Monthly Archives: September 2018

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Performance Reviews are Counterproductive (pt 1)

It's time to make a change (pt. 1)

Performance Reviews are Counterproductive

1982 – Dr W. Edwards Deming– The Father of the Quality Evolution
“Evaluation of performance, merit rating, or annual review…the idea of a merit rating is alluring. The sound of the words captivates the imagination: pay for what you get; get what you pay for; motivate people to do their best, for their own good. The effect is exactly the opposite of what the words promise.”

2018 – Marcus Buckingham– Thought Leader of the Strengths Revolution
“…the problem with performance reviews is that they are not useful. They don’t tell us anything about the employee, they don’t help the employees get better, and they certainly aren’t giving us the correct information we need to hire, fire, train, and promote our people.”

For over 35 years the approach to performance management has been broken and it is time to fix it. We are often forced to participate in the distasteful performance review process cycle as well as having been victims of its performance crushing results. The system is counterproductive, perpetuates mediocrity, is certainly arbitrary and may be illegal. It’s time to disrupt the status quo with recognition of the problem and move forward with better solutions.

In the next several postings we will explore the failings and impact of the current approach to performance management as well as offer solutions for better results. We will look at the performance review and how it perpetuates mediocrity and limits associate development. We will expose common performance management approaches for their bias and ineffectiveness. Additionally, we will come to see that “pay for performance” is really “pay for perception”. Most importantly, we will develop solutions for a better result and discuss things we can do to bend the system until more enlightened leaders and approaches are put in place.

So why do we do performance management at all? What is its purpose? Let’s be perfectly frank, businesses operate in their own best interest. It is in the businesses’ primary interest to maximize productivity and profitability while keeping expenses manageable. Consequently the actions businesses take are to further their competitiveness and improve their profitability now and in the future. The reason that businesses are involved in performance management at all is that they believe the process will yield a net benefit in line with their primary goals.

In an era of disruptive product introductions and fierce competition, businesses are under great pressure to redesign themselves while managing declining margins and creating new products to meet new market needs. Businesses, especially service-based businesses are looking for a way to sort through their resources (their most controllable expense) and optimize capabilities for their current and future needs. Said more simply, businesses are trying to figure out who is the most productive, who has the ability to meet future business needs and how to manage the remaining resources while remaining profitable.

When we hear that businesses consider their workforce to be their greatest asset or care deeply about associate engagement and associate development, it is because they have determined that these programs are necessary to maintain or enhance their competitive advantage. They are not engaging in these activities out of a deeply altruistic perspective, but as a means to achieve their profitability goals. Businesses are interested in performance management as a means to understand their return on investment in their workforce.

Somewhere along the way in their effort to patch together tools to assess, manage and direct the development of their workforce, business assembled a collection of policies and practices that are completely ineffective and backwards. They de-motivate, are biased to the point of not being able to ensure talent continuity, reward mediocre performance, and truly place the business at risk. It is time to make a change.

In the next segment we will take a closer look at the failings of the performance review process and offer some suggestions for improvements. Have I piqued your interest? I hope so. Let me know your thoughts on this in our comments section below.

 

Thanks,

 

Skip Gilbert

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So What Now?

So What Now?

“The path from dreams to success does exist. May you have the vision to find it, the courage to get on to it, and the perseverance to follow it” — Kalpana Chawla

There comes a time where we find ourselves at a crossroads of decisions about our next steps in life. Whether professionally or personally, there are occasions when the question is “what am I going to do next?” This is not the same as the small questions of what shall we have for dinner or which movie to watch, these are the big ones, the decisions that have a major impact on us and those around us.

Most often the timing is not of our own choosing. Perhaps there has been a major change in our personal or family situation that has reached a crisis point, or perhaps the unexpected loss of employment. On a more positive note, perhaps there is a new employment opportunity, or family situation that has great potential, but requires significant change or risk. Perhaps we are suddenly unencumbered by previous constraints and now free to pursue our passion and interest. It comes back to the quote from the movie “The Untouchables” – “What are you prepared to do?”

So what do we do? Have we prepared a plan for our next steps personally and professionally or are we just drifting along and hoping for the best? Have we reviewed our passions, talents and strengths and set goals based on our vision of the future? Have we prepared so that as this crossroads approaches we can leverage it for our advantage?

If we are prepared and know where we are headed, then the impending decision can be a very exciting time. As we consider the opportunity we can measure the advantages versus the disadvantages and be in a much better position to evaluate the risk and move forward appropriately.

If we are not prepared, it is not too late but we need to get very busy quickly. We have some serious reflection and planning to do to get ourselves in a position to know how to evaluate our options and which path to pursue. There are many tools available to help us evaluate our current capabilities and market ourselves to available opportunities. A great resource to evaluate our current capabilities and identify a path forward can be found in my book “EXCELLENCE: You CAN Get There From Here!”

Here is the thing, because we find ourselves at a crossroad we have no choice but to make a decision and take action. We can either be prepared to leverage this to move in a direction that helps us achieve our life-goals or we can grab a random opportunity and hope it gets us where we want to go.  I suggest we take the path that helps us grow and prosper.

As for me, I am pursuing my future on my terms. I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to focus on my passion; to work with you to help you become a more effective leader.

I am pleased to announce the re-launch of SkipGilbert.com as a Center of Excellence. The purpose of this Center of Excellence is to provide a GPS to guide you through the discoveries, thoughts and experiences on your journey to Excellence.

The Center of Excellence provides a portal to thought provoking and industry leading concepts and practices on Excellence, Leadership and High Performance Organizations.

The GPS tab provides access to topic-specific webinars, discussion groups as well as personal and business consulting engagements.

The Book Store provides links to reading material on leadership, excellence, and other materials to help support you on the journey.

Again it is great to be back to working with you as we move forward together pursuing Excellence in everything we do. Please feel free to offer comments and suggestions about this topic as well as reaching out to me individually to discuss mentoring and consulting opportunities.

Thanks,

 

Skip Gilbert