Business Mentor – Did Your Team Deliver For You?

It’s the end of the year and an excellent time to assess how your team has worked for you and your business over the past year.

    1. Be prepared.

Set a date for the appraisal and stick to it. Canceling or postponing it could convey the message that it is not that important. Allow plenty of time for preparation in advance of the meeting.

    2. Book a meeting room

Choose a space where no one will overhear the discussion and where you will not be interrupted. Switch off your mobile phone ensure somebody else fields your calls, and allocate a reasonable period for the meeting.

    3. Don’t do all the talking.

Employ interviewing and coaching skills of listening and questioning. A good indication is that you as owner manager should be doing about 20% of the talking.

    4. Celebrate accomplishments.

Starting with a blank pad of paper, note down the individual’s accomplishments in the past quarter. Ask the person what they achieved and write down each item, no matter how small. People tend to describe their achievements in humble terms. Change their language to truly reflect the size/importance of each success.

    5. Demonstrate that you have been paying attention.

People forget, overlook, or are not aware that things they have done are important. Managers often fail to give feedback in real-time, too. Search your memory banks for these achievements and add them to the list. Focus particularly on soft skills such as team building, negotiating, and conflict resolution, which managers should mention even though they will never set them as anyone’s objectives. They will feel valued and have a better appreciation for what is important to them as a result.

    6. If you need to raise difficult issues

prepare well in advance to seek positive outcomes. Encourage staff to find their own solutions and aim to strike a balance in your appraisal – don’t focus on the negative aspects.

    7. Negotiate areas for employee improvement.

Ask the employee what he/she would like to work on in the next quarter. Don’t limit topics to the four corners of the job description. Career concerns and life balance are also legitimate topics. If the individual has not mentioned an area that you would like to have prioritised, verbally add it to the list stating the benefit the person will derive from making the change(s) you envisage. Negotiate one or two items that the person will commit to work on in order of priority. No one can effectively focus on more than two behaviors or skills at a time.

    8. Set measurable, time-limited goals.

    9. Keep a record.

At the end of the meeting, sum up the key points covered and agree on an action plan. Ensure that key issues are tackled and resolved without waiting for the next appraisal to come around.

    10. Do it again next quarter, starting in 2012.

You both now know what to expect and are prepared for the next discussion. Be sure to note progress on next quarter’s list of accomplishments. As the team repeats the process during the coming year, they will require less time for each review because the habit becomes ingrained. You will have the opportunity to take timely corrective actions or award incentives. Best of all, quarterly feedback sessions take the edge off of annual reviews. Managers communicate their perceptions of employee performance and provide ample notice and opportunities for development and growth.