Myth Busting

Before we go any further, we’re going to consider some misconceptions about performance reviews. Part of the reason that reviews can suck is because both parties are going in with a mindset that hinders rather than helps. Let’s have a look at some incorrect assumptions that people can have around performance reviews—from both the reviewer and the reviewee—so that you can understand how to not repeat the mistakes of others.

Myth 1: Reviews Are for Managers to Give Top-Down Feedback

A review is not a one-way debrief. It’s not the parole board at the prison giving their rubber-stamped verdict on whether an inmate can walk free. Reviews should be a two-way process. In the weeks leading up to reviews, both you and your staff will put in the time and effort to prepare. They will reflect on their performance and so will you. You will collect peer feedback for them so you can discuss it in partnership with them. They will be given the space and opportunity to talk about their goals for the future.

Remember that in the review process you, as a manager, are the facilitator. You are not the dictator. Deliver a stellar service to your staff, not a judgment.

Myth 2: Reviews Are Just a Thing That the Company Does

Yes, it may be the case that it’s your HR department that sends out the notifications when it’s time to prepare for performance reviews, but it does not mean that reviews are just a thing that you should unwillingly do to check the box. Performance reviews are an essential part of your toolkit as a manager to ensure that your staff are supported, given opportunities to talk in depth about their careers, and to continually set goals. Even if the company was not making you do your reviews, you should do them anyway. In fact, if they only mandate them happening once a year, then you should probably do them every six months regardless. We’ll touch on the frequency of reviews shortly.

Reviews are absolutely worth your time. You should engage fully with the process and also make sure that your staff do too. This is because:

• They are the best opportunity to set the bar for what you expect for the next six months.

• They are your best chance to apply course correction if your staff aren’t going in the right direction.

• They build trust and rapport through their introspective nature.

Myth 3: Reviews Only Really Matter for Underperforming Staff

That’s not true. In fact, it’s quite the opposite! Reviews are not there to make sure that staff that aren’t performing get the proverbial kick that they need to do better. Reviews are for everyone. Each of your staff deserves the chance to sit down with you and contemplate where they’ve been, where they are, and where they’re going. The people that benefit from reviews the most are your highest-performing staff. By giving them the time and space to explore their career, combined with your support and input, you can ensure that your superstars continue on their high-growth trajectory.

Reviews are not for nitpicking negatives. They are for praise, critique, planning career goals, and dreaming about the future, and your best performers need your time and energy more than anyone else.

Myth 4: Since People Hate Reviews, Get Them Over and Done with Quickly

Wrong! People hate reviews because they are often done badly, not because reviews themselves are bad. Don’t assume that everyone hates reviews. Also don’t assume that even if people hate reviews that they’d rather skip them or do a cut-down version of them in order to check the box and move on with their lives. Engage fully. Always give reviews your utmost attention and prepare and deliver them with the same detail and passion that you give to the projects that your team is working on.

Part of your challenge as a manager is to turn even the most skeptical members of staff into ones that actively look forward to reviews. This chapter will show you how.

Myth 5: The Review Should Be a Surprise on the Day

Five minutes before the review, your member of staff should not be sitting there nervously, staring at the meeting room, filled with dread about what is going to be revealed. In fact, it should be the opposite. Most of the time that goes into performance reviews happens before the actual meeting. You’ll see how both of you will contribute to a written document that will allow you to record your thoughts in a concise and considered way and allow plenty of time for your opinions to be exchanged beforehand. You’ll also see how to collect and compile peer feedback so that your member of staff has a more complete picture of their performance to discuss.

When it comes to the meeting, the pertinent information should have already been expressed, chewed over, and understood. It should never be a surprise.

Myth 6: Reviews Are Used to Deliver Pay Raises

Reviews should not be the grand unveiling of pay increases. It’s time for you to decouple the delivery of pay and performance, despite the fact that the two are conceptually coupled. Keep the performance review about the performance only. You’ll see why this is beneficial to both you and the person that you are reviewing, but you’ll also see how it opens the door to there being other more sensitive ways of delivering salary adjustments.

Myth 7: Reviews Are the Only Place Where Performance Is Discussed

A common bad practice is to use performance reviews as the only place where discussion about performance happens. What you actually want is for you and your staff to have open and transparent conversations about performance—good and bad—all throughout the year. The emphasis of performance reviews should be on the review. They’re a checkpoint to talk about the time period that has passed and the one that’s coming up next. Yes, that does involve talking about performance, but it should only be one of the many times that you visit the topic as the weeks and months go by. To an extent, there should be no surprises in what you discuss with your staff, and vice versa.