It is that time of year when most nonprofits are in the midst of staff performance reviews.
Is this an activity you dread, or is its a time when your leadership shines?
If you have the right systems and processes in place, end-of-year performance reviews can be a deeply effective experience that:
-Grows your leadership pipeline.
-Deepens staff’s sense of support and organizational affiliation.
-Creates clear goals.
It seems fitting for the end-of-year episode for Relish Your Role that we talk about, the performance review.
In this episode I am going to touch on six components of the performance review process and how you can make it an impactful exercise for everyone involved.
It is probably too late to change things for this year but as we head into January, you can tweak your system to get the performance review system you and your staff deserve.
You can hear the full episode at relishyourrole.com/22.
If you find this episode or any of the 21 previous episodes helpful, please, as a Christmas present to me, leave a review on your favorite podcast app. And tell your friends.
Improve Your Agency’s Work Culture
Performance reviews can be a powerful experience reinforcing a positive work culture.
Personalized, thoughtful performance reviews demonstrates that you take staff’s professional growth and career path seriously.
The performance review process clarifies expectations and creates a shared commitment to agency success.
Usually, performance reviews are tied to end-of-year raises or bonuses. Given the impact reviews have on staff income and agency budget, doesn’t it make sense to have a strong, objective, and thoughtful performance review process?
Let’s talk about how to get there.
There are six elements to a strong performance review.
Six Steps to Providing Meaningful Performance Reviews
- Provide clear expectations
- Translate expectations to observable behaviors and deliverables.
- Mutually develop ‘reach’ goals
- Frequently check in on progress
- Identify Professional development goals
- Promote self-reflection
Step 1. Provide Clear Expectations
A performance review is based on current and accurate job descriptions. If job descriptions are out-of- date, take the time to revise them. Both the performance review document and process should be based on a list of clearly stated job expectations.
The expectations should clearly state activities and the outputs and outcomes of those activities.
For example, if the person is responsible for your agency’s external communication activities, the performance review should reference their role in all social media, agency informational activities, and graphic presentation material. Those are the outputs.
The review should reference both the type and frequency of outputs as an objective way to measure the person’s performance.
Six newsletters are the output, and the outcomes are perhaps increased memberships, subscriptions, or social media interactions.
You can create a clear roadmap to measure progress by stating expectations in terms of output and outcomes / impact.
Everyone performs better when they know what is expected of them. Clarifying expectations at the beginning of the review cycle, ensures a mutual understanding of what needs to be done and why.
Step 2. Translate Expectations to Observable Behaviors and Deliverables.
This next step is a natural outgrowth of the setting expectations. It creates clarity of job responsibilities.
If the communications person is expected to create all the graphics for grant reports, the performance review assesses the quality of the graphics and their process of gathering relevant data.
This is an example of providing both the expected behavior and the output.
Clarity and specificity are the keys to an effective performance review.
Step 3. Mutually Develop ‘Reach’ Goals
This next step section focuses on professional growth.
‘Reach’ goals identify new skills or responsibilities to undertake in the coming year.
Staff may need to learn new things or take on new activities to reach these goals. Including new goals demonstrates agency commitment to professional growth.
In listing new projects and skill sets you are supporting both individual growth and the agency’s advancement.
Step 4. Frequently Check-In on Progress
A performance review is a process as well as a document.
To be a successful performance review, there needs to be consistent check-ins to assess progress.
These check-ins allow for problem solving, real-time feedback, and celebrating successes.
There should never be surprises in any end-of-year performance review.
The feedback staff provided in an annual review should be a culmination of the feedback received throughout the year.
The best way to devalue staff is not to give them frequent, constructive feedback on their performance.
The end-of-year review should truly be a review of the meetings held throughout the year.
Step 5. Identify Professional Development Goals
A strong performance review will have a section in which you can identify the areas for professional development.
Professional develop might involve attending trainings, seminars, shadowing staff in a different role, or the providing mentoring or coaching.
Talking with staff about areas for growth and new skills they want to master signals the agency’s investment in their continued development
Ideally, you have a professional development budget with funds for staff to attend training and conferences or coaching support.
These goals should be mutually devised so there is staff buy-in for the professional development activities.
Promote self-reflection
A strong performance review is a mutual endeavor. It is a time to reassess the work done and share reflections on performance.
Staff’s self-assessment of their performance is an important part of the process.
Staff self-awareness is promoted by discussing and incorporating their reflections.
Have staff complete a review of their own performance and share their scoring with their supervisor. Together they decide what should be included in the written end-of-the-year review.
The beginning of the year is when you begin to build the process for meaningful end-of-year performance review.
You can do this and train your staff and I am here to help.