Productive Performance Appraisals

129 Pages·2007·0.47 MB·English

by  Paul Falcone

PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS
S E C O N D E D I T I O N
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PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE
APPRAISALS
S E C O N D E D I T I O N
Paul Falcone
with Randi Sachs
AMERICANMANAGEMENTASSOCIATION
NewYork•Atlanta•Brussels•Chicago•MexicoCity•SanFrancisco
Shanghai•Tokyo•Toronto•Washington,D.C.
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Falcone,Paul.
Productiveperformanceappraisals/PaulFalcone,withRandi
Sachs.—2nded.
p. cm.—(WorkSmart)
Previoused.wasenteredunderRandiSachs.
Includesindex.
ISBN-10:0-8144-7422-5(pbk.)
ISBN-13:978-0-8144-7422-8(pbk.)
1. Employees—Ratingof. I. Sachs,RandiToler. II. Sachs,RandiToler.
Productiveperformanceappraisals. III. Title.
HF5549.5.R3F37 2007
658.3(cid:2)125—dc22 2006036462
(cid:2)2007AmericanManagementAssociation
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CONTENTS
Preface vii
PART I
THEPRODUCTIVEAPPRAISAL
Chapter1 What’sthePoint? 3
Chapter2 It’sasEasyasOne,Two,Three 10
Chapter3 Face-to-Face 18
PART II
HOWTOMAKEITHAPPEN:ADVANCEPREPARATIONS
Chapter4 PlanfortheFuture 33
Chapter5 Document,Document,Document 43
Chapter6 PrepareYourself 54
Chapter7 PrepareYourEmployee 62
PART III
COMMONPROBLEMSANDEFFECTIVESOLUTIONS
Chapter8 WhenYouDisagreeonRolesandGoals 69
Chapter9 WhentheNewsIsBad 78
Chapter10 WatchOutforPitfalls 87
v
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vi Contents
PART IV
WRAPPINGITUP
Chapter11 ThePost-AppraisalMeeting 95
Chapter12 You’reReadytoGo 104
Index 111
AbouttheAuthors 115
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PREFACE
Does the thought of conducting performance appraisals for your
employees make you cringe? Is it something you tend to put off
untilyou‘‘havethetime’’?Doestheideaoftellinggrownmenand
womenthattheyhavenotbeen‘‘livinguptotheirpotential’’make
your palms sweat and your throat dry? Don’t feel bad. You are not
alone.
Many supervisors look upon performance appraisals as one of
the most uncomfortable tasks that they are called upon to do, and
if they had a say in it, they might eliminate altogether any formal
meeting that could be called a performance appraisal. But their
feelings—and possibly yours—are a bit out of focus. Performance
appraisals serve a very useful role in the workplace and, if done
right, provide you with an exceptionally powerful management
tool. And believe it or not, the process need not be unpleasant for
you.
It is not unusual for someone who rose from the ranks or is
rightoutofinitialmanagementtrainingtofindituncomfortableto
‘‘get personal’’ and evaluate another person’s performance—
especiallyface-to-face!Thereview of oneemployeeoranotherwill
give you troublefor any number of reasons: Theemployee may be
a discipline problem; she may be very sensitive; he may have no-
wheretogowithinyourorganization....Thereareasmanypossi-
blereasonsasthereareemployees.
Just keep in mind, however, that more and more CEOs are
looking to their frontline managers and human resources depart-
vii
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viii Preface
mentstomaximizetheirreturnoninvestment(ROI)ofhumancap-
ital. That may sound like a fancy term, but in a knowledge-based
economy,acompany’s‘‘humanassets’’oftenserveasthatorganiza-
tion’s primary profit lever. Simply stated, a company that has the
strongest and most creative human capital assets (i.e., employees)
oftenwinsatthegameofbusiness.
If CEOs and CFOs are focusing more on measuring the ROI of
humancapital,thenthosequantitativemetricsthatdriveorganiza-
tional performance must somehow be supported by or linked to
some sort of qualitative foundation. That qualitative foundation
can best be found in each individual worker’s performance ap-
praisal. In short, that’s where the rubber meets the road, and it
represents the kernel of measurement of individual performance
thatrollsup intothecompany’soverallproductivityresults.
This book willhelp you overcome your fearof conducting per-
formanceappraisalsbygivingyoustraightforwardadviceon:
■ Howtoprepareforeachemployee’sinterview
■ Howtostructureaperformanceappraisal
■ Howtoputyourselfandyour employeesatease
■ How to make the performance appraisal a collaborative effort
betweenyouandyouremployees
■ How to strengthen your relationship with your employees by
conductingproductivereviews
■ How to handle employees who have performance or conduct
problems
In addition, you will realize that the ‘‘performance appraisal,’’
per se, isn’tas much a form asit is a process—ameans rather than
an end. Itis a system of ongoing feedback;recognition; and, when
necessary, redirection that helps you, the supervisor, lead effec-
tivelyandstandoutasararityamongyourpeers.Italsorepresents
a system of ongoing engagement with your subordinates that cre-
ates for them an environment of job satisfaction and motivation
(which, of course, typically results in greater retention). Most im-
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Preface ix
portant,itisaprocessthatwillhelpyoubuildaculturethatfocuses
onperformanceexcellence.
On a more personal note, by investing time in mastering this
critical management tool and system, you will also gain portable,
sought-afterskillsthat,overthecourseofyourcareer,willhelpyou
delegate more effectively (i.e., work easier), make more money,
and advance more rapidly. Now let’s read on so that you can learn
to develop your own style for giving performance appraisals and
leadingandmotivatingyourstaff.
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