In almost every gathering of campus managers, the increasing demands on their time is the number one topic. A broader range of responsibilities is the inevitable result of our shrinking resources, decreasing numbers of staff, and changing program goals. The purpose of these discussions is not simply to vent; the focus usually shifts to discussing how to work more effectively and efficiently.

A critical component of the new approach to performance management is to answer this question regarding each part of the performance management cycle: How will it help me do my job better?

The first topic in the cycle is Performance Standards. Many resources are available to help managers understand how to develop performance standards, including the Guide to Managing Human Resources and a variety of classes and workshops.

Nevertheless, the first question many managers ask about standards is Why have them at all?

The answer is simple: RESULTS.

Performance standards are a time-saver. If managers invest the time in developing standards, the payoff will occur in the following ways:

• Employees' efforts will be directed toward achieving specific results that directly support the overall unit or department goals (you won't be wondering what they're doing, and they won't be wondering what they should be doing).
• Employees who should know what to do (have you ever used that phrase?) will have updated information in our rapidly-changing work environment.
• There will be a basis for on-going feedback that is specific enough to guide performance.
• Meetings will have a focus (were standards met or not?).
• The troublesome element of feedback being perceived as subjective will be virtually eliminated.
• Employees will be active contributors to the annual written appraisal, reducing the time demands on managers.
• New employees will have a solid foundation for orientation to the new job and discussion of specific expectations.
• All employees will have the satisfaction of knowing immediately that their work performance meets expectations.
• Pay for performance will become a reality, because merit recommendations will be based on objective assessments of employees' individual performance and contributions to department goals.

Keep these in mind as you participate in performance standards training and practice sessions. The results will be visible in enhanced communication with employees and more productive use of everybody's time.

Performance Standards

Written performance standards let you compare the employee's performance with mutually understood expectations and minimize ambiguity in providing feedback. Standards exist whether or not they are discussed or put in writing. When you observe an employee's performance, you usually make a judgment about whether that performance is acceptable. Standards identify a baseline for measuring performance. From performance standards, supervisors can provide specific feedback describing the gap between expected and actual performance. Write performance standards for each key area of responsibility on the employee's job description; These standards describe the conditions that must exist before the performance can be rated satisfactory.

Effective performance standards:
Serve as an objective basis for communicating about performance
Enable the employee to differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable results
Increase job satisfaction because employees know when tasks are performed well
Inform new employees of your expectations about job performance
Encourage an open and trusting relationship with employees

A performance standard should:
Be realistic, in other words, attainable by any qualified, competent, and fully trained person who has the authority and resources to achieve the desired result
Describe the conditions that exist when performance meets expectations
Be expressed in terms of quantity, quality, time, cost, effect, manner of performance, or method of doing
Be measurable, with specified method(s) of gathering performance data and measuring performance against standards

The terms for expressing performance standards are outlined below:

• Quantity
• Quality
• Timeliness
• Effective Use of Resources.
• Effects of Effort
• Manner of Performance
• Method of Performing Assignments

Since one of the characteristics of a performance standard is that it can be measured, you should identify how and where evidence about the employee's performance will be gathered. Specifying the performance measurements when the responsibility is assigned will help the employee keep track of his progress, as well as helping you in the future performance discussions.

There are many effective ways to monitor and verify performance, the most common of which are:
Direct observation
Specific work results (tangible evidence that can be reviewed without the employee being present)
Reports and records, such as attendance, safety, inventory, financial records, etc.
Commendations or constructive or critical comments received about the employee's work

Coaching (Observation & Feedback)
Once performance objectives and standards are established, you should observe employees' performance and provide feedback. You have a responsibility to recognize and reinforce strong performance by an employee, and identify and encourage improvement where it is needed. You provide informal feedback almost every day.

By observing and providing detailed feedback, you play a critical role in the employee's continued success and motivation to meet performance expectations.

Coaching is a method of strengthening communication between you and the employee. It helps to shape performance and increase the likelihood that the employee's results will meet your expectations. Coaching sessions provide you and the employee the opportunity to discuss her progress toward meeting mutually-established standards and goals. A coaching session focuses on one or two aspects of performance, rather than the total review that takes place in a performance evaluation.

Key Elements of Coaching

To make your coaching session effective, you must understand the key elements of coaching:

• Coach when you want to focus attention on any specific aspect of the employee's performance.
• Observe the employee's work and solicit feedback from others.
• When performance is successful, take the time to understand why.
• Advise the employee ahead of time on issues to be discussed.
• Discuss alternative solutions.
• Agree on action to be taken.
• Schedule follow-up meeting(s) to measure results.
• Recognize successes and improvements.
• Document key elements of coaching session.

Performance Appraisal

To do their best, staff members need to know that those contributions will be recognized and acknowledged. Overseeing performance and providing feedback is not an isolated event, but rather an ongoing process that takes place throughout the year. The performance appraisal is part of that process, and provides an excellent opportunity for you to communicate with the employee about past performance, evaluate the employee's job satisfaction, and make plans for the employee's future performance.

For career staff, performance appraisals should be completed annually. For staff in probation, performance appraisals should be completed at the midpoint of their probationary period. If it unsatisfactory performance is found and the employment needs to be terminated, consult with your supervisor first and then Director of Human Resources prior to releasing the employee.

Remember that the performance appraisal summarizes the employee's contributions over the entire appraisal period (usually one year). It is not a step in the disciplinary process. It may occur as often as you believe is necessary to acknowledge the employee for accomplishments and to plan together for improved performance.

The goal of the performance appraisal process is to help the employee feel:

• Positive about the job
• Motivated to do well and to develop
• Benefited by specific, constructive feedback
• Appreciated for specific contributions
• Informed about current and future performance objectives
• Involved as a participant in the process

Performance Appraisal: A New Approach

"It's time to conduct the annual performance appraisal."

