HOLDING THE STAFF REVIEW MEETING

In the previous issue we looked at why reviewing during a probationary period is so important to the success of the new member of staff, in terms of assisting them in their personal growth, ensuring that they are fitting into your organisation and carrying out the role that you want them to, and helping them take on more responsibility within your organisation so that they can truly make a difference to your business.

We also looked at how to prepare for a staff review, including the areas to cover during the review, where and when to hold it and how to create the right environment to show that you care and allow you and the member of staff to converse openly and safely.

In this edition we look at how to conduct the review to ensure that motivation is maintained and grown, so that the employee performs to their maximum, and at how to achieve this whilst being mindful of your own time. The aim should be that review meetings are properly beneficial for you too, rather than an arduous chore solely for the benefit of new employee.

The Start Of The Meeting

Whatever you call the review, be it a meeting, an appraisal, an assessment or whatever, the member of staff will be nervous and concerned. For the review to be effective and positive the employee needs to be made to feel comfortable and relaxed in much the same way as if you were about to interview for a new post; the goal is to ensure that the conversation is open and honest between the two of you.

To this end, when the employee enters the room offer them a drink and enjoy some pleasantries rather than wading straight in. This will also relax you, too, as it is important that you are receptive and able to listen properly, and not simply geared-up to dive in and pick them up on aspects of their performance where you feel they could do better.

You will notice when the employee has relaxed as the atmosphere palpably changes and there will be a certain level of rapport between the two of you. You should also become aware that you are yourself calmer and ready to carry on in a positive frame of mind.

Once you become aware that the necessary  rapport has been established, it will feel like the natural time to move on to the real business of the meeting, and you can take control and run through the points that need to be covered.

The Running Order Of The Meeting

Most of us will have been in a review at one time or another and will have varied experiences of them. The generally accepted way of running them, and certainly the way I have found that they work most effectively, is to run them in the following sequence:

1 – Employee to discuss performance, achievements and accomplishments and where they feel they need more assistance.

2 – Employee to discuss how they could develop and improve their performance which might include training, new assignments or new challenges.

3 – Manager to discuss performance with the employee and how they could achieve better performance including reviewing the data from the period under consideration.

4 – Manager to discuss their thoughts on the employee’s ideas on how to develop their role and performance.

5 – Jointly discuss areas of agreement and disagreement on the employee’s performance and reach consensus. The manager will probably be correct with their view with more experience, but for the review to be motivating and increase productivity it is important that they have the employee buy-in.

6 – Discuss specific areas of responsibility for the next part of the overall probationary period.

7 – Agree performance criteria and expected standards for the next period.

8 – Set the “SMART” goals to be met by the next review and why they are important to the employees development and to the business. (See the last issue for a brief explanation of “SMART.”)

9 – Agree the measurements for success with each goal.

10 – If previously-set goals have been achieved, discuss ways that goals that are important to the employee can be met, from their point of view.

11 – If the performance is poor:

• Jointly put together a performance plan.
• Set up more regular reviews to help the employee overcome the issues and bring them back to where they are expected to be.
• Remind the employee of the consequences of continued under-performance.

12 – Discuss the employee’s view on how the team, department or business can perform better. Some of the best ideas come from staff who are new to an organisation or in new positions as they see things from a different perspective.

13 – Discuss any other matter the manager or employee would like to discuss.

14 – Set a time for the next meeting.

15 – If the notes have been written legibly both sign them to evidence that the meeting took place.

16 – Close the meeting with the manager being positive about the outcomes and expressing confidence that the employee can achieve the goals and that the manager is available to provide assistance in achieving these plans.

That running order may look daunting at first sight but the reality is that the review should only take about an hour. With practice and some idea of the right amount of time each party should be speaking for, this does become quite easy to achieve in practice.

For instance, for points one and two I would allow the employee to talk for up to 15 minutes. I would expect to talk for something like 15 minutes during points three and four. Point five needs to be covered patiently and without raised voices and should be covered in five minutes or so, and thereafter you should find the remainder of the review will run quickly as any potential areas of dispute have been covered.

The key point to remember throughout the review is that it is important to hear the employee out and understand where they are coming from. You should be conducting the meeting with the goal of helping the employee.

Passions can run high in areas of disagreement and simply using your authority may ensure that you win your argument. However, that approach will be extremely detrimental to your relationship with the member of staff and de-motivate them, leading to their performance becoming a consistent issue - which is entirely the opposite of what a review process should be there to achieve. Instead of simply using your management position to 'win' any dispute, listen to and work with your new member of staff so that you get the best out of them, and they get the best out of their new employment.

Whilst this and our previous issue have been focusing on the probation review, the above process is one that can be used for any staff reviews in your business. By sticking to this format, your employees will become used to the running order and will come in fully prepared. Subsequently, the sharing of information and the clear focus of the meeting will produce excellent results and motivation for both your employees and you.

Next Time:

In the next issue we will look at the content of the meeting in greater detail and how to conduct it so that it does run within the timelines you set out. The result will be that you and the employee will be able to come out of a review meeting feeling it was a beneficial and positive experience, with both of you motivated and looking forward to achieving the agreed goals by the time of the next meeting.