Page 173 - Retaining Top Employees

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The Role of the Manager, Part 1 161

Get Training
If you’re uncomfortable doing performance appraisals and/or if
you tend to do late or cursory performance appraisals or even not at
all,think about getting some training.
Considering the importance of the performance appraisal in ensur-
ing that the organization achieves its strategic goals. It’s amazing how
few managers receive any formal training on the subject.When I finish
training sessions on conducting performance appraisals,I’m always
amazed at the number of veteran managers who tell me it’s their first
formal training for appraisals.
You wouldn’t let an unqualified mechanic check out your car and
you certainly wouldn’t accept a medical prognosis from an unqualified
doctor.Your employees deserve at least the same consideration when
it comes to evaluating their performance and guiding their careers.

this stage is part of the dreaded “annual review”—an activity
often postponed and eventually undertaken at the last moment
(or even later) by two unenthusiastic participants. That situation
is bad enough in terms of helping all employees perform to the
best of their potential—but it’s terrible in terms of keeping your
best employees.
You can make your performance appraisals more effective
and more positive—and more likely to keep your employees—
by following these three recommendations:

• Get formal training on the importance and conduct of
performance appraisals. Top employees find it excep-
tionally demotivating to be appraised by a manager who
cannot do it competently.
• Base your appraisal on the employee’s goals (as dis-
cussed in the previous section). Those goals should be
your focus, not any particular concern you might have at
the time. Those goals will help you avoid a “Well, how do
you think this year went?” generic review. Top performers
want to be evaluated according to their specific goals: it’s
how they know they have succeeded or failed. When you
don’t do so, you decrease the value of setting goals.
• Make your appraisal timely. The longer you wait after
the period under review, the more time you allow any