Performance Appraisal: Meaningful Conversations

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Performance AppraisalMeaningful
Conversations
Listening, Learning, Improving
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Learning Objectives

• When you have completed this module you will be
  able to define the key concepts associated with
  Hood Colleges Meaningful Conversations
  performance appraisal process and you will be
  able to
• Understand the importance of continuous dialogue
  in employee and organizational success
• Identify the main obstacles to effective
  performance appraisal
• Understand the value of the performance appraisal
  process in employee development

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Learning Objectives

• Utilize tools to promote productivity and
  innovation
• Understand a range of techniques that can be
  applied in performance appraisal
• Use these techniques as we build an effective
  performance appraisal system
• Explain the benefits of having an effective
  performance appraisal system

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Strategies for our time together

• Learning is a process.
• There are different learning styles.
• Learning is improved when goal-directed.
• Active participation enhances the learning
  experience and retention of important concepts.
• Be open to learning.
• Develop an action plan.

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Meeting your needs

• What questions or concerns do you want to make
  sure that we cover today?
• What problems do you anticipate in implementing
  Meaningful Conversations?
• How shall we measure the process?
• What does success look like?

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Creating Meaningful Conversations
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Focus Employee Success
Meaningful Conversations are both the formal and
informal dialogues held throughout year.
Best Practices say Employees want and need
feedback
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What will Meaningful Conversations be like?

• For supervisors?
• For employees?
• For the College?

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Meaningful Conversations Process
Each stage is part of a continuous process which
takes place throughout the year as the supervisor
and the employee focus efforts on achieving goals
and developing the employee.
Dialogue is a requirement for each stage to be
successful and for the process to be meaningful.
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Why Have Performance Appraisals?

• Performance Appraisal offers several advantages
  at the level of the
• Individual
• Organization

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Why Have Performance Appraisals?

• Performance Appraisal offers several advantages
  at the level of the
• Individual
• Enhances sense of purpose and self worth
• Recognizes of past effort
• Uncovers developmental requirements
• Motivates for meeting new challenges
• Provides information that employees want to know
• Organization
• Links jobs to organizational mission
• Provides for staff development
• Targets achievement of key objectives
• Provides focus on important priorities and
  appropriate utilization of human resources

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Performance Appraisal

• The benefits to the individual and organization
  are good reasons for having an appraisal process
  in place
• To maximize the benefits - the organization must
  support the appraisal process through
• Appropriate resources to facilitate the process
• Design of a suitable process for the organization
  
• Training of management staff in the process
• Training of the personnel in the process

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What is a Meaningful Conversation?

• Is it just a performance appraisal?
• Connotates only once a year soliloquy

• How can it be meaningful?
• Becomes a formal and informal process for ongoing
  dialogue

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Both Aspects of Meaningful Conversations

• Informal
• Impromptu
• Personal attention
• Catching people doing things right
• Teachable moments

• Formal
• Prescheduled meetings
• Reports
• Results
• Annual appraisal

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Overview of the Meaningful Conversations
Appraisal Process
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Formal Appraisal Overview
Plan Work Identify Skills
Business Plan Job Description Performance Goals

Service Productivity Innovation
Observe Document Performance

Reward Review
PAST PRESENT FUTURE
Performance Appraisal Discussion
Performance Review
Development Review
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The Appraisal Process

• Components
• People
• Manager
• Employee
• Peers
• Information
• Facts
• Opinions
• Emotion
• Positive
• Negative

P r e p a r a t i o n
I n v o l v e m e n t
C o m m u n I c a t I o n
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Appraisal Procedure

• Agree on objectives
• Monitor performance
• Give sufficient notice
• Prepare necessary documentation
• Prepare location

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Appraisal Procedure

• Conduct appraisal dialogue
• Complete documentation of agreement
• Implement plans for employee development

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Benefits of Appraisals
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Overall Benefits of Appraisals

• Increased employee performance
• Greater control of work
• Improved motivation and commitment
• Increased information flow
• Better relationships within across the
  organization

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Benefits of Meaningful Conversations

• Designed by people that know Hood College
• Vision/Mission
• Culture
• Designed by both supervisors and employees to
  promote ongoing dialogue
• Designed with a focus on best practices

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Managers Role

• Model appropriate behavior
• Reinforce the process
• Set Objectives with Employees
• Manage process to ensure fair evaluation for a
  each member of department
• Offer Accurate, Timely, Regular Specific
  Feedback
• Other ideas?

