How to Rebound from a Poor Performance Review
Taking the Pain out of a Painful Annual Review
Dec 26, 2008
An annual performance appraisal can be a great opportunity to meet with staff members and review their performance. However, it can also be a stressful event – for both the employee and the supervisor – especially if the review reveals an employee has been performing at a substandard level.
Reacting to a Negative Performance Review
Dealing with a negative performance review can be difficult for both the manager and the employee. One immediate reaction may be for employees to defend themselves and their actions, effectively closing off the ability to truly listen to what their boss has to say. By not hearing the supervisor or ignoring her input regarding areas that require improvement employees do themselves a great disservice. But how a supervisor reacts is equally important.
Linda Harris, President of Valencia-based human resources and management consulting firm JorgensenHR, says “When there is a deficiency in performance, the manager has to ask the question, “Why?” Was it within the employee's control, did the employee have all the tools necessary to be successful,” or was there another reason for the lagging performance?
Listening to what the supervisor feels went wrong can help employees to see where there might be a disconnection between the supervisor’s expectations and their own performance. Understanding what went wrong enables the two of them to work together to prevent problems in the future and improve performance. Harris says that it is especially important to “ensure expectations are clearly defined” so that during the next appraisal process there will not be continuing problems. Supervisors should ask employees directly what they can do to help ensure the employee’s future success.
How to Handle the Aftermath of a Negative Performance Review
Employees who take the time to listen and understand the feedback provided have a great opportunity to learn and grow. They also leave the door open to have further discussion about any disagreements they have with the review.
Additionally, Harris advises that managers “should show their support by continuing to follow-up with the employee at regular intervals to ensure the employee is on track. This feedback and coaching can be critical to the employee's success rather than waiting until the end of the review period and telling the employee they failed.”
Employees should remember that when given the opportunity they have the right to share their input regarding their own performance. The best way to do this is to have documentation of their accomplishments throughout the year. This will help the supervisor to understand and perhaps even remember the employee’s positive actions and ultimately successes.
At the end of the day the goal should be to come to an agreement about areas of success as well as areas that require more work. And by having an open, mature discussion about performance and by working together to establish expectations and requirements, the supervisor and the employee are better equipped to bring about a positive outcome.
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