Performance Reviews – How Often Should Support Managers Do Them?

How often should you conduct performance reviews?

The best support managers realize that their success hinges on the success of their employees, not the other way around.

They also realize that the extension of that statement is that employee failure creates their failure. Therefore, the goal of an effective manager is to do everything possible to help his or her employees succeed. So what can support managers do to ensure the success of their employees?

The key is to follow this 4-step guide

1. Set clear expectations
2. Create an environment for success
3. Monitor performance frequently
4. Coach to improve performance

Managers should regularly review staff performance. Conducting monthly one on one sessions, doing quarterly or mid-year formal reviews and keeping an open dialogue with employees will enable the manager to guide their development and help them achieve success.

Monitoring performance is more than doing annual performance reviews.

To create an environment for success, you need to understand what factors influence both satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Most managers simply focus on reducing dis-satisfactions, assuming that this leads to satisfaction. In fact, it only brings the team to a neutral state, not one of satisfaction. Do you know what the primary factors of satisfaction are? Do you have techniques to focus on the top satisfiers?

It requires the ability to define performance in behavioral terms and determine the causes of behavioral issues. Too often performance is defined in general terms, for instance, the employee is abrasive or the employee doesn’t “use their head.” It is also critical to know what the desired performance is in behavioral terms. How can performance improvement be measured without a clear definition of both the desired behavior and the problem behavior?

When performance needs to be changed, the manager must be able to coach effectively to avoid failure on the part of the employee. Remember, the employee’s failure is the manager’s failure. Coaching must be based on a concrete coaching analysis. The face-to-face discussion must follow a 5-step process for success. These steps include getting the employees agreement that there is a problem, discussing alternative solutions, agreeing on an action, following up to measure results, and reinforcing any achievement when it occurs.

A successful manager focuses on ensuring that their employees are successful by following all of these guidelines and combining them with proven techniques. Learn about these and about other critical support manager skills in the Certified Support Manager (CSM) course, developed and delivered by Service Strategies.

To learn more about how the CSM course prepares managers for success through employee success,  contact us via telephone at 858.674.4864 or email info@servicestrategies.com.