Performance reviews are a fantastic way to engage with the team and find new areas of opportunity. Things can get difficult, however, when you’re forced to give an underperforming employee a poor performance review.
While it’s always uncomfortable, if done correctly, a negative review can motivate the employee to increase productivity. If done incorrectly, it’ll demotivate the employee and put them on the defensive.
You can’t control their response, but you CAN set the stage for a constructive meeting regardless of the poor performance review.
DON’T do it publicly
Imagine working in an environment where every mistake you make is announced to the entire company. In fact, there’s a board that tallies how many mistakes you make throughout the month. Hit a certain number and BAM – fired.
I think we can all agree that this theoretical workplace isn’t going to receive the “best place to work” award. This company probably has high turnover, a low Glassdoor rating and terrible morale.
Public shaming is rarely the appropriate approach to dealing with workplace issues. Leaders that do this, generally expect high turnover and don’t care about the consequences of their managerial style. The goal of a performance review isn’t to instill crippling anxiety into everyone on the team – it’s to improve performance.
DO encourage self-assessment
Before you start, provide a survey (preferably a week prior), for employees to take on how they think they’re doing.
Here are some questions you need to ask:
- Which job responsibilities do you enjoy most? Which do you least enjoy?
- What 2-3 things will you focus on in the next quarter to help you grow and develop?
- Do you feel your strengths are maximized here?
- How can we equip you to succeed?
- How do you think your role helps the company succeed?
- What motivates you to get your job done?
- What would you change about your role?
Once you receive the answers to these questions, you’ll be able to understand how they perceive their own work. This will help you manage your expectations. A meeting with someone who is already aware of their shortcomings will be more focused on overcoming problem areas. Someone unaware is going to require heavier discussion on the actual performance issues.
DON’T make it personal
Make sure to remove character-related judgments (ex: too bossy, not detail-oriented) from feedback. We are all humans and when an employee is doing poorly, it can get frustrating. That’s why it’s important to take personal emotions out and focus on facts. It’s entirely possible to be constructive without additional hostility.
Data shows women tend to get much more personality-related criticism than men. According to data scientist, Priya Sundararajan, after reviewing 25,000 peer feedback statements across a performance cycle of nearly 1,500 employees, she discovered that female employees are nearly 1.4x more likely to receive personality phrases than their male counterparts.
DO be specific
During the review, be specific in what they need to change and how they can fix it.
After you’ve finished giving your employee a negative review, what do you do next?
Create a list of SMART goals both for the long term and for the short term.
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
If they follow your advice, they should be able to bounce back with a great performance review the following year. If you’ve hit year 2 of bad reviews, then you may need to consider what precedent they’re setting for future employees at your organization.
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