Performance Management tends to get a negative reputation among many employees. It has traditionally been seen, at its best, as an end-of-year event where managers shared their approval or disapproval of the employee and what they delivered that year. At its worst, it’s simply seen as a process HR forces everyone through.
But the truth is, if done well, it can be a powerful career management tool for all employees. Instead of viewing it as a process to receive feedback and ratings, individuals should shift to view the year-round performance management process as a way to drive the business of their career.
A report from Zippia shows that companies can reduce employee turnover rates by 50% by promoting communication and collaboration. But it doesn’t have to all be left up to the leadership of the company to make this a reality. The performance management process is a great way to take control of how much communication and collaboration we get in our jobs.
Below are practical tips to facilitate the career pluses of driving your own performance management vs. relying on management to do so.
1. Remember you’re a business owner. Gartner research shows that 82% of employees say it’s important for their organization to see them as a person, not just an employee, but only 45% of employees believe their organzation actually sees them this way. What if every employee actually saw themselves as a business owner? They just decided to set up shop under the umbrella of a larger company. That means they’ve negotiated away some risk, do their taxes differently and have gained some stability through regular paychecks. But each employee is being paid to deliver a product or service. That means their running a business. When we sit in the reality of being a business owner vs. an employee we are less passive and reactive. We are able to define our worth and value vs. waiting to be noticed by the company.
This makes our manager our primary client vs. our boss. When leadership is our client we approach conversations from a place of partnership vs. obedience. We are more likely to be collaborative with our managers. We also don’t wait for our managers to bring opportunities to us, we are on the lookout for ways to help them and share our recommendations. We also don’t tell our ‘clients’ what to do but we lead with a viewpoint and provide thought partnership.
2. Use continuous feedback as the glue to your working relationship with your ‘primary client’, aka your manager. Feedback becomes the way we build a relationship with our client vs. something we seek for validation or fear due to criticism. We want our ‘clients’ speaking to us, even when they’re not thrilled with what we’ve delivered.
We also get very clear that the feedback that matters is about our work results, the impact we make and how people experience our approach to working with them. As business owners, we are not looking for personal approval or validation, Nor do we take critiques of our personal character or internal thought process as useful. We get good at getting our ‘clients’ to focus on the work vs. having our manager speak to us like they’re our parents.
3. Conduct quarterly check-ins like a client service call vs. a review of your worth. To really set up performance management to serve our career, we use the quarterly check-in as a tool for honest reflection and business analysis. The goal is to share with our clients the themes and impact of the work we’ve done on their behalf. Part of our service is keeping the manager in the loop. We build trust by being honest and reflective of what they should continue to use us for and where we may be experiencing challenges. We don’t want our clients surprised.
By approaching these conversations as service calls, we empower ourselves and have a more dignified dialogue. We are not at the mercy of our managers. Instead, we are running our business. We care about what our ‘client’ needs and we know it’s up to us to facilitate a productive dialogue.
4. Use ratings for alignment checking vs. validation or reward. Ratings need to stop being our goal or primary focus. We confuse ratings with a traditional school grading system. Many of us have been primed since childhood to equate our value to how high we scored in that grading system. But in business, it’s about setting and delivering on meaningful goals. Meeting that expectation is in fact the point. If you delivered more than what was expected, then it’s worth evaluating why that was and whether it can be duplicated.
Rarely, if ever, do performance ratings come up in a job interview. According to a study done by LiveCareer, hiring managers are most interested in hearing about your experiences managing conflict (69%) and learning from mistakes (68%). If you’re applying for a new position within the company you currently work in, it may come up to ensure you’re performing at a satisfactory level in your current role. But what hiring managers really want to know about is your experience, how people feel about working with you and the results you’ve delivered.
5. Approach development as a pitch for investment. Instead of thinking the company owes you something or the manager is supposed to develop you, get strategic about building demand and buy-in for the kind of work you ultimately want to do. Identify opportunities to help the organization evolve and succeed that also provide you with a chance to elevate your skills and experience in areas you’re passionate about. This is how you can carve out the career you truly want while also building demand for the roles you belong in.
When we approach our development as an investment request, we also pitch for more than simply going to a workshop or obtaining a certification in something. Ultimately, we are pitching that the company buy into having us carve out new work. This means there is a planned return on investment for any courses, coaching or skill building they pay for or provide.
Taking this approach isn’t about letting managers off the hook when it comes to performance management. In fact, when employees step into the driver’s seat of performance management, managers have the space to step fully into the role of a coach and a collaborator. Arguably, this is a much more sophisticated role than keeping watch of employees’ productivity. And it sets every employee up to be the heroes of their careers vs. the victims or beneficiaries of whatever the circumstances are within the company they happen to be working with.
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