Leadership Coach: Performance Reviews in the Workplace

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Are you up for a performance review at work? Not quite sure what to expect or how to prepare?

Then you didn't want to miss Tuesday's Great Day when KMPH Community Correspondent and Leadership Coach for the Minerva Group, Louise Bauer Davoli was live on the show to talk about the importance of job reviews.

She discussed just what a job review is, and how often you should receive them? Davoli also spoke about how you can prepare for a performance review and when to tell when it's time to ask for a raise.

Performance Reviews in the Workplace

No company can grow and thrive without a group of productive employees supporting the efforts and objectives of the business. And an essential ingredient for a productive workforce is a sense of appreciation and a feeling that the staff is progressing steadily in their jobs and careers. One effective approach to delivering a high level of job satisfaction is through regularly scheduled and implemented performance reviews. Employees want regular feedback about their work and they want to know what areas of their performance they can enhance. Ideally the performance review process occurs at least yearly and provides an opportunity for managers and employees to communicate, share thoughts, perspectives, and information.

A successful performance review leaves the employee feeling motivated and excited about their job. If the employee's bottom lines about job satisfaction are unmet, it's less likely they will be motivated to pay attention to the goals for the company. On the other hand, if an employee feels acknowledged, appreciated, and fairly rewarded for past efforts, they will certainly turn out to be a valuable asset willing to go the distance by contributing to the success of the company.

Preparing for Your Review

What's the Process
Prepare
Poor Review
Take Away Message

Before you meet with your reviewer, take the time to list your main job responsibilities. Also identify which responsibilities you perceive are most important and why you consider those activities valuable to the business. You may also want to discuss any special circumstances that have helped or hindered you in doing your job this year? How did they affect your work, what were the circumstances, and how did you address the issues?

FOR MANAGERS

If your past experience with staff evaluations has been a less then pleasing event with many of your employees wound tight anticipating a "surprise" and no idea what to expect it is time to change. Developing a method that enhances the connection between manager and employee has the potential to create powerful results that empower the employee. By proactively contributing to the process, employees feel more in-control, and are motivated to perform better and achieve more.

Eliminating the Drama

Communication
Schedule Consistently, Give Examples,
Reflect, Improve and Focus on the Future

Performance reviews ought to be a encouraging experience and something that employees look forward to. Constructing an atmosphere filled with potential during the review process helps to ease the workers nerves. After the evaluation, they often can walk away from the experience with an energized attitude towards their work and be well motivated for the year ahead.