Tag Archives: Objective

What are Best Practices for Employee Reviews? Five Examples

Situation: A CEO is evaluating her company’s employee review process and seeks input on alternative practices from other companies. What are best practices for employee reviews in terms of frequency, format and structure?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Company A conducts annual reviews. They ask for written input from the employee, peers, and manager. The review is a sit-down meeting between the employee and manager.
  • Company B conducts formal annual reviews, with informal 6 month reviews. The annual review evaluates the employee’s performance on 15 key variables, and is prepared by the manager. The review is a sit-down meeting between the employee and manager
  • Company C does not conduct reviews. They have tried several formats over the life of the company, but found none satisfactory. Instead the company continually monitors key metrics on a green, yellow, red scale. As soon as yellow appears on a metric for an employee, the supervisor meets with the employee to discuss the situation and to formulate corrective action. The result is that reds do not occur.
  • Company D conducts annual reviews on the employment anniversary. They request written input from both the employee, and manager. The employee, manager and President meet over lunch, off-site. The objective is to communicate plus and minus points, taking a long-term approach in a conversational setting.
  • Company E conducts annual reviews, with quarterly self-evaluations. Both reviews and evaluations include a key question: “what can management do for me to improve my performance?” The review is a sit down meeting between employee and manager. Results of reviews are tied to quarterly profit sharing.
  • All companies agreed that, generally, in evaluating the options, the most important questions to ask are:
    • Why are we doing reviews?
    • What is the objective?

    The answers to these questions help to evaluate review options.

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What are Your Plans for 2011 Bonuses? Seven Thoughts

Situation: A company has historically given Christmas bonuses at the rate of 10-20% of salary in a good year. The CEO is concerned that employees may stay until their bonus is received, and then leave for another job. What are your plans for 2011 bonuses?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • First, what is your objective in granting bonuses? Which among the following are you trying to achieve?
    • Showing appreciation.
    • Acknowledgement of effort.
    • Effort above and beyond the norm.
    • Once you determine your goal, design a structure that will effect this goal.
  • What practices are typical for your industry – your competitors, vendors and clients?
    • Background research on industry practices provides a basis for your own practice. You can then evaluate whether varying from industry practice can give you an advantage.
  • Company performance should be a factor in determining bonus payment. So should performance against individual employee goals and objectives.
  • How much discretion should be given to managers for setting bonuses for their direct reports?
    • Talk to your managers and get their input on how they would handle bonus evaluation.
    • A number of companies give managers a pool guideline, and have them produce a spreadsheet of recommended bonus distribution for executive review and approval.
    • Individuals should not decide their own bonuses. Bonuses for all employees/managers should be decided by their direct supervisors.
  • Should the CEO be concerned if an employee takes their bonus and then leaves?
    • If an employee has earned their bonus, then you are granting them an earned reward. Their departure likely has much less to do with whether or not they receive a bonus than other factors.
    • Human resource research consistently demonstrates that compensation is at the bottom of the ladder of reasons that workers remain or leave – particularly workers who exercise critical thinking and judgment in their jobs.

Key Words: Strategy, Team, Bonus, Annual, Christmas, Incentive, Objective, Industry, Reward, Performance, Measurement, Discretionary

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How do you Adapt Behavior as you Shift Focus? Five Points

Interview with Adam Kleinberg, CEO, Traction

Situation: The Company is shifting focus from project-based to relationship-based client interactions –from a short to a long-term perspective. This is a challenge. How do you adapt employee behavior to a new strategic focus?

Advice:

  • Assume the best intentions.
    • Everyone wants to do a good job. The challenge is making sure everyone knows what constitutes a good job.
    • Be clear on objectives, and why they are important. Be clear on the new roles.
    • This is most difficult when the shift is counter to a well-established company culture.
  • You have to have the right people.
    • Avoid smart people with no role, or a role for which they are ill-suited.
    • The organization IS the people. There must be absolute commitment to assigning the right talent on any job, and the right people to the right team.
    • Players must fit in terms of skill set and culture. The company is who, not what!
  • Focus efforts and objectives on the long-term vs. the short-term.
    • Paint the end state – the vision. Add tangible steps to guide people to the right path.
    • Don’t micromanage. Set direction and initial moves, but let staff blaze the path.
    • Provide feedback and recognition.
    • Negative feedback is always difficult, but best when delivered directly and quickly.
    • Recognize success and contributions both 1-on-1 and in all-hands meetings.
  • We hired an experienced manager with a strong track record. Initially this created discomfort; however discomfort was quickly resolved as this person produced positive impact.
    • We cited the wins in all-hands meetings to support the shift.
  • Make people feel that their opinions are heard, and their solutions.
    • Be clear on objectives and rationale. Assure that your perspective as leader is grounded in a credible reality that you can communicate to the team.
    • Conduct workshops which focus on the practical steps that will produce the desired result.
    • Listen to feedback from team members, and include what you hear in the agenda for future discussions. Involve the team in developing the solution. Delegate and recognize!

You can contact Adam Kleinberg at adam@tractionco.com or Twitter at well@adamkleinberg

Key Words: Focus, Client Interaction, Behavior, Role, Objective, Rationale, Right People, Culture, Feedback, Recognition, Workshop, Involvement

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