 78–80

—unacceptable, 94–100

performance gaps, 61–64, 80

performance reviews

—anxiety about, 3–4, 52–53

—avoiding character attacks in, 57–58

—benefits of, 3

—compensation discussions and, 89–91

—conducting, 49–64

—definition of, 5–7

—evaluation before, 31–46

—evaluation of approach to, 81–82

—frequency of, 5

—gathering information for, 13–27

—giving copy of appraisal in advance, 52

—handling tough topics in, 89–100

—involving employees in, 9–10

—location of, 51, 95

—next steps after, 67–85

—process of, 7–8

—promotion discussions and, 91–94

—unacceptable performance and, 94–100

perspective, 17, 25, 56, 97

praise, 36, 45, 59–60

preparation, 4, 7–8, 50–52

progress reports, 15, 76

promotions, discussing, 91–94

 

quantifiable measurements, 32, 73–74

 

raises, requests for, 89–91

ratings, 38–39 360-degree feedback and, 24–25

resource allocation, 77, 79

results, assessing, 32–35. See also evaluation

 

salary. See raises

sandwich approach, 62, 97–98

schedule. See timing

self-appraisals

—discussing, 56

—by employees, 8, 9–10, 16–23, 56, 95

—issues to address in, 17–18

—by managers, 8, 35–38, 81–82

—sample, 20–23

set-up-to-fail syndrome, 36

skills, identifying gaps in, 63–64, 71

strengths and weaknesses

—assigning blame for, 63

—employee development based on, 70–71

—evaluating, 31, 33–35

—observing employees for, 13–14

—praising strengths and accomplishments, 42, 59–60

—selecting which to discuss, 58–59

support, of employee, 79–80

supporting data for evaluation, 40. See also information gathering

supportive atmosphere, 60–61

 

templates

—annual performance review, 44–46

—employee development plan, 83–85

—employee self-appraisal, 17–18

—See also forms

termination, 42–43, 99

360-degree feedback, 8

—criteria for, 19, 24–25

—diversity of respondents in, 25

—from employees, 19, 24–25

—including examples from, 40

—before promotions, 93

—purpose of, 24

—ratings and, 24–25

—See also feedback

timing of review meeting, 50, 51–52, 67, 96

tone, setting the, 52–56, 58

tough topics, 89–100

—promotion requests, 91–94

—raise requests, 89–91

—unacceptable performance, 94–100

training

—assessing need for, 37

—gathering information on prior, 27

trust, 9–10, 61–62

 

values, organizational, 92

 

weaknesses. See strengths and weaknesses