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Advantages to Managers

• Through Performance Appraisal, Managers can
• Translate business goals into individual job
  objectives and standards
• Monitor performance and offer feedback
• Communicate and seek agreement on objectives
• Coach employees on how to achieve their
  performance objectives
• Identify employees strengths and areas for growth
• Generate and agree development plans to best
  serve the organizations and individual needs

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Employees Role

• Set Objectives with Manager
• Review current job responsibilities
• Improve Performance
• Suggest ways to improve departmental efficiency
• Be actively involved in their Development
• Be personal advocate

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Advantages to Employees

• Through Performance Appraisal, Employees can
• Openly discuss performance with managers
• Be provided with a development tool
• Reinforce and sustain performance
• Improve existing performance
• Determine career progression goals
• Identify training needs
• Be engaged in meaningful work
• Be empowered to take initiative

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Meaningful Conversations Promotes Empowerment

• Empowerment is the process of enabling or
  authorizing an individual to think, behave, take
  action, and control work and decision making in
  autonomous ways. It is the state of feeling
  self-empowered to take control of one's own
  destiny.
• http//humanresources.about.com/od/glossarye/a/emp
  owerment_def.htm

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And employee engagement

• Research says
• Senior mgmt has sincere interest in employees
  well-being
• Organization provides challenging work
• Opportunity for development
• Resources to do the job
• Opinions that matter
• Appropriate decision-making authority
• Safe work environment

• is a positive attitude held by the employee
  towards their job and the organization. The three
  components of an engagement are beliefs, emotions
  and behaviors. http//www.hrvalid.com/eei1.htm

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Why are empowerment and engagement important?

• Highly engaged employees are less likely to leave
• Individuals who are empowered and engaged are
  more
• satisfied, motivated, committed, productive,
  innovative, and service-oriented
• Have higher morale
• Less burnout
• And have more fun!!!

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Communication Skills
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Communication A Critical Tool

• Sender and Receiver
• Questioning and listening
• Clarifying and responding
• Understanding and summarizing

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The Formal Appraisal
Appraisal Areas
Preparation
Writing the Appraisal
Dos and Donts
Goals
Self Esteem
Structuring the Appraisal
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Appraisal Areas

• Performance (What)
• Job responsibilities/duties
• Accountabilities
• Business targets
• Key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Objectives
• Key result areas

• Skills Knowledge (How)
• Technical
• Managerial
• Interpersonal
• Professional
• Business
• Product

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Preparation

• Preparation includes
• Reflection - before completing document
• Information gathering from a variety of
  sources
• Collect all relevant information, not just what
  will confirm your own views!
• Documentation
• Make sure the participant and you have the
  appraisal documents completed correctly
• Organizing a venue
• Somewhere neutral and undisturbed
• Make sure the phones are off
• Put a Do not disturb sign on the door
• Scheduling a time
• Plan it into your diary and block it from
  interruption

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Writing the Performance Appraisal

• Review your employees performance over the last
  year your file of past performance discussions
• Identify in particular areas for accomplishment
  and also areas for improvement
• Ensure completeness
• Make sure the documents are clearly written and
  used in a way to encourage the supervisors
  feedback

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Writing the Performance Appraisal

• Be Specific
• Outline Major Accomplishments of the Past Year
• Illustrate how you supported the overall success
  of the College
• Select areas for improvement and show how they
  impacted on this years performance
• Give Examples
• Quantify

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Writing the Performance Appraisal

• Note Key Strengths
• Key Areas where the you excels
• Describe your areas of strength
• Note Areas of Development
• Areas of Growth Improvement
• Skills/Competencies to be developed
• Summarize Overall Performance Effectiveness
• Describe your overall effectiveness in terms of
  team and organization

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Appraisal Fundamentals

• Focus on Your Behavior
• Be Specific about your performance
• Be Sincere in Seeking Feedback
• Be Honest in Sharing Feedback
• Share Your Ideas for improving
• Check For Understanding

• Fail to Reflect on Your Performance
• Fail to Prepare
• Blame or Attack
• Offer Feedback on co-workers
• Become Emotional or Reactive

• Dos

• Donts

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Appraiser Activities

• Mentoring/Coaching
• Information Provider
• Encouraging
• Advising
• Clarifying problems
• Questioning
• Seeking Agreement
• Summarizing

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Appraisee Activities

• Completing self-assessment
• Reporting progress
• Reflecting on strengths and areas for development
• Clarifying problems
• Questioning
• Seeking Understanding
• Preparing for next years goals

