Whenever I was in the process of interviewing employees for a promotional position I gave them a copy of the job description and discussed each job responsibility in detail. I also made sure the job description was updated. How can an employee perform well when they do not know specifically what the job responsibilities are. I would ask what they knew about the specific tasks and what they thought they had to bring to the job, how would they perform the tasks, what assistance they thought they would require, how they felt about the additional responsibility, what they needed from me as a supervisor, what areas they thought were most important to focus on, what timeframes they thought were realistic, who they felt would be able to contribute (if relevant), etc., etc. I also ask why they are interested in additional responsibilities. The responses I got were very often not the response I “assumed” I would get.

I have found that people typically don’t set themselves up to fail. After the interview very often they realized they could not do the job, therefore, they indicate they are no longer interested. There are always a few who “think” they can do anything, but those individuals should have been weeded out long before a promotion interview was done. Managers should know who their strong employees are by the time they are looking to fill a position. I wonder if the company has a performance management process at all. If they do, I wonder how effective it is if this particular employee was promoted yet seems to be failing so miserably.

A good performance management plan starts with clear goals and objectives generated from the top down.

A good performance management (PM) process involves many things too numerous to mention here. To start with it involves honest discussion of:
a) current job – specific discussion of what they do right and what they do that needs improvement
(refer to weak areas as “opportunities for improvement”
b) specifically established goals with deadlines for completion of those goals with employee’s input
c) ideas for how to achieve goals (who, what, when, where)
d) potential opportunities for advancement if any – also ask what career goals the employee has if any
e) give constant honest feedback to the employee
f) ask for honest feedback from the employee about your performance as a supervisor

Quite often employees have supervisors that are not clear or do not support the employee in the way the employee needs to be supported, yet the supervisor is not open to that type of discussion. Those supervisors are detrimental to the organization.

Much too often, leaders who are expected to do PM for their employees, do not know what they are doing wrong and don’t understand how their shortcomings affect the employees they manage. Most managers are not clear when they establish goals, nor do they set realistic or time based goals. The employee also needs to have input into the PM process.

Managers need to be honest with the employees they are doing PM with. I did a lot of coaching with managers who did not want to “hurt the employees feelings” when they had to talk about performance. They would make statements such as “he’s a nice guy”, or “she is such a nice person”. Make sure you tell the employee they are nice.

When you have to deliver an uncomfortable message it’s very helpful to set up the discussion before you deliver the message. It eases the discomfort anyone feels when hearing someone critique us. Say something such as “you are a nice person and because I trust and respect you I want to do everything I can to help you be successful.” “In order to be successful these are the areas that need improvement.

NOTE: Be very sure that whatever you say to the employee is honest and accurate. If you don’t trust and respect the person do not tell them you do.

It’s the age old story of “it’s not what you say, but how you say it.” Very often I would ask the employee how they felt they were doing. If they said they thought they were doing great I would ask them “how would you feel if you knew I felt different about your performance?” If they worked on a project that did not have good results, discuss the project.

There is a process called “chunking” that is very helpful to learn when doing any employee evaluation, or when giving honest feedback.

Ask questions such as:
What would you have done different now that you know the results?
Why do you feel that would have been helpful?
Did you get all the support you needed at the time?
What support did you need that you did not get? Did you ask for assistance?
Etc., etc., etc.

Performance Management is about an entire coaching experience. Done correctly it is very effective. I have seen dramatic results in two very different businesses.

Remember, if you keep doing what you’re doing, you will keep getting what you’re getting. If you don’t know what to do different, make sure you learn. It will benefit you and the employees you supervise. Most importantly the company you will for will benefit dramatically.

If you need assistance I would be happy to help. Email me at njacobso@twcny.rr.com

Carolyn in Chattanooga