.Building a Better Performance Review System
In previous jobs I was never really happy with the way performance reviews were done. Often they were flat, boring conversations plagued with awkwardness and anxiety. They usually happened annually after the new year. It was the same whether I was leading reviews for my direct reports or doing mine with my boss. I was always surprised at what we had written and what we agreed upon 12 months ago. More often than not the goals and objectives we laid out for the year changed within the first quarter and were more or less obsolete in terms of a bar for which to judge a year’s worth of work.
The one-on-one review was a slow dance by awkward partners who wanted more than anything for the music to end and to part ways. Usually, out of this uneasiness, someone talked too much and someone nodded their head. At the end any promotion or compensation changes were briefly discussed and then it was over. Both parties would smile leaving the room – smiling because we would not have to repeat this unpleasantness for another year not because we just got (or gave someone) a raise.
Over the past few years at Dogster, Inc. our experience was not entirely dissimilar from the experience above. We did do reviews every six months. We would try really hard to put some thought into each person’s review. In the end however, I still felt that there was a lot underneath the surface, both good and bad, that we just weren’t able to uncover. It didn’t feel bad, but rather like there was missing information, missing opportunity and missing a great chance to connect with the team members.
In our last review cycle we tried something different. Ellen D., our Director of Product Marketing, and I researched and came up with a new set of questions. The questions were designed to try to understand if a person is thriving at Dogster, Inc., if they are happy, if they have the support they need and what things, if any, are preventing them from succeeding. We know we have a really strong team of exceptional people so we didn’t necessarily feel the need to critique their work. But we did really want to uncover what needs they have for increasing success and happiness as well as, when appropriate, we wanted to communicate the needs the company from them. It was not about right and wrong but about meeting each other’s needs.
It was not a perfect process by far. There were still some awkward moments and I am sure a few people think we are becoming too wishy washy. But, I will say after this cycle of reviews, we feel way more connected to everyone on the team. I feel like we understand each team member’s motivations, pains and triumphs way more than ever before. There are things I think we will change next time around but I would say that this last cycle of reviews was about 10x more valuable than any previous cycle.
Here are the questions that formed the template of our review discussions:
- Do you feel like you continually have a good idea of what is expected of you at work?
- Do you feel you have the equipment, tools and resources you need to do your job right?
- Do you feel that your individual performance and contributions are valued appropriately?
- Is there someone here who encourages and invests in your growth and development? Do you feel that you have ample opportunity for growth here?
- Do you feel that your opinions count and your input fairly considered?
- Do you feel that your co-workers are committed to doing quality work?
- In this review period what work have you done that you are most proud of?
- In this review period what work have you done that you feel you could have gone better?
- What inter-team communication is going well for you?
- What inter-team communication is not going well for you?
- What specific development goals do you have for the upcoming year?
- Is there anything else you would like to add?
We will be discussing this as well as some of our other management hits and misses at SxSW next week.
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