As we near the end of 2024, annual performance assessments are on the minds of many companies. Traditionally, this is a time to reflect on the year and evaluate whether individuals achieved the goals they set back in January. However, if it’s November and you’re just now thinking about performance management, you’ve fallen behind. Companies that prioritize performance are 4.2 times more likely to outperform their peers. Having just one or two formal conversations to determine whether an individual met your expectations throughout the past 12 months sets both you and the employee up for failure.
In today’s workplace, building connections and committing to open communication are more important than ever. These factors also play a large role in effectively managing your employees’ performance and progress, as well as their levels of engagement and job satisfaction. If you’re having ongoing performance discussions with your team members all year, it makes the year-end review much less daunting – if necessary at all!
Here are a few ways to incorporate performance management into discussions throughout the year, while helping individuals feel more confident and empowered in their roles.
Recognize that people want to do well.
As a manager, having the right mindset can heavily influence the tone and outcomes of your conversations around performance. Remember: most people really do want to do a good job. It’s important to help your employees clearly understand their role within the organization, provide guidelines around expectations and norms, and offer immediate feedback to course correct or celebrate when needed. Connect their work to the larger goals of the organization to help them understand the bigger picture and better align on company-wide priorities.
Connect regularly.
Professionals have become accustomed to instant feedback in all areas of their lives, and are often unsettled and stressed by feelings of uncertainty. Frequent check-ins are essential to accurately understand how your team members are feeling about their roles and work. Ask how things are going for them, and how they think they are doing. What makes them proud of themselves? Where do they feel like they’re not doing as well as they’d like? This is a great opportunity to understand if you’re aligned, identify potential disconnects and make any necessary adjustments in real-time. All individuals have a mental relationship and emotional connection with work; it can be a source of stress or a source of inspiration and fulfillment. Focus on what you can do to help them feel powerful, knowledgeable and confident.
Listen and build trust.
Performance is not a one-way conversation. If you’re the manager, ensure you’re doing just as much listening as you do talking. At the same time, recognize this can only be effective if you’ve built a foundation of trust that enables your team to be honest with you. An employee who trusts their manager has their best interests at heart will understand constructive feedback is coming from a place of tough professional love, with a goal of better meeting business objectives. An employee who doesn’t trust their manager may internalize feedback as their manager preparing to fire or demote them. Creating a safe space for open conversation and a culture where feedback is expected and embraced should be a priority.
Break down larger goals.
Rather than setting lofty annual goals, break them down into smaller goals with shorter deadlines. What actions need to happen in a certain month to ensure an individual is on track to be successful? Not only does this help goals seem less overwhelming, it also provides clear check-in points to ensure everything and everyone is on track for success. If not, take the opportunity to realign, remove roadblocks and clarify expectations.
Be honest and make it about the work, not the person.
Feedback – both positive and constructive – is essential in bettering your team and reaching your larger objectives. Often, managers struggle with delivering negative feedback, especially to an otherwise strong employee. However, individuals can’t do better until they know better. Aim to give feedback in a way that separates the individual from the results they’re getting. Clarify that your feedback is not about them as a person, but about their specific actions or approach to a project or situation. By shifting the focus off of them and onto their work, you’re also able to pinpoint actionable steps for improvement in a more objective and less emotionally charged way.
Identify areas of disconnect.
While many aspects of performance are focused on numbers and metrics, others may be less tangible. Inevitably, there will be a time when you and an employee have differing opinions on how something went. It’s unproductive to debate who is right or wrong, but it is valuable to understand the employee’s perspective, share your own perspective and then understand the disconnect between the two. Ask them to share the reasons why they feel something was successful or unsuccessful. If you feel a different way, don’t negate their feelings. Instead, explain how you see it and why. In addition to providing clear reasoning, this also helps shift the focus to the tasks at hand, rather than the person as an individual, and opens the conversation to discussing how you can be better aligned in the future. After you’ve shared your feedback, look forward and don’t dwell on the past.
While annual assessments are likely part of your company’s formal performance review process, they shouldn’t deliver any information an employee isn’t already aware of. By having more frequent check-ins, fostering open and ongoing communication, and breaking down goals, both you and your employees will be well-aligned throughout the year. Additionally, individuals will feel more empowered, confident and satisfied in their work, positioning them for a strong future with your team and company.