Coaching Employees on How to Improve

Managing an employee’s work performance can seem like a simple task but it requires a lot of a manager’s time. Throughout the year, managers are given the arduous task of conducting performance reviews with their employees, rating them on a scale of 1-5 and  selecting categories( e.g. meeting expectations, needs improvement)  and possibly having quarterly to mid-year check ins to determine the work performance of their employee. 

This rating method seems unrealistic and unreliable. For example, how do you measure someone who gets a 3.1. and rate them at 3.3.  It’s not specific enough to determine if an employee is improving.   Then what about the other employee, how do they get to  a 3.2? As you can see, rating employees may not be the best solution for a company of any size.   In the book, “Work Rules”,  Google reduced manager’s time by 50% when they decided to use a better calibration system for ratings. 

While there is no one size fit all approach to performance management,  managers should shift their thinking and focus on what matters, the earnest coaching on how to improve.    Too often, managers spend an excessive amount of time reviewing the employee’s day to day tasks instead of focusing on the bigger picture items (e.g. grew the business, built better relationships, worked well with peers, completed a project).  Additionally, managers wait until it is too late to have a conversation with their employee about their work  performance.  

Managers can coach their employees by moving toward more development conversations and setting ambitious goals.  Employees want to feel they are working towards something greater than the small details of their work, and not like a robot.   Providing real time feedback is another way to help employees improve.  It leads to better communication between the manager and employee in the future, but do it with kindness and before becomes things escalate.   If you have to use a rating system, ensure fairness and  gather peer feedback.  Managers may hear untold stories by their colleagues that will help evaluate work performance and/or find more avenues to help the employee improve.    

Overall, taking time to reconnect and affirm what your values are is a great way to have employees connected back to the work and its purpose. Whether employees verbally tell their leaders or not, employees genuinely want to improve  and look to their leaders for guidance and support.