The StrategicPay Blog would like to thank  fellow Compensation Cafe' blogger Darcy Dees for her contribution of this excellent post.

Performance Reviews: Why Bother?

We've all seen the claims that performance reviews are (or at least should be) dead because
they don't do anything and no one likes giving or receiving them.  I have to admit that I'm
a bit old-school on this issue.  I think they're very important, and when done right, really
help.

Why are performance reviews important?  The biggest reason I still like performance reviews is because they give us a formal opportunity to celebrate success.  Good managers do this on an ongoing basis, but let's face it, not all managers are good managers.  While it is very important to say thank you and specifically praise good work as it occurs, there's also something powerful about listing all of the good work that's been done recently in one
setting.  It can really help to improve morale when someone looks at all they've accomplished.

I am a big believer in strengths-based performance management, so I think that celebrating successes should be the primary focus of the review.  Steve Roesler posted over at All Things Workplace about Peter Drucker and his thoughts on strengths-based performance management.  The following quote nicely sums up why I believe in this approach:

One should waste as little effort as possible on improving areas of low competence.  It
takes far more energy and work to improve from incompetence to mediocrity than it takes to improve from first-rate performance to excellence.  And yet most people--especially most
teachers and most organizations--concentrate on making incompetent performers into mediocre ones.  Energy, resources, and time should go instead into making a competent person into a star performer.

Steve also posted a very important caution about applying this principle as a rule that I
think must be read hand-in-hand with any discussion about strengths-based performance
management. 

I also believe that reviews are still important from a documentation standpoint.  Again, not
all managers document things as they should.  If an issue arises later, at least you'll have
something indicating that the appropriate discussions took place.

I believe the ultimate goal of performance management is to recognize, encourage, and reward employee behaviors that drive positive business results.  Performance conversations should help team members to capitalize on their strengths and manage their weaknesses.  Of course the ongoing daily conversations that supervisors have with their employees are much more effective and helpful at accomplishing this, but since those don't always occur as they should, I'm still a believer in performance reviews.

Darcy Dees works as the Compensation Manager for Rock Bottom Restaurants, Inc.,
headquartered in Louisville, CO.  She has been working in Compensation for over 5 years now and recently attained her Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) designation.  She spends what little free time she has hiking and reading.