Critical first step to a great performance review

Cindi Filer, CEO of Innovative Outsourcing shares helpful advice you can use. Second message in a three-part series on performance evaluations.

While some may feel that the performance reviews are a thing of the past, I have expressed my case for why this is still a relevant and critically important practice.

Now that we have established the “why” in performance reviews, you may assume that the next step is “how.” But wait! There is one very important step, and the success of your performance review strategy hinges upon this. Effective reviews first begin with a great job description. If you haven’t objectively communicated to your employee the measuring stick that will be used for evaluation, then you are setting yourself up for an ineffective performance review.  And the benefits of having functional job descriptions for all your employees adds key benefits that transcend reviewing performance. (Here are more reasons small businesses need job descriptions, and you may have never considered #5!)

What should an effective job description include? To be used as a springboard for evaluation, both the employee and the manager must a have a reference including concrete parameters of performance expectations.  

Are you feeling overwhelmed already?  Here is a step-by-step strategy that will work:

First, list the employee’s top six action items or requirements.

Next, assign a percentage of time they should work each month to fulfill each of those requirements. Here’s an example:  

• 35% - Answer telephones, forward calls, and take messages to assure no dropped calls and no caller waiting for more than one minute on hold without being successfully transferred or speaking to you with an update on their anticipated wait time.
• 30% - Complete accurate data entry of visitor information within one hour following their arrival.
• 20% - Greet guests at the door, ensuring they are comfortable, they are offered a drink, and keep them updated on the anticipated wait time.
• 15% - Perform office housekeeping and restock guest refreshments.

Lastly, the job requirement should also include a section for required education and prior experience necessary for the job. (This is a whole exercise in itself which we won’t cover at this time.) For the review process, the action item list and assigned percentages will become the basis for your performance review.  

Once you have this type of job description completed, then you have the foundation upon which your performance review can be based. In my message next week, we will use this as the springboard for planning the actual review.

Begin now! Identify who will be your company’s “owner” of the reviews. I have found that in many cases, CEOs are not driving reviews because it is too far down on their “to-do list.”  If this is that case, then consider assigning one manager that you trust to be the driver of this process.  Maybe it’s an outside consultant. (This is actually a service Innovative Outsourcing can provide.) One thing that stands in the way of an effective performance review strategy is making this a priority, and as a company leader, that initiative can begin with you.

In the meantime, I’d appreciate your feedback or questions on this topic.  Email me at cfiler@innovative-outsourcing.com.

Why evaluate employee performance?

Cindi Filer, CEO of Innovative Outsourcing shares helpful advice you can use. First in a three-part series on performance evaluations.

The small business community is abuzz now, debating this hot topic. Is it still correct to do employee performance appraisals?  Some argue that leaders should have “evolved” past this fossil management tool.  I’m going to make an argument that they are still relevant and actually, critical.

Over the next three weeks, look forward to receiving some practical advice on why and how to successfully implement performance appraisals.

Why do performance reviews? Let’s boil it down to these four critical reasons:

• To INFORM employees – “Where do you stand with your boss?” If I asked your employees that right now, would they know how to answer? 
• To INCREASE productivity – Studies show that when you regularly evaluate employees and they know that they are being evaluated based upon a measurable standard, their productivity increases.
• To RETAIN staff - According to the research by Direct Recruiters, Inc , feeling undervalued and lacking feedback are two of the top seven reasons why an employee quits. Both of these issues can be addressed by using employee reviews.  For millennials, this is even more crucial.  They need reviews at least quarterly and perhaps more informally. They crave feedback, and will perform much better if provided appropriately.
• To be able to FIRE with less risk - You have heard this from me before - document, document, document!  Performance review records document that your poor performers have regularly been coached and given deadlines for improvement.  Without this, when you call me for advice on letting someone go, I will likely say that you are in a position of RISK. Employee reviews mitigate this. 

Designing the best performance review is critical, or you could fall into the trap that has given traditional performance reviews a black eye. The key for small business is to make this tool inspire instead of deflate, and make it simple enough that both the employee and the manager find it a valuable use of everyone’s time. Next week, we will investigate the critical task you must accomplish prior to your performance appraisal. In the meantime, I’d appreciate your feedback or questions on this topic.  Email me at cfiler@innovative-outsourcing.com.

The Year Ahead: What Employers Need to Know

Cindi Filer, CEO of Innovative Outsourcing shares a helpful reference from her legal labor resource who offers this concise reference for the year ahead.

When my legal resource, Eric Magnus, Jackson Lewis, P.C, provided me with this very inclusive reference to the year ahead for employers, I knew that you would benefit from this information, too!  CLICK HERE to read the report.

“Employers can expect sweeping changes in the year ahead. Here is of our exclusive outlook, “2017: The Year Ahead for Employers,” an executive summary of key developments in the past year and what employers can expect in the coming months. It is a quick read and ideal for senior management and those responsible for Human Resources. ”

— Eric Magnus

If you have a need for further legal advice on HR topics, please contact Eric Magnus at Jackson Lewis, P.C.  He can be reached at 404-525-8200.

