Symptoms:
The now ex-employee had that look that Sarah had seen too often before. Sarah had just done one of the hardest things a manager or business owner has to do when she relieved Mike from his job. What made Sarah truly uncomfortable was the look that told her that Mike was totally surprised that he had gotten the axe. As far as Mike knew, his performance was on par with what was expected of him, and besides, the evaluation he had received ten months ago had only made a passing mention about his occasional late arrival at his desk.
Diagnosis:
Sarah's situation is common in the workplace. Employees are typically evaluated annually, if at all, and are often given vague or sketchy information on how they are really performing. Management hands them a report card once a year with an implied stroke that either leaves the employee wondering why they didn't get that raise, or worse, delivers nothing more than the fact that there is nothing worth talking about or working on. How was Mike to know he was being measured against a performance scale that might lead to his dismissal if he didn't make the grade? When employees with good skills and questionable attitudes go south, the manager has to wonder if the fault was in not conveying the proper message, in the proper time frame, with a set of self correction tools. Most people generally want to be positive performers, so management must development their own skills for mentoring, and be ready to implement tools to help them be everything they can be.
Prescription:
Regular and consistent Personal Evaluation Interviews are necessary to stop the surprises. When an employee gets a regular paycheck, it's easy for them to believe they are doing what management wants them to do. By implementing an objective and collaborative communication structure that requires managers to hold employees accountable for improvement, it creates an environment where everyone is forced to take ownership for the level of performance.
The Sarahs and Mikes of the world can avoid those surprising outcomes everyone dreads with open, honest and frequent conversations about the many ways to embrace self improvement. Trusting employees to remember everything they were told in the annual review cheats them of the opportunity to take ownership of the condition, and often allows the manager to relinquish the responsibility of improving the team's performance. And if employees feel they are living in a world of unknowns, then it is also as much their responsibility to hold their managers accountable for providing the course corrections needed for superior performance.
To discuss or make comments on this issue, please go to AIM/R's LinkedIn page or Facebook page.
