Writing Performance Reviews

1. Writing Performance Reviews What? How Much? How?

2. According to Supervisors. . Take too long to write. People only want good news. It’s about “Show me the money!” Don’t improve performance. Employees say. . . Never get one or it’s late. All checkmarks and no examples. No guidance about what to do differently. No link between performance and pay. THE PROBLEM WITH REVIEWS

3. REINFORCE EXPECTATIONS • Why Write Performance Reviews? • Opportunity for formal written feedback and dialogue about • development. • Emphasize a “performance” culture. • Reinforce expectations & recognize achievement of them. • Generate documentation and a record (+ and -). • Justification for employment decisions. • What is expected of me? • Why is it important? • How am I doing? Performance reviews should clarify:

4. Performance Management Continuous interaction Part of the ongoing “routine” Ongoing development Observations with feedback for small incremental changes “Real-time” here-and-now orientation COACHING Performance Review Singular meeting (2x’s/yr) “Dedicated” time Development “plan” Summarizes results against expectations Documentation of past events EVALUATION Performance Management vs Performance Review

5. Rater Biases: How to Limit the Effect • Contrast/Comparison • Central Tendency • Familiarity/Similarity • Halo/Horns Effect • Recency • Length of Service • Prior Reviews Collect your own documentation!!!

6. Documentation Guidelines • Keep a record of examples & samples. • Note successes and lessons learned. • Document as events occur. • Note dates, times, objective measures. • Include important items, not every routine action. • “Deliberative” notes & samples. • Copy & paste: emails, portions of electronic documents, sample work. You have the opportunity to influence your review by what you choose to write and how you write it!

7. General Writing Tips • Provide specific examples or quantitative, measurable information to demonstrate progress compared to a target. • Give more examples of important information as evidence for a very high (Top) rating or for a very low (Requires Improvement) rating. • Use different examples for each goal/ expectation/competency. • Keep your comments descriptive and succinct. (Focus on facts & measures. No generalities, labeling or personality traits.) • Use correct grammar, punctuation, spelling. OR, a bulleted list of accomplishments if there are several instead of a narrative paragraph.

8. Writing Tips – Form Specific • Goals/Expectations • Objective quality-quantity-date information that directly supports the level of attainment. • Description of specific related activities; references to a work sample, project, incident. • Behavioral Competencies • Specific examples that show obvious connection to each competency. • Incorporate phrases from Appraisal Wizard along with a specific incident involving you. • Overall Comments • General summary regarding the level of performance. • Reiteration of key positive highlights/ progress achieved.

9. SAY WHAT?!?!? • “This young lady has delusions of adequacy.” • “Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap.” • “He brings a lot of joy whenever he leaves the room.” • “Got a full six-pack but lacks the plastic thing to hold it all together.”

10. Opinion or Vague -Self- I am organized and efficient in performing my daily tasks in a timely manner. Improved quality & satisfaction of learning programs in 2010. Supervisor Comment Disorganized and does not multi-task well. Fact (Specific) -Self- Utilize a “5 Top Priorities” list to plan my daily tasks and accomplished all assignments on or before requested deadlines. Reorganized electronic folders in June 2010 by project areas to enable faster retrieval. Increased 2009 program fill-rate to 95% vs. avg of 67% in 2008. Overall rating average of 9.7 vs. 8.3 during same time. Supervisor Specific Comment Filing items by project name and on department drive will enable faster retrieval/updates by Pat & others despite phone/people interruptions. WRITING TIPS “Just the Facts”

11. Negative Tone -Supervisor- Fails to follow customer request instructions which causes customer problems. Rater Bias -Self- “Received excellent patron feedback on Fall performance series. (Recency) Instructive Tone -Supervisor- Needs to read all information on request form & obtain customer confirmation of plan before executing event details. Specific Examples -Self- Consistently increased patron satisfaction ratings from Winter (7.2) to Spring (7.9) to Fall (9.1) by implementing patron suggestions noted on evaluations. WRITING TIPS “Straight Talk”

12. PERFORMANCE LEVELS • TOP • Exceeds expectations in most aspects of the job frequently. • Goes above and beyond what is asked. • Thinks ahead. Is proactive. Seeks improvement. • Solves problems independently. • VALUED • Meets expectations in all major aspects of the position and exceeds some. • Sometimes goes beyond what is asked. • Takes initiative to solve problems. • Seeks learning and improvement. • DEVELOPING • New to the position or some duties are new. • More training/learning is needed to be fully performing all aspects of the job at the desired level. • Performance does not meet expectations for fully experienced person. • DEVELOPING • New to the position or some duties are new. • More training/learning is needed to be fully performing all aspects of the job at the desired level. • Performance does not meet expectations for fully experienced person.

13. Strengths, Development Areas, Action Steps & Overall Comments REMEMBER THIS! • People rarely remember what they are told. • What they remember usually wrong. WRITTEN COMMENT Sections Strengths: Describe TWO things they do well. Development Areas: Name ONE area they need to improve and ONE item they need to learn or develop further. Action Steps: Describe ONE to THREE specific actions they need to take to achieve the next level of performance. Overall Comments: Describe their value to the organization