How to craft a plan to keep your best employees

Cindi Filer, CEO of Innovative Outsourcing, offers her advice.

Your best employee may have just accepted a new job offer, and the resignation letter is heading to your desk.

In our message last week, and continuing today, I’d like to share with you some alarming statistics on employee turnover, and then offer some equipping advice that can hopefully buffer you from this trend.  A recent Forbes article sited two research sources indicating that 74% of current workers would consider finding a new job, and 35% of those workers are actively seeking a new job. Your business is not insulated from this alarming trend, but there is a strategy you can implement now to improve your chance of retaining your talent. 

So last week, my message asked you to sort the names of your direct reports onto three lists  1) Excellent Employees, 2) Worst Employees, and 3) Everyone in Between.  Then your assignment was to ponder the names on your Excellent Employees list.  It is for those people that we will now be crafting a retention plan.

First, let’s consider the reasons people leave their job.  For each person on your Excellent Employees list, fill in their name as you read each reason:

1. __________ doesn’t feel valued
2. __________ feels they have a bad manager
3. __________ perceives there is a lack of communication
4. __________'s efforts aren’t recognized (pay)
5. __________ did not get a deserved promotion
6. __________ feels a perceived or real lack of training
7. __________ thinks that there is no chance for promotion
8. __________ has too much work
9. __________ doesn't trust management 
10. __________ doesn’t connect to the mission (purpose)

Did this raise some red flags? For example:

• Do they love words of encouragement and due to busyness, those have been few and far between?  
• Has that person stayed at $28/hr for the past three years without a pay raise?  
• Have you increased her workload because she is the most trustworthy, with greatest follow through, so now she works 50 hours a week?  
• Have you not painted a path upon which he can progress in his career and his pay as he develops within your company?  

Identify at least two things on this list of ten that stick out right now as a potential issue for each of your Excellent Employees. In our last message, I asked you to assign a rank from zero to ten of how likely that person is to resign, (remembering that a great employee for whom you think the flight risk is at zero may resign tomorrow).  This will help you assess the urgency of your necessary action. Then construct an plan for those two critical areas.  For example:

• Raise her pay to 5% above market rate by six months from now
• Send her to a leadership development program each month so that she feels you are investing in her and she is becoming more valuable in leading the company.

Now you have at least two action steps in place for each Excellent Employee, and you can prioritize each step based upon pending urgency.

Do you feel this seems rather simple? Actually, I have seen time and time again that this deliberate and consistent approach slows the leak of a company’s best talent.  When you focus on retaining your excellent employees, you can RETAIN MOST OF THEM.  When you consider the expense of employee turnover, even while considering your preventative investment (of your time and company resources), the savings is huge.

Remember those other two lists, the Worst Employees, and Everyone in Between? Stay tuned!  I’ll be sharing some helpful suggestions for those employees, too.  

image: womensday.com

Plan now to retain your best talent

Cindi Filer, CEO of Innovative Outsourcing, offers her advice.

Are you worried that your best employee will hand you their resignation? 

If you are, then you are one step ahead of the curve.  A current survey finds that one in three employees in the US is currently looking for a new job.  That’s 1/3 of your workforce and mine. "Not MY employees," you say.  But what if we consider that this may be a reality brewing right under your nose.  And then, let’s figure out what you can do now to retain your best employees.  Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing some suggestions for retaining your top talent.

IDENTIFY THE CREAM OF THE CROP: The first step is to determine exactly who are your best employees.  Create a three-sheet reference like this: 

1. EXCELLENT EMPLOYEES - This list should be the top 15% of your work force.  These are the people that you would cry or throw something if they turned in their resignation notice.  They might be the COO or the janitor, but they are good at what they do, and they are great to have around.
2. WORST EMPLOYEES - This list includes the people that, if they resigned, you would cheer and have a party.  You get rid of them, and you don’t have to pay unemployment!  Hopefully, this list is very small, and your goal is to have no one on this list.  Anyone landing on this list should either be trained, become valuable, and make it off the list, or should be let go (after trying training and with great documentation). 
3. EVERYONE IN BETWEEN - The majority of your team will land on this list.  These are good employees who get the job done.  You would be sad if they left, but you could likely replace them. 

This week, let's focus on Sheet One. These are your stars. You need to protect them.  Do you have any idea how close they are to leaving?  Evaluate every person named on this sheet, assigning them on a 1 to 10 scale the probability that they will be leaving the company soon.  Next to their leaving-probability rating, write what you perceive that each person values the most, (time off, money, autonomy, encouraging words, etc.)  

Next week, we will start to create a plan for each person. We call these retention plans, a strategy that you make to keep your best employees in this “Candidate-oriented” job market.

In the meantime, please reach out to me with specific staffing issues you need help addressing immediately. I'm here to help!