Counselling your team
Feedback provides the necessary external information that is needed to improve job performance both as an individual and as a team member.
Performance reviews
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As you can see, staff members often believe that a performance appraisal is the opportunity for them to ask for a pay rise and prove to the employer that they are working hard and deserve only positive feedback. Managers are not often in the position to agree to a pay rise at any staff meeting, particularly during a performance review. The objective of this meeting is often to highlight areas of improvement needed to achieve areas of competency within their job description. This can be a difficult experience for the manager as often staff do not respond well to constructive criticism.
Q. What is a performance appraisal?
“A process of assessing quantitative and qualitative aspects of an employee’s job performance”
Personnel / Human Resource Mgt by Leap & Crino (1989)
Essentially, it’s a formalisation of feedback for an employee summarised for a period of time, usually 12 months. The most important point to remember about performance appraisals is NO SURPRISES. This is not a means of replacing feedback an employee should receive on a daily / regular basis – it is a consolidation of feedback about their work performance. The key to successful appraisals is PREPARATION.
Some of the advantages to the individual of performance appraisals are:
- Opportunity to set objectives
- Channel for communication
- Recognition of performance
- Opportunity of a one-on-one face-to-face talk to supervisor
- Can build up self esteem and involvement
- Helps determine training needs
- Recognises individuals career development goals
- Assists in remedial action to improve poor performance
Why Performance Appraisals can be viewed negatively
1. Lack of preparation, researching the facts etc.
2. Fear of the consequences.
3. Fear of personal attack.
4. Appraising personality not performance.
5. Belief that a personality clash exists.
6. Lack of follow-up negating any positive outcomes.
7. Fear of appraiser bias.
8. Lack of consistency between appraisers.
9. Concern over confidentiality of written records.
Preparing for a performance appraisal interview
Prepare Information
- Employee file
- Talk to others
- Current objectives
- Think about any changes
Prepare the Appraisee
- Completes paperwork
- Does their own research
- Training session in benefits
- Notify when interview will occur
Prepare the Environment
- Seating should be comfortable and face-to-face
- Distractions should be kept to a minimum eg email, mobile, people coming into the room
- Location of the meeting should be in a non-threatening environment
Structure of the Appraisal Interview
Welcome
- Chat gap
- A review of the purpose of the interview
- Explain the interview structure
Acquire Information from the appraisee
Supply Information
- Start off with a general question
- Ask for the appraisee to explain their self appraisal
- Deal with each point before progressing
- Remember – no surprises
- be prepared to back up any rebuttal with examples.
- Discuss also possible career progression and action points
- Make notes
Plan & Part
- Signalling the end
- Summarising
- Concluding
How to handle giving / receiving criticism
Points for giving criticism
- Criticism should be based on fact
- Ration your criticism
- Do not dwell on resolved problems – in fact praise them
- Balance criticism and praise
- Keep criticism relevant
Giving criticism is a 3 step approach:
Step 1
- Establish two-way communication about the problem
Step 2
- Focus on the specifics of the problem
Step 3
- Search for a joint solution to the problem
Receiving criticism is a 3 step approach:
Step 1
- Listen to the critic
Step 2
- Ask the critic to specify the problem
Step 3
- Search for a joint solution to the problem
As Kris Cole explains, the Flag – Example – Benefit model is an effective mechanism to provide positive reinforcement and constructive feedback.
Flag
Example
Benefit
Or for constructive feedback
Flag
Example
Benefit
Before starting performance counselling, ensure:
- Expectations of staff/volunteers are clear and understood
- It is clear what the difference in actual performance is against expectations
- The job is well designed
- The person is a good match to the job
- The person has been provided sufficient training
- Sufficient resources (equipment, finances, other) have been provided to do the job
To get improvement, you must be clear about what is required, that is provide clear examples or guidance on how to do the job the “correct” way.
Listed below are important steps to improving performance:
- Analyse expectations
- Give good information/feedback
- Gather good information via active listening
- Problem solve together (what is the problem)
- Agree on Actions (how can this be fixed)
- Follow Up (monitor progress of improvements)
Ensure that when meeting with staff to discuss the above items, that staff are aware of:
- Standard or expectations required
- What the difference in actual performance vs expectations is
- That you as leader/manager are prepared to help them achieve the required standard
- That standards must be met, substandard work in not accepted
- The staff are in control of their own performance and that they have the choice to improve
- The consequences of poor performance
Source: Kris Cole, Management Theory and Practice, 3rd Edition
It is vital that all aspects of the performance counselling are well documented as this information may be required for performance appraisals or justification for promotion.
Work performance counselling is the responsibility of the leader/manager, however personal counselling issues may arise and in that case, staff should be referred to professional counselling services.
Unsatisfactory performance / Disciplinary action
There may be many causes of poor performance, the most obvious being unclear expectations or standards, poor job design, lack of training, and insufficient time or resources and simply poor leadership.
Signs for poor performance may also be obvious, increased absenteeism, lack of concentration and commitment, decrease in efficiency of work, arriving late, leaving early to “delay” work, poor workplace relationships and disregard for general ways of the organisation.
Before taking disciplinary action, ensure you are well aware of all details, and talk to the employee involved to get “both sides of the story”. If handled well, counselling may well lead to increased employee satisfaction and work performance.