These are words that elicit sighs of resignation from many and shivers of loathing from others. According to one expert, employees in most organizations dread receiving their annual reviews as much as managers hate giving them. Despite everyone's best efforts, we hear some common complaints when you and your employees talk to us about the performance appraisal process:

• Lack of time: Both employees and mangers lament the amount of time it takes to conduct a comprehensive review.
  
  
• Lack of Information: Mangers and employees frequently feel they lack enough specific information to make a meaningful assessment of progress.
  
  
• Lack of Employee Involvement: Both supervisors and their employees still express concern about the "top down" approach of most performance appraisals; not all employees are asked by their supervisors for input before the performance appraisal.

At the same time, supervisors and employees agree that there are some tangible benefits to the performance appraisal. These include:

• Employees' efforts are focused on pre-determined results though specific feedback.
• Employees clearly understand what is expected of them.
• Supervisors understand better the problems that employees encounter on the job and can work to remove barriers to positive performance and behavior.
• Supervisors and employees can identify training needs and opportunities for continued professional development.
• Employees feel recognized for positive contributions and confident that they and their supervisor have had an honest dialogue.

Isn't it interesting that the list of benefits is longer than the list of complaints?

Making it Work
Human Resources has developed a variety of tools to help you approach performance appraisals. We've shared information about performance appraisal as part of the on-going process of managing performance. We've emphasized the need for continuous communication between you and the employee regarding assignments, goals, standards, accomplishments, problems, and development plans. We've encouraged you to customize a form to meet your needs, provided samples, and even suggested that you dispense with the form altogether if that works better for you and the employee.

Since we know how to conduct performance appraisals, maybe our challenge is to really think differently about them. Maybe we need to move away from the traditional approach, not only about forms but in how we view and value working together.

Ask yourself: Is an appraisal something you do to an employee or with an employee? If you work on the performance appraisal as a team, you can build mutual accountability into the process of setting goals, sharing feedback and achieving results.

Most people commit more enthusiastically to something they help create. Talk with employees about new ways to approach the whole process.

For example:

• As the link from upper management, you receive information about organizational objectives. Share this information so the employee understands how organizational and individual goals are connected, and feels like a partner in your unit's accomplishments.
  
  
• Deal with issues in "real time." Think in terms of work cycles or business cycles. Does it make sense to have short, formal reviews several times a year as a work results occur, rather than on a annual schedule?
  
  
• Try an employee-initiated process. Let your employee know that you need to help her make sure her efforts are on track. Create an atmosphere that encourages her to initiate requests for feedback or formal reviews and communicate this change up-front.
  
  
• Team members have different roles to play. If your employee is the "doer," maybe you are the "facilitator." As the person with more authority, you can foster your employee's efforts by providing resources and removing barriers. Be there to support and encourage her in meeting clearly defined goals, and then allow her room to accomplish her work.
  
  
• Discuss the use of "I-Statements" as a communication tool for your team. Statements that begin with "you" may sound like accusations. If you're both trying to defend yourselves, you may be too busy developing your own arguments to listen to each other very carefully. Begin with "I," and then offer a description of your opinion and the behavior you believe would be most effective.

Achieving a new mind-set about performance appraisals will help you and your employee focus on the positive aspects of this element in the performance management process.

As partners in the performance appraisal process, you'll achieve shared responsibility for setting goals, gathering information, and evaluating performance.

Performance Appraisal Planning Checklist

Plan the Meeting

• Notify employee of date, time, and place.
• Provide employee with blank appraisal form.
• Set aside at least an hour in a private comfortable location.
• Arrange to meet without phone calls and other interruptions.
• Assemble and review employee's:
  • Job description
  • Past appraisals
  • Performance goals
  • Critical incident logs
  • Documentation of performance

Prepare Performance Appraisal Form

• Follow format.
• Be detailed and use specific examples.
• Be sure appraisal is:
  • Job-related
  • Objective
  • Goal-related
  • Based on performance and behavior
  • Free of personal likes and dislikes
  • Free of stereotypes
  • Not overly strict or lenient
  • Not overly weighted by a single or recent incident
• Develop specific performance improvements and goals for coming year.
  

Employee Who is Failing

• State the situation clearly. Emphasize performance, with concrete examples.
• Make employee aware of consequences of poor performance.
• Encourage employee to discuss the problem.
• Coach employee to develop solutions to problem.
• Offer help, agree on action plan, and set frequent follow-ups on progress.

Long-Term Employees

• Show appreciation and don't take for granted.
• Discuss something new (goals, accomplishments, etc.) each time.

Employee Who Agrees Too Quickly

• For some people this is a way of avoiding a problem. Probe to see what their real feelings are.
• Make sure employee understands problem and consequences.
• Determine if agreement is sincere and emphasize steps for improvement.
• Establish process to follow up.

Angry Employee

• Let employee blow off steam but don't respond in kind.
• Listen and ask open-ended questions to identify the true nature of the resistance.
• State your point of view calmly.
• Don't try to reach agreement if employee stays angry. Set a second meeting.

Employee Who's Just Getting By

• Clarify standards and expectations.
• Ask open questions and listen to identify employee's feelings about the job.
• Reinforce strengths and mutually develop a plan for improvement.
• Establish process to follow up.

Employee Who Wants Too Much

• Remind employee that raises are given at regular intervals according to the State and Office of the President.
• Make no promises, and don't let employee infer any commitments.
• Provide a realistic picture of future prospects.

Silent Employee

• Ask open questions to encourage employee to talk ("What do you think of..." " What are your plans for...")
• Listen and show interest.
• Do not feel obligated to fill silences.