by Dan Monaghan

Created on: December 30, 2008

As a supervisor, your future success depends almost entirely on the success of the people you lead. Therefore, it is in your best interest to help your staff perform at a high level on a regular basis. One of the best ways to help your employees improve is to have a regular review session with them. Yet, most supervisors dread these sessions. In fact most studies show that, when it comes to distasteful management duties, performance reviews come in a close second to discipline.

Below are some "must haves" for making this process effective for both the employee and the supervisor.

1- BE BRUTALLY HONEST- This is not the time for your employees to be "reading between the lines". We all want to be the good guy and tell everyone what a great job they are doing. That feels good and makes for a comfortable session. But if not true, it hurts a lot more than it helps. If I am told that I am doing a fabulous job and I have no weaknesses, then I have no incentive to improve. I will continue to perform at the current level. As much as it might sting, your best people want to hear the bad along with the good so that they can work to improve. They need guidance from you to help them improve. By glossing over and minimizing their shortcomings, you shortchange their efforts to excel. Not the way to build a staff.

2- NO SURPRISES- At its core, a performance review should be a review of interactions you have had with your employees throughout the previous year. If you are telling them things for the first time, then you are not doing your job. An effective supervisor has frequent discussions with his employees outlining the good and not so good performances as they occur. Employees frequently site being "blindsided" by negative comments as a leading reason why they dislike performance review sessions. Referring back to previous conversations can give you credibility and prevent the employee from shutting down during the conversation.

3- MAKE IT A DIALOGUE- And start with a positive. Most employees dread these sessions as much as the supervisor. And is it any wonder? In far too many companies, these sessions are entirely one-sided monologues where the supervisor lists the employee's deficiencies and doesn't really ask for any input. The employee walks out feeling defeated and unmotivated. Why not use this opportunity to pump up morale by starting the session off with something positive about the employee's performance? Citing things such as punctuality, examples of teamwork or the time he or she stepped up and went above and beyond can start things off on a high note and cut the tension that is frequently present at the beginning of any session. Every employee has at least one positive and highlighting it can go a long way towards a successful and productive conversation.

One of the primary responsibilities of any supervisor is to develop his staff to their potential. Performance reviews are an excellent tool to help accomplish this as long as the supervisor makes every effort to be positive and honest.

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