For over 56 million kids in America, it’s that time of year – back to school. It’s also a time filled with many emotions – excitement, anxiety, and even a little sadness.

Our school days are also a great laboratory to go back and ‘unwrap’ some foundational principles about performance management in the workplace. These principles are not complicated. But, they do take practice, discipline, and reinforcement to consistently do.

Consider in school:

• Performance management starts the first day. Easing into it later only creates confusion, frustration, and stress.     
• Classroom expectations are consistent with school expectations.
• Two assumptions are avoided - ‘kids are smart, they should already know the rules’ and ‘kids resent the time spent on reinforcing the rules’.  Kids like predictability (adults do too).
• Two sets of expectations are set – performance and behavior. 
• Performance and behavior expectations must be communicated clearly. A teacher who says, ‘speak quietly’ is more likely to get the desired result than saying ‘act appropriately’. 
• Everyone wants to know ‘how they will be graded’. This includes progress reports and final grades.
• Giving feedback is continuous. Creating new habits takes lots of reinforcement. Thank goodness for all those smiles, words of encouragement, little notes, smiley faces, and stickers.
• Measurement of performance must be meaningful, specific, and enforceable. For example, is it more important that black ink is used or that the hand writing is legible?     
• There are natural consequences for a student’s performance and behavior – both positive and negative. 
• Expectations can change depending on the teacher’s style. One teacher might be more project-based and another more focused on memorizing facts. So, it is critical students know the style.

Let’s take a quick quiz (assessment) from lessons learned going ‘back to school’.  Rate each either 1 (consistently done) or 2 (inconsistently done). 

In our organization, most leaders:

1. Start performance management in a timely manner by setting clear expectations of goals, objectives, and behaviors at the start of an employee’s performance cycle – not weeks or months later.
2. Follow the organization’s standards for key performance process steps (frequency, timeliness, quality of).
3. Avoid making assumptions that employees are ‘smart and already know that stuff’ about performance management – without thoroughly checking.
4. Discuss and document both what needs to be achieved (goals & objectives) and how it should be achieved (processes & values-based behaviors).
5. Seek clear, concise employee understanding of what they should continue doing, start doing, or stop doing.
6. Tell employees upfront ‘how performance will be graded’ and keep those rules throughout the performance year.
7. Give continuous feedback through timely, dedicated reinforcement and coaching.
8. Measure success with factors that are meaningful, specific, and enforceable. 
9. Allow the natural consequences of employees’ performance and behaviors to play out.
10. Provide clarity as to what style of documentation and measurement they prefer when the performance cycle begins.

Performance management is so much more than an end of year appraisal. It’s a critical job responsibility of each leader to help plan, develop, monitor, grade, and reward employees for their contributions – not their activities.

It has been said, ‘No one rises to low expectations.’ When we tolerate taking short-cuts, skipping steps, and allowing countless exceptions to the rules in performance management, we lower the bar on potential higher performance. How ironic! Maybe it’s time we go ‘back to school’ and stop making things so complicated.    

The expression “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater” was first recorded in Germany in the early 1500’s. Its’ meaning is very relevant today with all the discussions of abandoning annual performance reviews and performance management processes. In our haste to discard something unpleasant or undesired (criticism, giving & accepting feedback, documentation, more meetings), we throw away something worth keeping (shared goals, direction, and accountability).     

Many organizations struggle with performance management. In fact, research by Deloitte indicates “only 8% of the companies in their survey report that their performance management process drives high levels of value, while 58% say it is not an effective use of time.”  

But let’s be serious, organizations need performance management (goal setting, coaching, development, reinforcement, feedback, appraisals, and an overall consistent process).  Organizations need to find ways to:

• Compare and adjust actions and behaviors against a common desired state.
• Differentiate individual contributions to organization’s goals and objectives.
• Qualify and quantify selection and de-selection decisions.
• Differentiate performance when applying a merit pay system .

