Writing a Performance Review for a Stellar Employee
December 14, 2023 6:00 AM Subscribe
How do I write a mandatory performance review for an employee who by all of our metrics is excelling and doesn't need to improve in any areas?
I supervise a group of people who I honestly could not be happier with. Our organization requires we do these evals twice a year and then every employee has to set goals for growth based on these evaluations. My team has said things to me like "Do we really need to keep doing these when I'm scoring at the top of every category every year?" I've had no turnover on my team in the last 4 years. I've tried in the past to focus on upcoming projects and focus the evals on how we as a team can make those happen efficiently and with excellence, but even this feels disingenuous because we have these kinds of conversations constantly through the year regardless of the eval meetings. It just seems like a silly exercise in corporate politics for my team, and I understand these can be valuable for people who need support and clear indications of weak areas in their work. That is just not my team though. I don't want to waste anyone's time, but I have to have these meetings and the paperwork turned in.
How can I frame these conversations and make them more meaningful for folks? Last year I tried the "what do you want the next 6 months to look like" approach with them, and it was a marginally better conversation (but again, not needed as we are tight and always communicating clearly about everything we do). I try to have a sense of humor about it as we all understand "yes, we really are doing this again." I don't want them to feel like this isn't important, but at the same time, it's just not important.
I supervise a group of people who I honestly could not be happier with. Our organization requires we do these evals twice a year and then every employee has to set goals for growth based on these evaluations. My team has said things to me like "Do we really need to keep doing these when I'm scoring at the top of every category every year?" I've had no turnover on my team in the last 4 years. I've tried in the past to focus on upcoming projects and focus the evals on how we as a team can make those happen efficiently and with excellence, but even this feels disingenuous because we have these kinds of conversations constantly through the year regardless of the eval meetings. It just seems like a silly exercise in corporate politics for my team, and I understand these can be valuable for people who need support and clear indications of weak areas in their work. That is just not my team though. I don't want to waste anyone's time, but I have to have these meetings and the paperwork turned in.
How can I frame these conversations and make them more meaningful for folks? Last year I tried the "what do you want the next 6 months to look like" approach with them, and it was a marginally better conversation (but again, not needed as we are tight and always communicating clearly about everything we do). I try to have a sense of humor about it as we all understand "yes, we really are doing this again." I don't want them to feel like this isn't important, but at the same time, it's just not important.
If professional development is not part of these conversations, then it should be. Beyond strictly what it takes to execute on their current job, how are they interested in learning and growing?
posted by AndrewInDC at 6:16 AM on December 14, 2023 [21 favorites]
posted by AndrewInDC at 6:16 AM on December 14, 2023 [21 favorites]
The usual thing to happen for an employe who excels at every aspect of their job 10/10 no notes is for them to take on a role with more responsibility, or at the very least to start training for such a role. May I suggest your interviews with your team focus on their career paths or interests in further education / certification / broadening their skillsets. The performance review can discuss these options and your role in helping them become better at the jobs they may have in the future.
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:18 AM on December 14, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 6:18 AM on December 14, 2023 [10 favorites]
My favorite managers say "let's do this over coffee" and then basically say "it's so annoying that HR makes us do this. Obviously I'm happy with your performance, or I'd tell you. I'm going to submit for you the maximum possible raise I can. Do you have any feedback for me / my management style?"
Keep it like 10 minutes, and don't schedule it very far ahead of time so employees don't spend time preparing. Do it as early as possible in the cycle so people don't get worried about it coming up.
posted by bbqturtle at 6:24 AM on December 14, 2023 [17 favorites]
Keep it like 10 minutes, and don't schedule it very far ahead of time so employees don't spend time preparing. Do it as early as possible in the cycle so people don't get worried about it coming up.
posted by bbqturtle at 6:24 AM on December 14, 2023 [17 favorites]
Don''t do what happened to me one time. The manager sat down with me and said I was doing a great job in all areas, but HR made him put in something that needed to improve and that was why there was one negative comment in the review. That one thing stuck in my craw for years.
posted by eleslie at 6:29 AM on December 14, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by eleslie at 6:29 AM on December 14, 2023 [12 favorites]
My manager is pretty frank with me that the goal-setting stuff is more or less a box-checking exercise and she is perfectly happy for me to frame as "goals" something I would be doing anyway, to give me a good score on it, and to get on with both our lives without either of us spending a lot of time and effort on goals. So my goals basically look like "attend at least X hours of training" (which I would be doing anyway), "complete Y project successfully" (which I would be doing anyway), and then if there's something *I* want to frame as a goal so that e.g. she can use that to help get more resources or different opportunities for me, I tell her "hey, I'd like to learn Z, can we make that a goal so you'll have leverage to get some special funding for me to do it?" and then we make that a goal too.
