Performance Review

Positive Steps Forward

This refresher guide recaps on the fundamentals of running a successful review meeting. It’s designed to supplement your existing guidance, not replace it, so make sure you are familiar with the nuts and bolts of your particular processes.

A competent review will help you to:

1. Set objectives – is everyone contributing, including yourself?
2. Conduct an open, honest and protected conversation on performance.
3. Reflect on our behaviours, as they affect our work and colleagues.
4. Identify further development areas and plan change.

Review Meetings: the Good

Let the appraisee do most of the talking – and actively listen. Allow time and scope for reflection and analysis. Analyse performance not personality. Review the whole period, not just isolated, negative or recent events. Fully recognise and positively reinforce achievement. Finish on the positive and agree action plans.

Review Meetings: The Bad

Don’t dominate or control the meeting. Don’t sustain a focus on appraisee’s failures and omissions. Never end the meeting in disagreement.

All through the year

Don’t be a stranger, have regular informal meetings. Never shy away from difficult conversations, tackle issues as they happen. Keep focused and be fair, you’re analysing the person’s work not their personality. Sometimes you may not have a great deal in common with an appraisee, but it’s vital not to let that cloud your judgement.

First things first

Arrange the meeting in advance and hold it in a location where your discussion will be private and confidential. Be prepared, fully understand the process and explain it well to your team. Be totally familiar with the detail of a staff member’s written evidence, and assess if it matches your own observations. Be clear about the messages you want to deliver, and the outcome you expect. Be prepared with specific feedback and evidence-led examples.

Although the meeting should be formal, it’s not an interrogation, so make sure the room set-up is neutral, not intimidating.

Keep the meeting positive

If you’re addressing poor performance or negative behaviours, accentuate the positive impact that changing will have for both the individual and the team. Be supportive by showing genuine concern and make sure people know your support will be there beyond the meeting, whenever needed.

Ask questions and listen well

Ask open questions (those that don’t invite the answers ‘yes’ or ‘no’). Questions should be probing – you need to be certain the job is being done to the agreed standard. Be sure to be clear on meaning, so confirm appraisee statements by putting a question like "Have I got the right impression, did you mean..."

Concentrate not just on what the speaker is saying, but observe their behaviour, body language and nuances. Respond quickly when necessary but avoid interrupting. Similarly, when you do comment on points to show understanding, be brief so as not to inhibit the flow of the speaker.

Assessing behaviours

Framing the right question can measure whether a person behaves in line with the code of conduct. For instance, the response to ‘How did you achieve that objective?’ can reveal whether the person shared information, involved colleagues or valued others’ contributions. If the person you are appraising manages others, confirm how they themselves have celebrated success and tackled difficult people management situations.

The document attached is taken from the Leadership Development Framework and shows examples of positive and negative behaviours. The impact of both are visible so they can be measured. At any grade, in any working relationship, bad behaviours – such as excluding people, gossiping or being obstructive – need to be tackled.

Positive vs Negative Behavious