Failing Performance Reviews

A couple people I know recently got failing grades on performance reviews.

Of course they were upset by it; but worse from my perspective is that they were surprised by it.

There should be no negative surprises in a performance review. None. That is a failure of supervision.

Over the years I’ve seen, heard of, and been involved in lots of different approaches to performance reviews. In general I think they’re getting better. There’s a growing emphasis on using them in developmental ways instead of purely judgmental. Improved disciplinary processes are rightly being seen as distinct matters from performance reviews. And more effort is being made to have mutually agreed upon expectations as the basis of evaluation.

But there are still horror stories, like…

-Someone I know who received a review compiling nearly a dozen different perspectives, some of which contradicted each other, with no clear summary or unified direction.

-Another person who was penalized on their review because they voluntarily did the jobs other people didn’t want to, with the approval of their supervisor, and therefore didn’t demonstrate the skills the other roles required.

-A leader whose affirming review from their supervisor was overruled by a higher up, who had little direct interaction with the leader, based on hearsay that was never discussed.

-More than a few people who received reviews with no specifics, just a vague sense that “things seem to be going well”, and no direction for growth or improvement.

-A leader in an organization with a financial bonus structure who received a fairly growing review but a lower than expected bonus without explanation, only to find out later that financial pressure had reduced the bonus pool but no one had passed on that relevant information.

The common threads here all come down to communication and clarity. No surprise; those are at the root of a large majority of workplace frustration.

There are some people, very few I suspect, who are somehow oblivious to the truth about their performance. In every other circumstance a performance review should be a summary of the ongoing conversations about expectations and results, shared with the intent of enabling continued improvement.

Surprises mean it’s the supervisor who has really failed.