The rest of our conversation basically looks like her saying "You're continuing to do excellent work, I have no concerns or issues to raise with you, but this is your time too, so is there anything you need me to do differently/better to make your job easier?" It's a five minute conversation and then we talk about our pets for another five minutes and then we're done.
It does probably help that where I work, raises really are tied very specifically to these scores and evals, so even though it's a silly and somewhat superfluous process, it doesn't feel like a waste of time because I know it's the first step in me getting more money a few months later. I am happy to spend five minutes hearing how great I am, for that purpose!
posted by Stacey at 6:32 AM on December 14, 2023 [7 favorites]
The rest of our conversation basically looks like her saying "You're continuing to do excellent work, I have no concerns or issues to raise with you, but this is your time too, so is there anything you need me to do differently/better to make your job easier?" It's a five minute conversation and then we talk about our pets for another five minutes and then we're done.
It does probably help that where I work, raises really are tied very specifically to these scores and evals, so even though it's a silly and somewhat superfluous process, it doesn't feel like a waste of time because I know it's the first step in me getting more money a few months later. I am happy to spend five minutes hearing how great I am, for that purpose!
posted by Stacey at 6:32 AM on December 14, 2023 [7 favorites]
It just seems like a silly exercise in corporate politics for my team...
This is correct! For high-performers, it's not necessary -- but it's a perfect opportunity to restate how awesome they are and let them take a victory lap. If HR or a higher-up ever looks at the evaluation form, there should always be evidence of excellence waiting for them.
My direct reports are all skilled, dedicated, conscientious, curious, and self-motivated: working with them is a literal pleasure. I give them all top marks every year, and stuff the form with compliments. None of them have interest (or, let's face it, much opportunity) to move laterally or upwards in our organization, and I am delighted to do whatever I can to keep them happy.
tldr: Evaluations are a tool for collecting evidence of who is difficult; if your staff are great, then evaluations aren't serving that purpose. Feel free to hijack them and turn the tool into a Praise Party for your superior colleagues. "Wa-HOO, you rule!"
posted by wenestvedt at 6:36 AM on December 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
This is correct! For high-performers, it's not necessary -- but it's a perfect opportunity to restate how awesome they are and let them take a victory lap. If HR or a higher-up ever looks at the evaluation form, there should always be evidence of excellence waiting for them.
My direct reports are all skilled, dedicated, conscientious, curious, and self-motivated: working with them is a literal pleasure. I give them all top marks every year, and stuff the form with compliments. None of them have interest (or, let's face it, much opportunity) to move laterally or upwards in our organization, and I am delighted to do whatever I can to keep them happy.
tldr: Evaluations are a tool for collecting evidence of who is difficult; if your staff are great, then evaluations aren't serving that purpose. Feel free to hijack them and turn the tool into a Praise Party for your superior colleagues. "Wa-HOO, you rule!"
posted by wenestvedt at 6:36 AM on December 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
You can say 'hey, this is a thing we have to do, but you're doing great, so no need to stress about it' when you schedule the meeting.
Then take a few minutes to say nice things about them, ask them if there's anything about the work environment they would like to improve and then discuss if there's anything training or support-wise they could do to advance into a higher role. Because if our team is knocking it out of the park every year job-wise, at least one of them probably wants your job.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:48 AM on December 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
Then take a few minutes to say nice things about them, ask them if there's anything about the work environment they would like to improve and then discuss if there's anything training or support-wise they could do to advance into a higher role. Because if our team is knocking it out of the park every year job-wise, at least one of them probably wants your job.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:48 AM on December 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
I say things like "I look forward to what X can achieve with continued high performance next year" or similar. In conversation we talk about career goals, the need to continuously develop, what I can do to stop them being bored etc
posted by plonkee at 6:48 AM on December 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by plonkee at 6:48 AM on December 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
What can the employee do to follow their best path in the company? Can they be on a committee, get further education, certification, crosstrain, go to conferences? This is good for the company, which needs great candidates for future positions, good for the employee's growth. The employee should fill out the same questionnaire and bring it to the meeting. This is their chance to share concerns, say what they think they accomplished.
