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Problems with Performance Appraisals

One of the most dreaded activities for managers and employees in most organizations is being involved in a performance appraisal, and for good reason. The vast majority of performance appraisals are poorly planned and even more poorly executed. The result is usually a stressful interaction that accomplishes very little in terms of giving employees meaningful feedback that they can use to improve their performance.
If managers have done a good, consistent job of setting clear performance expectations, and mentoring and coaching their people on an ongoing basis, performance appraisals should not come as a surprise to the people being evaluated. Far too often managers remain distant from their people and rarely have any kind of reasonable interaction with them. They often use the annual performance appraisal as a substitute for effective management.
Managers who distance themselves from their employees tend to avoid performance appraisals as long as possible. They see the performance appraisal as something of little value that is forced on them by company policy, and so they try to do them as quickly as possible. This does the employee, the manager and the organization a disservice.
The following lists some of the typical mistakes that managers make when conducting a performance appraisal.
• Halo Effect – Some managers have a tendency to let one positive trait dominate the appraisal. The result is an out-of-balance review that provides very little meaningful feedback to an employee and can often leave them wondering how they’re really doing since there was little substance to the appraisal.
• Horns Effect – This is the opposite of the Halo Effect and happens when a manager becomes fixated on one negative trait that an employee has and it ends up dominating the appraisal. The review is also out of balance and is negatively focused. When this happens, employees leave the review dejected, beat up and feeling unappreciated. What makes matters worse is that they typically do not even receive any constructive suggestions about how to improve.
• Distant Relative – Many managers do not put forth the effort to really know their employees and the quality of the work they do. Under this scenario the appraisals tend to be poorly documented, skim surface areas and provide vague feedback at best. The end result is a performance appraisal and a manager that lack any credibility.
• Island Event – Some managers allow one recent event, either positive or negative, to distort a performance review. This usually happens when a manager has not had ongoing interaction with an employee and has done a poor job keeping performance notes in the employee’s file throughout the year.
• Hot Air Balloon – This is an inflated or lenient appraisal created because a manager finds it difficult to be honest and forthright with an employee. These kinds of appraisals are very dangerous since they make future discipline and/or dismissal difficult and could expose the organization to legal action through a wrongful dismissal suit.
• Diamond in the Rough – Some managers focus on the potential of an employee rather than on the current level of performance. This often results in an inflated and inaccurate appraisal. When giving an appraisal it is critical to stay focused on the employee’s performance during the appraisal period.
• Hammer – Quite often managers will inappropriately use a performance appraisal as a disciplinary tool. If an employee needs to be disciplined it should be done separately and documented separately from a performance review. It should never be the basis of a performance review.
• Seat of the Pants – Unfortunately some managers are simply lazy and do not put out the effort needed to do an effective performance review and end up with a "seat of the pants" disaster. The message that this kind of review sends to an employee is that they are not valued, and that the manager really doesn’t care about them.
• Milk Toast – Many managers are uncomfortable with conflict and avoid the tough issues in an appraisal. This can put the company at serious legal risk if issues are not properly raised and documented, especially in cases where dismissal later occurs. The other thing that typically happens with a "milk toast" review is inadvertently teaching an employee that his substandard performance will be tolerated. This usually serves to elicit even more of the unwanted behavior. After a "milk toast" appraisal, very weak managers can find themselves manipulated by their people. If this behavioral spiral continues, the future of the "milk toast" manager is usually called into question and dismissal or demotion often follow.
Next issue: More performance appraisal mistakes and keys to success.

Thomas Stirr is a trucking industry veteran, having spent 14 years in corporate management positions with Canadian Kenworth and Freightliner of Canada. He is the president of Thomas-Ritt Associates Limited, and an accomplished business coach, trainer and facilitator. Additional information can be found on his Web site www.tomstirr.com. You can reach him at 905-309-5431 or via e-mail at tom@tomstirr.com. Copyright 2007, Thomas Stirr and Thomas-Ritt Associates Limited. All rights reserved.

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