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Goal Setting

• When setting performance or development
  objectives apply the SMART criteria
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time Bound
• Objectives set in this manner have an improved
  chance of being realized

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Structuring the Appraisal

• The Appraisal has 3 distinct phases

Beginning Phase
Middle Phase
End Phase
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Structuring the Appraisal

• The Beginning Phase
• 3 Parts
• The Rapport Building
• Short and personalized to create connection
• The Review of the Purpose
• Ensure that both you and the supervisor are in
  agreement. Both parties can take notes to review
  later.
• The Building of the Agenda
• This is a shared process so as to develop
  ownership with the employee It also recognizes
  your right to be consulted

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Structuring the Appraisal

• The Middle Phase
• Use the agenda which has been jointly developed
  to guide the process
• Stay focused on the point
• Finish each point on the agenda and agree actions
  that have been decided during the discussion

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Structuring the Appraisal

• The End Phase
• Signal that the process is ending
• Check if there are any additional matters that
  the supervisor or the employee wants to raise
• Summarize the action points that have been
  decided upon
• It can be useful to you to do the summary
• Check for understanding and acceptance
• Conclude the meeting
• Try to end on a high note and prepare for the
  next year

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The Appraisal Discussion
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The Appraisal Discussion
Discussion
Framing
Disagreement
Criticism
Feedback
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The Performance Appraisal Discussion

• Actively Share Your Thoughts
• Actively Listen
• Dont interrupt
• Do Clarify
• Do Paraphrase
• Do Problem Solve

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Receiving and Giving Criticism

• The appraisal process may offer your manager a
  chance to criticize you and for you to provide
  constructive feedback to your manager.
• Listen to the critic, then repeat back the
  criticism
• Ask the critic to specify the problem
• Search for a solution to the problem

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Problems with Appraisals
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Appraisal Problems

• Appraisal problems can arise due to

People
Process
Preparation
What problems are you expecting?
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People Problems

• The performance appraisal can run into problems
  that are centered on people due to
• Lack of trust in the appraisal process
• The appraisal process is seen as generating
  negative experiences based on past activity
• Focus on personality rather than performance
• Poorly trained people conducting the appraisals
• What can you do to make this a positive
  experience for you and your supervisor?

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Process Problems

• Process problems can arise due to
• Poor process design
• Complex process
• Poor fit with the capabilities of the
  organization
• Lack of training
• Little or no co-ordination of the activities
• Little or no real support for the process from
  the senior management level
• No credibility

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Preparation Problems

• These can arise due to
• Lack of time allotted to carry out the process in
  a professional and complete manner
• Lack of a support structure
• Unclear objectives
• No value assigned to the process therefore it has
  no priority in terms of preparing
• Poor training in the process
• How will you ensure that you are prepared for
  Meaningful Conversations?

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Common Appraisal Problems

• Time consuming
• Can de-motivate
• Retrospective
• Can cause frustration and confusion
• Stresses disagreement
• Inaccurate results
• Unclear goals
• Unrealistic goals
• No attention paid to goals
• Fear
• Criticism is avoided
• No link to overall strategy for the organization

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Problems with Appraisals

• Poor communication
• Bad or no preparation
• Interruptions
• Postponement of the appraisal interview
• Lack of trust
• Linked to pay

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Preparing your Action Plan

• Scheduling frequent formal discussions
• How
• When
• What
• Capitalizing on informal discussions
• Demonstrate your ongoing interest in the employee
  and his/her work
• Capture the information for future review

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Meaningful Conversations Forms

• Supervisor Form

Employee Form

• Mostly narrative Adult to Adult interaction
• Progress, Accomplishments, Strengths, Innovation
• Development, Mentoring
• Future planning
• Goals
• Changes
• Rating person on the same factors as the
  supervisor

• Rating of competencies and Professional
  Characteristics
• Conversation Points
• Accomplishments and Commendations
• Recommendations

How does the structure of these forms help to
facilitate Meaningful Conversations?
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Summary

• Preparation is vital
• Meaningful Conversations is a two way process
• Communication skills are vital
• Clear and positive language is required
• Objective setting should be smart
• Know the pitfalls and observe them
• Your participation is important to the success of
  this process
• Feedback will be used to continuously improve the
  process
• Mutual agreement and alignment of goals is
  critical.

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Feedback

• Additional concerns
• Questions
• Other information