Start thinking about performance reviews

This article first appeared May 19, 2011.

Performance review season is almost upon us. It is a time that often makes employees and employers groan at the very idea of going through what can become a process that is only done so someone somewhere can tick a box.

I too once shared these feelings. Here at Taskmaster Enterprises, we are all about continuous performance management, although it’s usually not called that.

Just meeting with staff members every week (or two weeks or monthly) to discuss work matters can help managers spot problems as they occur and manage performance matters in something like “real time”.

Because let’s face it, discussing performance once a year is a short road to disaster.

However, the annual performance review does have its benefits. Instead of thinking it as a chore, think of it as the time to have a big-picture chat about an employee’s career. Some things to consider include:

• Goal setting for the next 12 months and beyond.
• Career progression and opportunity.
• Building skills.
• Areas of improvement.
• Education and training requirements.
• Succession issues.

Basically, talk about all those things that you can’t talk about when you are discussing day-to-day performance and you’ll find this to be very worthwhile.

Get it done – today!