Document training, achievements, etc.; this is an excellent place to keep track and the employee may appreciate when they apply for a new job some time.
Take the opportunity to be effusive, it can be an uncomfortable thing, but they deserve it. question I asked previously.
posted by theora55 at 7:07 AM on December 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Document training, achievements, etc.; this is an excellent place to keep track and the employee may appreciate when they apply for a new job some time.
Take the opportunity to be effusive, it can be an uncomfortable thing, but they deserve it. question I asked previously.
posted by theora55 at 7:07 AM on December 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Tell them when you schedule it that because they're doing awesome, the purpose of the meeting other than paperwork is for them to bring up any concerns/ suggestions they might have, and that if they don't have any it'll just be five minutes.
posted by metasarah at 8:59 AM on December 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by metasarah at 8:59 AM on December 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Couple things...
This is a time to give specific feedback on what is going well. Not just general "good performance". Specify exactly what they did that was good.
Also, don't forget to touch on skills/factors that are relevant to future development. When it's time to promote folks, sustained and consistent performance counts as well as things like initiative, leadership, soft skills, etc. These are especially important when you need to move someone into management.
posted by jraz at 9:04 AM on December 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
This is a time to give specific feedback on what is going well. Not just general "good performance". Specify exactly what they did that was good.
Also, don't forget to touch on skills/factors that are relevant to future development. When it's time to promote folks, sustained and consistent performance counts as well as things like initiative, leadership, soft skills, etc. These are especially important when you need to move someone into management.
posted by jraz at 9:04 AM on December 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
I thought of one other thing - the annual process is also often when my boss pulls together and includes feedback she gets from others about me, like, this is when I hear that collaborators X and Y said Z nice thing about me. I appreciate that she makes a point of pulling those things into the evaluation process so they become part of my documentation/record.
posted by Stacey at 9:08 AM on December 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Stacey at 9:08 AM on December 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
I frame the exercise as "I know you're great but if something unexpected happened to me, let's make sure an emergency replacement for me has evidence of how great your performance has been" and "given your excellent performance, what can we be doing to make sure you progress in your career?"
That covers two bases for me: if in an (unlikely but not impossible) emergency I had to be replaced by someone who wasn't an effective manager, my team has documentation of their excellent performance to refer to if there are issues going forward, and I make sure that I'm hearing from my team if there are skills or experiences they're looking to build beyond immediate needs. That helps me identify resources and opportunities that they may be interested in.
posted by EvaDestruction at 9:12 AM on December 14, 2023 [6 favorites]
That covers two bases for me: if in an (unlikely but not impossible) emergency I had to be replaced by someone who wasn't an effective manager, my team has documentation of their excellent performance to refer to if there are issues going forward, and I make sure that I'm hearing from my team if there are skills or experiences they're looking to build beyond immediate needs. That helps me identify resources and opportunities that they may be interested in.
posted by EvaDestruction at 9:12 AM on December 14, 2023 [6 favorites]
I'm an exceptional employee and I am lucky to manage an exceptional employee, so I have these conversations in both directions.
It's a time to acknowledge the work of the past year, including high points and low points. I don't care how good your employees are, they have low points. Just because I am good at handling issues doesn't mean I like when they arise! There are things I don't like about my job, and it's useful when my boss knows what these are so he can try to clear them out of my path to the extent possible.
It's a time to say thank you.
It's a time to share organizational goals for the next year, and how you as a manager see the work that you, your team, and your specific employee can and will contribute to those organizational goals.
It's a time to talk about future career goals, growth opportunities, training opportunities. I always make sure to tell the people who report to me that I love having them on my team and working with them, but I'm also very aware of the limitations on individual growth that my specific team offers. I make sure everyone knows I'm not a jealous manager; if an employee wants to grow in a different direction, I will talk to other teams to facilitate those conversations with no hard feelings. It's better for the company to retain a good employee than to get jealous and lose someone who feels stagnant.
It's a time to listen to the perspective the employee has on their own year. It's totally okay for you as a manager to be like "I totally agree, this has been an excellent year for you" without making it into a whole thing. But it's also the time when you get valuable information on how the two of you may have read situations differently, or taken away different lessons/etc from a situation.
And it also should be one short, easy conversation in the context of an entire year of having 1:1 conversations.
posted by phunniemee at 10:25 AM on December 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
It's a time to acknowledge the work of the past year, including high points and low points. I don't care how good your employees are, they have low points. Just because I am good at handling issues doesn't mean I like when they arise! There are things I don't like about my job, and it's useful when my boss knows what these are so he can try to clear them out of my path to the extent possible.
