Your Performance Evaluation, Dropping the Bomb
I hear this too often, so it is my rant for the week. A reader asked this question:
“My boss really upset me during my evaluation this year. She started telling me everything that I did not do and my evaluation wasn’t great. I thought about it afterwards and what makes me really upset is that she never told me during the year that I was not performing the way she wanted. So she dumped it all on me in one day. Is that fair? What do you do?”
I call this “bomb dropping.” Managers are either allergic to conflict or claim they are too busy to give proper feedback when it is due (particularly criticism). Whatever the excuse, it is simply not fair for a manager to be punitive during an evaluation if she has not prepared you for it throughout the year.
The time to tell an employee that they are not performing is not at the end of the year. What in the world can anyone do about it at that point? People quit their jobs because of this issue. It is like a parent who never addresses bad behavior with their kids throughout the year and then tells them in December that they are getting very few Christmas gifts, if any.
So, to my reader. What do you do?
Manage up and tell your boss how you feel. Do it appropriately, but be firm. Tell her:
1. You do not appreciate getting all of the negative feedback during the evaluation and none of it throughout the year.
2. Tell her how it made you feel. (again appropriately)
3. Get agreement on how you are going to fix the problem. Suggest you have monthly meetings to get feedback on how you are doing.
This is something that can be fixed easily, but often it is not. Half of the responsibility is yours.
Comment by karl Staib - Your Work Happiness Matters
I really believe in managing up, but it’s hard. I think there needs to be a system in place like 360 management. It’s hard to tell a person who decides on the work and pay raises that you get. We don’t want to upset them and get treated unfairly.
When there is a system in place we can do this out in the open. It should also be required. Hopefully the workplace will implement this standard at every level.
Comment by Fabio Latrofa
I think that “dropping the bomb†is easier than giving periodical feedback: the manager doesn’t have to check and, what’s more, can avoid conflicts (until the end).
I also think that setting S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-based) objectives is a really difficult practice. Any suggestion about this?
Comment by ericboehme
Fabio, it may be easier for the manager, but it is potentially devastating to the employee, who thought he was doing a good job. Avoiding conflicts can be very dangerous. I do not subscribe to that at all. Deal with each conflict as it happens. You lose context if it is left to be dealt with over time.
SMART is difficult, but worth the effort. Goals need to be very specific and if they are they can be measured. How else do you know if you attained the goal? It has to be objective, not subjective. People need to know the goal can actually be accomplished or it becomes demoralizing in some cases. If you do not set a time to a goal, you will rarely achieve it in my experience.
Who said management was easy?
Comment by Fabio Latrofa
I agree with you Eric, worth the effort.
And,…management is not easy.
Comment by Nick
I agree that monthly meetings can help solve this problem. It can take some of the pressure off.
If you want your employees to hate coming to work, make them feel overwhelmed and unappreciated. If you want progress, hold regular meetings that also bring positive points to light.