Let the employee do most of the talking at the annual performance review

Posted in executive director / staff team



Let the employee do most of the talking at the annual performance review

The report card style annual performance review has become an obsolete process. Gone are the days of saving up all the failings of your employees and presenting it to them at year end, along with a few positives just to cut the sting. Still, there is a responsibility as an employer to identify the ups, downs, and needs of an employee from the year that finished, to better inform the year ahead.

Don’t waste the opportunity to know the team.

Non-profit work plans have built-in check points throughout the year to make sure goals are being met. Feedback is given real time, to help employees stay on track and to identify any areas where a correction is needed. All the ongoing debriefs and trouble shooting make the annual evaluation feel pointless. There is a strong temptation to skip the performance review and roll right into the next year’s work plans.  

Skipping the annual performance review would be a wasted opportunity for an executive director to better know their own team.

Think of the performance reviews as both alike and dissimilar to a staff meeting.

At a monthly staff meeting, an executive director might ask questions about the month that finished and the month ahead. At the annual performance review, those questions can be easily modified to ask about the year that finished and the year ahead.

At a monthly staff meeting, an executive director will actively participate in discussions to guide the team to stay on track in reaching the annual goals. At the annual performance review, an executive director will let the employee do most of the talking. Speaking up only to ask for clarification and to ask the next question.

Prep questions are included in the work plan.

An executive director will want employees to be prepared for the performance review, by having a set of performance review prep questions that were included in the employee workplan. This eliminates the surprise factor by providing the employee with the questions at the beginning of the year.

Employees will be asked to submit the answers to the prep questions a few days prior to the performance review. This gives the employee time to provide thoughtful answers, and the executive director time to review the responses and determine if clarification is required.

Prep questions in 3 categories.

The first set of questions will talk about the YEAR IN REVIEW. From the employee’s biggest accomplishment in achieving goals to missed targets, these questions will allow the employee to identify what they feel they did well and what they feel they did poorly. The beauty of these question is that the employee will feel more ownership of their shortcomings and will have the opportunity to identify their own successes. No more supervisor interpretation of failure and success.

  • Considering all your [assigned work duties and goals], what are you most proud of from the last year? OR What has been your biggest accomplishment this past year? Why?
  • What contributed to your success?
  • Did you have any major shifts from [what you were expected to do and what actually happened]?
  • Did you achieve the goals you set out for the year?

The second set of questions will ask the employee to think about THE JOB itself. This helps employers see through the employee’s eyes, where the job has shifted, and if adjustments need to be made. Questions provide insight into where the employee is thriving and where the job might be taking a negative toll.

  • Thinking about the past year, how has the job changed?
  • How have you changed?
  • Thinking about your future in this position, what do you want to keep doing/improve/start/stop.

The third set of questions will ask the employee to envision themselves as part of the BIGGER PICTURE. These are easy questions for strong employees and will help an executive director identify disengaged or weak workers.

  • Tell me how you succeed as [position/title]?
  • How do you deliver value….. for clients/team/organization?
  • How do you draw value for yourself?
  • Where can I help?
  • Do you require training?

The actual performance review conversation uses different questions.

The trick with the answers submitted by the employee, is to NOT go through them unless clarity is needed. The executive director reads the responses in preparation prior to the meeting and then asks a slightly different set of questions at the performance review.

  • What was the best thing about the past year?
  • In the organization or the job, what is working well and what is not working?
  • What has been on your mind this year, or in preparation for this meeting, that you would like to share?

The pre-submitted answers from prep questions, and the answers from the last 3 questions will create a more robust conversation, from which action items for both the employee and the employee, can be created.

Final performance review report.

In addition to any sort of work plan final report the organization has in place, the annual performance review report will include:

  • The answers from the performance review prep questions.
  • The action items from the discussion.

Expect to feel sad.

Even with the performance review for a 5-star employee, it is completely normal for an executive director to feel sad. The performance review is all about the employee, letting them shine, letting them vent, and helping them feel empowered.

As executive directors, our job is to care for our teams, our organizations, and support our board. It is a lonely job, and extremely rare for someone to return the kind of care we provide to others. This is totally normal and happens even with the most positive performance review.

To combat the sadness, it can help to conduct all the evaluation conversations in a row, on the same day. It develops a momentum and keeps an executive director focussed. Having a box of fancy chocolates in your desk for the end of the day helps too.

Personalities will emerge.

A well-crafted annual performance review process and report format will empower an employee to identify their own successes and failures. The process is designed to let the employee shine.

The employer will get to know their employees much more accurately. Employee personalities will emerge in the answers to the prep questions and the review conversation. This will provide important insight for an executive director to learn more about how to lead the different members of the team.

How to get started.

Getting started with an empowering annual performance review starts with designing a system that gives the employee the ability to define their own successes, failures, and needs for the future. Determine your own prep questions and the meeting question, and don’t be afraid to change from year to year as the process evolves.

Let me know how it works for you.

If you give this performance review process a try, I’d love to hear how it worked for you. If you have questions, and I love questions, I want to know that too! Please use the form on the right side of the page to let me know.

-Christie

Hi, I'm Christie Saas, current Executive Director, past board member, and non-profit volunteer. I remember well, those early years when I lacked the training, the confidence, and the work-life balance to focus on becoming the best non-profit leader I could be.

Fast-forward past many bumps in the road, lessons learned, and you’ll find me still in the trenches, but a little wiser, a little calmer, and a whole lot happier. I love my work and I want to help you love yours too.

I created ChristieSaas.com so non-profit leaders never need to feel alone. I’m here to help. If you’re a brand-new non-profit leader, or a little more seasoned, someone who’s looking to make a meaningful contribution and still have time for a full life away from the job, you’re in the right place.

© Christie Saas 2023 All Rights Reserved

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