The problem is that many organizations spend most of their time debating and redesigning processes (length, frequency, roles, rating scales, descriptors, ‘what achieved/how achieved’ formulas, etc.) but little to no time on clarity of expectations, accountability, and basic values-based behaviors. Many organizations tolerate taking short-cuts, skipping steps, and allowing countless exceptions to the rules in performance management. All of these are cultural issues (accepted and/or perceived way we do things) and they create real business risk for the organization.  

Here’s a real life example. Don is a dedicated, hardworking, results oriented employee. He consistently puts in extra time and effort. This year among other things, he completed a complex, project that reduced the company’s risk and saved millions of dollars. He documented his performance for his boss’ review. Following their conversation, Don was dejected, felt unappreciated, demotivated, and disengaged. What just happened? Here’s a simple recap:

• Supervisor was unprepared. He admitted he hadn’t taken the time to read through all of Don’s documentation.
• Supervisor quickly concluded that Don was “just doing his job – what was expected.”

The transaction (performance review meeting and documentation) may have been completed but where was the:

• Clarity of what ‘did not meet,’ ‘met’ and ‘exceeded’ expectations looked like for Don’s specific goals?
• Accountability to dialog throughout the year on how Don was doing?
• Values-based behaviors of integrity and respect to provide candid, timely feedback and coach where necessary?
• Quality checks to make sure process milestones were not skipped, short-cut, or eliminated?

The four questions above are all cultural issues. They are behaviors that have gone unchecked and/or tolerated. And, they send a very loud and dangerous message – improving performance, developing talent, measuring improvement, and recognizing & rewarding achievements is not important. Since when?    

Please don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater by accepting mediocrity in performance management.  It’s so much more than an annual appraisal. Don’t settle for wimpy excuses. Work to streamline and enhance processes, but don’t forget culture change and results are absolutely critical too.

If this grabs your attention, then stay tuned for a new Positive Direction in performance management.

The holiday frenzy has begun. So many people are trying so hard - to do so much.  They are shopping, wrapping, cooking, cleaning, helping the less fortunate, connecting with others, and trying to celebrate. One constant I hear and see from many is a feeling of both hope and doubt.

Have you heard any of these lately?

• “I hope I can make the event - but I doubt it. There is so much to do.”
  
• “I hope they like their gift - but I doubt it. They always find fault.”
• “I hope I see them this holiday - but I doubt it. We have lost touch.”

HOPE instills confidence in the future.  It changes our attitude and outlook.  HOPE energizes and strengthens us to ‘push through’ challenges as well as handle disappointments.  Doubt on the other hand can create uncertainty, confusion, and a feeling of defeat or why bother.   

I hope you will consider this simple “HOPE Assessment.”   In your organization, are most employees more hopeful or doubtful things will happen this coming year?  Answer each question below with one of these two simple, but powerful responses.

As 2016 approaches, in our organization, most employees are ‘Hopeful’ or ‘Doubtful’ that:

1. Their individual future with the company is bright?
   
2. The company’s values will direct daily behaviors?
3. Blame and shame will not be used to drive accountability?
   
4. If tough choices must be made, then ALL will make some type of sacrifice?
5. They will work in a ‘safe’ place – that protects both their physical and emotional health?
6. Communication will be more two-way than one-way?
7. The company will invest in their personal growth and development?
8. Their hard work and effort will be recognized?
9. There will be equity in how rewards are shared?
10. Differences of opinion will be effectively handled?
11. Decision-making will be shared with them?
12. Their thoughts and ideas will be actively asked for and used?
13. Actions will reinforce a genuine interest in them as individuals?

Based on your assessment, how confident are you that most employees will give their full commitment, effort, and loyalty to the company’s success?  Are you more hopeful or doubtful?

How employees feel impacts how they act.  How they act impacts perceptions and results. If organizations truly want employees heads (creative ideas), hearts (commitment), hands (physical work), and habits (consistent behaviors) then providing HOPE is a critical ingredient year round.  Without HOPE, the possible looks impossible and we forget ‘why’ we do things.  Sometimes accepting simplicity is hard!