Conducting Effective Performance Reviews

Performance reviews are an essential component of employee development. Someone once said, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” And, remember what the German philosopher Goethe said: “Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of being.”

Setting goals and objectives to aim for will give supervisors and employees a unified focus and targets to aim for. Supervisors must also learn how to give feedback, both positive and negative, on a regular and timely basis so that employees can grow and develop. Performance appraisals involve all these activities.

Ø Introduction and Course Overview	Ø History of Performance Appraisals
Ø Employees’ Concerns About PAs	Ø What Makes PAs a Defensible Process?
Ø Stereotypes	o Leniency or Stringency
o Halo/Horn Effect	o Error of` Central Tendency
o Stereotyping	Ø The Performance Management Process
Ø SMART Goals	Ø Goal Setting
Ø The Performance Management Cycle	Ø Setting Standards
Ø Day One Wrap-Up	Ø Performance Development Plan
Ø Feedback and Communication	Ø Listening
o Guidelines for Effective Listening	o Active Listening
o Constructive Listening	o Paraphrasing
Ø Asking Questions	Ø Probing
o Verbal and Non-Verbal Probes	o Probing Techniques
o Probe Funnel	Ø Non-Verbal Messages
Ø Giving Feedback	Ø Characteristics of Effective Feedback
Ø Accepting Criticism	Ø Planning the Interview
Ø The Interview Format	o The Opening
o The Discussion	o The Closing
Ø Day Two Wrap-Up	Ø Goal-Setting Role Play
Ø Ordinary Feedback	Ø Coaching and Counselling
Ø Appraisal Preparation	Ø The Interview
Ø Maintaining Performance	Ø Behavior Contracts
Ø Handling Performance Problems	Ø The Worst-Case Scenario (What to do if you have to fire someone)
Ø Pre-Assignment Review	Ø Performance Management Checklists
Ø Workshop Wrap-Up	Ø

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