Changing the Dread of the Annual Review

As a manager of 12 student staff members, it is part of my responsibility to conduct annual or semester reviews.  I see the value in reviews as it is an opportunity to connect with staff, have a one-on-one conversation without racing the clock to cover the event needs, and to talk about anything that may need to be further addressed.   However, I personally hate reviews.  I hate that it can be such a formal process where there always seems to be a buildup of anxiety before the meeting, and then in my case (when I have my own review) I have to fill out a form rating and justifying myself before I speak with my supervisor.  Reviews can be really nerve-racking and sometimes some of the information shared comes as a surprise.

When I first started as a manager I followed the standard review process I had experienced.  Send off the “rate yourself” form and schedule a meeting with the employee than go through the form myself and rate them. Let the anxiety build until the meeting occurs, discuss the differences in ratings, tell them what to fix, and call it a day.  Doesn’t sound too helpful, does it?  All someone really gets out of that is what I think differently from them (usually) about their work and then we go on about our business.  I also feel as though 80% of the time new information is shared at these meetings, which I also don’t like.

I think a review should be a time to touch base, continue conversations uninterrupted from the standard workday, have two-way communication about plans and ideas, further address issues (if needed), and best of all grant raises if you can. I think reviews should be positive and oriented toward improvements than negative with reprimands and surprise information. As a result, I decided to take a new approach with my staff members.  I threw out the “rate yourself” form, stopped asking if they thought they meet expectations or exceed them, and address issues as they occur instead of once a year or semester.

Instead, I decided to change the anxiety-filled meeting into a conversation about goals and planning. This way, I gain knowledge of where they are in achieving the goals they have set, provide my 2 cents on where I think they are, continue a conversation about something that hasn’t gone well, and – if I can afford it – offer a raise.  

As a side note, I include continuing the conversation about something that hasn’t gone well in the past, as I never want a negative topic to be a surprise.  If I see something an employee needs to change I tell them right then (if time permits), otherwise sometime that day. I never wait too long or let it be a surprise later on. That doesn’t do anyone any justice. Waiting 6 months to tell someone that they did something they shouldn’t only give them more time to continue the mistake and for it to become the norm.

I always start my review meetings touching base with the staff member, asking them how they are doing, what’s stressing them out most right now in life and/or at work, and opening the door so the employees can talk to me about anything they want to first. Then we move into goals. We will discuss progress on the goals they set for the semester reviewing their progress and discussing if the expectations have been met both by me and the employee. Then we move forward with setting new goals. Usually, I have staff members set three goals. I have found that three goals in a semester seem to be achievable and we can cover a wide range of enhancements within those three.  I strive for each staff member to have one skill-based goal (communication, leadership, etc.) one technology-based goal (mic placement, board techniques, etc.), and then one in any area they desire to improve.

We determine these goals together so we both can see developments where needed, but so we can also make sure the goals are achievable and lay the groundwork to do so.  We talk right then about how they plan to reach those goals and what I can do to help them.  It is also an opportunity to make a recurring issue a goal for improvement so everyone is on the same page.

Our next conversation is about raises. If I am allowed, I give raises based on their performance and their achievements of these goals. If I can’t give a raise we have a conversation of why so they know why no raise was given. I try to not keep everything a secret; secrets don’t help create a team environment.  

Finally, I open the floor to them. I ask them if they have anything else they would like to discuss or anything they want to bring to my attention or feel that I should change. Communication is a two-way street so for all of us to be a great team together. I believe that my employees should feel like they can talk to me about or ask me to change anything. Having open conversation helps to create a positive work environment and also allows for me to be transparent about what I am working with or up against. I can learn as much from them as they can from me so keeping communication open helps me improve and develop my management skills as well.

Overall, my philosophy with my employees is that I’m a stepping-stone to whatever they desire next from their careers.  My goal is to create an employee that is prepared, educated, and qualified for their next job. Now, their next job always means they leave the operation as I can only hire students so they always move forward, but I don’t think my philosophy would change if I worked somewhere where employees had indefinite terms. However, I would adjust my orientation of the next job being within the company instead of elsewhere. My point is this: change your review tactics if you are a manager in order to make it about goal setting and moving forward instead of each staff member’s personal Yelp review from someone who didn’t even ask the server for more ranch before bashing the company online).

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