Mid-year performance reviews - getting the mojo back
Here we are, at the end of April and fast heading into May…..
…and then into June with the push to the end of financial year, with specific requirements relating to budgets, forecasting for next year and beyond and then there are the performance reviews with direct reports.
Where do you begin?
How do you ensure these reviews are worthwhile? ….and better than that, how can you add value?
And might you have even considered this?
“Won’t 2020’s review, which seemed like yesterday, suffice for this year too?”
When I was a first line leader working at a global pharmaceutical company and facing the task of mid-year reviews for 10 of my salespeople, I would often start the journey with tougher conversations, figuring I had more energy at the beginning of the fortnight long process and edge steadily to the conversations that were more inspiring when I was almost out of puff.
The question is why they were tough?
And why do they remain one of the more tedious, mandatory tasks that people leaders must undertake each year?
What have I learnt over time about these conversations?
Since that time and for almost a decade now, I have been actively consulting in the leadership zone and been part of countless conversations about the hits and misses of performance based reviews.
One thing is certain, none of this is rocket science, however, in the busyness of work and spinning plates, there are some key elements that can be easily overlooked when planning mid-year reviews, and, so, it is these that I am keen to share over coming weeks, hopeful that one or two may have a positive impact and make a difference to you and your people.
In the meantime, I invite you to stand in the shoes of one or two of your people and ask yourself a few of these questions to provide some reflection and perhaps even some useful insights.
What would they be saying about the quality and value of the mid-year performance based discussions?
If you are unsure, or wish to validate your thoughts, now is the time to check in, over coffee, or a walk and talk meeting during May. This will allow space and planning time before the review.
A few questions to ponder:
What is on the minds of your people in relation to the mid-year review?
What type of words would they chose to describe the review?
What would they score it out of 10 from a worthwhile perspective?
What would they like to discuss during their time with you?
Do they have a template or a guide on topics for discussion?
Do they expect you to do most of the talking about their performance to date because this is what happened in their last job? And therefore, come unprepared? Without notes and examples of performance based activities/results?
What else are might be important?
I look forward to posting a few tips and tricks to make these conversations a lot less about ‘ticking the box’ and a whole lot more transformational over the coming weeks in the lead up to June.
It is an exciting prospect to turn a mediocre task into something far more interesting and empowering and just imagine what it could do for overall performance in your team and organisation.