The checklist for smart managers:
- Schedule for the organizational preparation
- Guideline for the preparation of the content
Performance reviews – an opportunity for managers
Many managers hate performance reviews. Sure, they cost a lot of time and sometimes put you under stress. But the effort is worth it!
In the performance review, you have time to listen to your team members in detail and discuss topics with them that are not covered in everyday life: for example, their personal dreams, goals and ideas for the company. You can discover strengths in your team members that you did not see before and experience that your team members set ambitious goals for themselves. An appreciative retrospective and joint outlook also motivate not only your team members, but also yourself.
The following checklist should help you as a manager to go into the interview with a good feeling.
Schedule for organizational preparation
Two weeks before the performance review
- Block 90 minutes in your calendar for the performance review – the last 30 minutes are a buffer so that you don’t have to leave a good discussion ad hoc. If possible, the appointment should not take place directly after a longer meeting.
- Determine a non-disruptive location for the performance review. You and your team member should be able to sit across from each other, not face to face. If necessary, reserve a meeting room.
- Block out at least 30 minutes in your calendar the following week to prepare the content of the appraisal interview.
- Invite your team member to the meeting and announce what it will be about. One week before the performance review.
- Read the minutes of the last annual review with the team member and, if applicable, the goal agreement.
- Use the questions from the section “Preparing the content” to prepare for the appraisal interview. They serve your personal reflection.
On the day of the performance review
- Prepare the room and provide drinks.
- Redirect the phone and turn off your cell phone.
- Have ready the notes you took when preparing for the interview.
Guiding questions for content preparation
Questions about strengths and weaknesses
- What three strengths come to mind spontaneously when I think of the team member?
- Which tasks do the team member succeed at almost by themselves?
- Which characteristics are positively reported back by colleagues or customers?
- When does the team member seem bad-tempered or very stressed?
- Which tasks does the team member dislike?
Which mistakes and difficulties have occurred (repeatedly)?
Questions about the role in the team
- What role does the team member play in the team?
- What tasks does he/she perform that are not in the “job profile”?
- How do I evaluate my personal relationship with the team member (formal, friendly, familiar, cool, tense, etc.)?
- What would colleagues tell about the employee, e.g. a friend or another team member?
Questions about goals and goal achievement
- Which agreed-upon goals were achieved?
- Which goal was missed?
- What part did I, as the manager, play in the fact that the goal was not achieved? What might the employee have been lacking?
- Which achievements do I want to emphasize?
- What new performance and behavioral goals do I want to agree with the team member?
Performance reviews have value for employees and employers alike, highlighting what is and isn’t working, and keeping everyone on the same page. A checklist will help you go through the process.
Foto von Suzy Hazelwood von Pexels
