“I’ve done it David!” my client, the CEO of a mid-sized professional service provider, told me, the relief in his voice apparent.
“What?” I asked.
“I’ve canned our performance management process!” he replied.
“Fantastic!” I couldn’t help expressing. “I’ll bet you had no push back on that” I tested.
“Well actually I did, but not for long” said the CEO.
“Who from?” I asked, guessing the answer.
“HR” he said “But when I explained that we’ll be replacing it with your Performance Mastery process and we still need to support and measure performance improvement, they got the picture.”
Performance management has deteriorated over time, caused by the cancer of bureaucracy and lack of effective conversational ability by its administrators.
It has become, at worst, the dreaded tool of career end and eventual removal; at best a period of great stress and worry for both the person being reviewed and the supervisor.
I will never forget the time I asked a champion of performance management, the highly regarded HR manager of an engineering company, how she felt about her upcoming performance review by the managing director. “I’m totally scared” she answered honestly.
Most performance reviews are either semi or annual events, and some are even quarterly.
None of those are effective as it takes 66 days to learn a new habit, good or bad.
Some performance management devotees argue that run properly, performance management delivers results.
I ask “show me the evidence!”
I’m just shown documents and completed forms. In the same outfits I also see high turnover rates and the retention of toxic behaviours. I see no improvement in engagement and productivity.
Relief is at Hand
There’s no doubt that performance is a crucial requirement for productivity and the holy grail of sustainable growth and profitability.
That is achieved is by line leaders being effectively engaged with their people, and those people being competent and resourced to deliver.
There’s a way to make it simple and effective.
Can You Imagine This?
Every leader from the board down, asks the following questions of their direct reports on a regular basis (work out what frequency is best – you’ll know. It will vary from person to person.)
The 7 Frequent Questions
- How are you going? - Aimed as a general and opening question to rapidly establish rapport.
- What have you achieved since we last met? - To see what has occurred as planned.
- What will you achieve between now and the next time we meet? - To establish the immediate plan.
- What technical or operational issues do you face and what’s your suggested solution?
- What people issues do you face (including if any with me) and what’s your suggested solution?
- What resources do you need for your next steps that you haven’t got?
- What can I personally do for you? - To demonstrate and deliver care and to conclude the session.
The employee knows this will happen regularly and is prepared with answers and evidence.
The leader will make notes and share them with the employee.
The leader coaches and supports the employee on the job to achieve desired performance.
If that were to happen, how would their relationship be?
Would the leader be clear about the state of play?
Would the employee be getting the attention and recognition desired by most people?
What impact could that have on productivity and the holy grail of growth and profitability?
Agreement not Expectation
There is no inadequately expressed expectation or assumptions held by either supervisor or team member.
Instead there’s a personal written agreement based on shared values and an effective professional relationship and containing absolute clarity about:
- Code of behaviour
- Job description
- Key performance indicators
- Goals
- Resources
- Desired outcomes
- Accountabilities and consequences – from acknowledgement, recognition and reward to correction intervention and even dismissal.
- Development and progress opportunities
- Remuneration
A Monthly Occurrence
Every month the leader has a more exploratory meeting with the team member to look at how the employee’s progress plan is going and to help tweak it or stay the course.
At those meetings both supervisor and employee identify the evidence that suggests what needs to occur, if anything.
A record of the meeting is made with a copy to the employee.
There will be some leaders and supervisors who will read the above monthly occurrence and think “I haven’t got time for that!”
To them I offer this advice – “Hand in your badge – you aren’t the right person to lead these people”.
An Insight About the Difference Between Performance Management and Performance Mastery
Performance management has become a one size fits all process, designed by bureaucrats who haven’t the first clue about inspiring, supporting and engaging with people in the real world.
Performance Mastery recognises the individual, gives them the attention they deserve and keeps it human with equal obligations between supervisor and employee.
It means that leaders must lead not just manage.
It means they must engage with their people face to face, not by email or through HR.
It means HR better get their act together, realise their true role or/and get out of the way.
What do you think?
PS: For those who wish a more detailed look at Performance Mastery – here’s a link to my complimentary guide.
