Set for Success: Get Maximum Results from Performance Reviews

How do you handle an employee who gets emotional during a review?

The best thing to do is to stay calm. You can also remind the employee that this review is an opportunity to change things going forward. If the employee seems to be getting overly emotional, offer to reschedule the meeting for another time. You can help avoid this situation by providing ongoing communication throughout the year. Nothing should come as a surprise to the employee during a review.

Do I always have to use progressive discipline? Can’t I terminate employees immediately?

Yes, for serious issues. As I mentioned in the presentation, not all infractions warrant progressive discipline. If an employee steals from you or threatens a customer, for example, that is likely cause for immediate dismissal. But for lesser infractions, progressive discipline is a good way to ensure you have proper documentation to justify your decision.

What questions should I ask on an employee self-appraisal?

A few good questions to include are:

• “What was your greatest accomplishment over the past year?”
• “What do you hope to accomplish in the coming year?”
• And, “What areas of your performance do you think need improvement?

I have an employee who received a written warning. I said that we would meet again in a month to review her performance. But she’s not meeting expectations. I’d like to let her go now. Can I do that?

Unless it’s something serious, I would wait until the time stated in the warning. The exception would be if there was some sort of language in the written notice that discipline may be enforced earlier if performance doesn’t show improvement. If you said in the document that the month was for her to show improvement, you should give her the full month.

What’s the best way to prepare for conducting a review?

Before sitting down with the employee, take some time to think through what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it. Try to anticipate the employee’s response to any constructive criticism and how you will reply. And make sure you have any supporting documentation you may need, such as written warnings and interim reviews. One more tip: Make sure you conduct your performance reviews on time. Nothing demoralizes an employee like rescheduling appraisals because you don’t have them done.

What do you do if an employee refuses to sign a written warning?

If an employee refuses to sign a written warning you can simply just document right on the warning, in the employee signature section “employee refused to sign.” As added precaution you can also have the witness sign the document saying the employee refused to sign. This is also why it’s important that whenever you hold a performance or discipline meeting that you have a witness there with you. This way if the employee then challenges the performance management, it’s not you against them, but you and the witness.

Should you put progressive discipline in place after the 90-day probationary period?

This is a great question, and to be honest, the way that I see it, the first 90 days are kind of a trial period. It’s the time to evaluate the employee to see if they are the proper fit for your company. If you have substantial performance or conduct issues with the employee within the 90 days then you can terminate their employment without applying any kind of progressive discipline. However, if you believe the employee can improve and could be an asset to your company, you may choose to issue a warning and provide feedback on expectations to help get the employee on the right track, however this would be solely up to you. Maybe you see that the employee is coachable, or trainable and its worth going that route or maybe the issues are too severe that you don’t.

Is using all three types of reviews a good or bad thing?

I think if it works for your company, managers and employees, then that is what’s important. The question you have to ask yourself is, is it working? And if it is and you are receiving the results you want and the process is being followed consistently, as they say “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” But then again it is always good to review the system and process you are using every once in a while to see if there are improvements that can be made to continue to keep your company growing.