It's a time to say thank you.
It's a time to share organizational goals for the next year, and how you as a manager see the work that you, your team, and your specific employee can and will contribute to those organizational goals.
It's a time to talk about future career goals, growth opportunities, training opportunities. I always make sure to tell the people who report to me that I love having them on my team and working with them, but I'm also very aware of the limitations on individual growth that my specific team offers. I make sure everyone knows I'm not a jealous manager; if an employee wants to grow in a different direction, I will talk to other teams to facilitate those conversations with no hard feelings. It's better for the company to retain a good employee than to get jealous and lose someone who feels stagnant.
It's a time to listen to the perspective the employee has on their own year. It's totally okay for you as a manager to be like "I totally agree, this has been an excellent year for you" without making it into a whole thing. But it's also the time when you get valuable information on how the two of you may have read situations differently, or taken away different lessons/etc from a situation.
And it also should be one short, easy conversation in the context of an entire year of having 1:1 conversations.
posted by phunniemee at 10:25 AM on December 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
I was all the time sweating out any upcoming review, certain that I was going to get laid off and then get polio and cancer and everything would suck. And I was always just scared, is all, and always got sterling reviews.
Here is what Diane did: There literally was nothing wrong in my performance or attitude, but she had to put down something. She went with "You're often late." which I was. But one of the great pieces of that job was no-one gave a rats ass if you were late or not, so long as your work was getting done.
Plus, I always stayed late, never less than 8 hours and often more, as I loved the peace and quiet and phone not ringing after 5:00 PM. I tended to use that time to line out tomorrow, or maybe to dig into some really gnarly code that required concentration -- it's amazing to me how fast time moves if I'm digging deep, if/when it's quiet I can keep so many more balls in the air, I can "see" the code laid out and follow it down. It's actually even fun -- who doesn't like to be competent, right?
Anyways, that's how Diane did it.
posted by dancestoblue at 4:50 PM on December 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Here is what Diane did: There literally was nothing wrong in my performance or attitude, but she had to put down something. She went with "You're often late." which I was. But one of the great pieces of that job was no-one gave a rats ass if you were late or not, so long as your work was getting done.
Plus, I always stayed late, never less than 8 hours and often more, as I loved the peace and quiet and phone not ringing after 5:00 PM. I tended to use that time to line out tomorrow, or maybe to dig into some really gnarly code that required concentration -- it's amazing to me how fast time moves if I'm digging deep, if/when it's quiet I can keep so many more balls in the air, I can "see" the code laid out and follow it down. It's actually even fun -- who doesn't like to be competent, right?
Anyways, that's how Diane did it.
posted by dancestoblue at 4:50 PM on December 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
I will say that I spent many years getting the highest ratings possible in a specific job and I still appreciated a ten minute sit down to go through my yearly reviews. I always got "nothing!" in the areas for improvement and that was fine, but my last manager did give me one and I appreciated it. It wasn't some horrible flaw; it was just making sure to tell people about the things I was quietly doing to make our team run.
You both know it is a formality, but most jobs have a small amount of bs you must do to appease the corporate overlords. You can use that time as a one-on-one conversation, and I would be sure not to make these goals something that equates to more work for them. If they are not looking to move up, don't make them network or go to training for something unrelated.
posted by soelo at 9:23 PM on December 14, 2023
You both know it is a formality, but most jobs have a small amount of bs you must do to appease the corporate overlords. You can use that time as a one-on-one conversation, and I would be sure not to make these goals something that equates to more work for them. If they are not looking to move up, don't make them network or go to training for something unrelated.
posted by soelo at 9:23 PM on December 14, 2023
If professional development is not part of these conversations, then it should be.
I may have ideas about things I'd like to learn and exams/certifications I'd like to go for, but as soon as somebody puts it down as a GOAL I have to reach or I fail the next year's evaluation, that's it, done, no more motivation. So please keep this in mind when having this discussion with your employees, who may or may not be similar to me.
posted by gakiko at 3:44 AM on December 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
I may have ideas about things I'd like to learn and exams/certifications I'd like to go for, but as soon as somebody puts it down as a GOAL I have to reach or I fail the next year's evaluation, that's it, done, no more motivation. So please keep this in mind when having this discussion with your employees, who may or may not be similar to me.
posted by gakiko at 3:44 AM on December 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by okayokayigive at 6:16 AM on December 14, 2023 [2 favorites]