Job Performance Reviews

Job performance reviews have become a huge component of the work world in the 21st Century. Reviews are used to promote from within and often determine salary increases and in many cases, sizeable bonuses. While many companies establish performance reviews that are professional and credible, other company policies on performance reviews are dismal and disappointing to their workforce.

Positive feedback and reward for diligence on the job is crucial to every employee at every level. When an officer manager is vague and offers nothing, it is extremely detrimental to moral and often leads to the employee seeking employment elsewhere. Most are expecting specific feedback on the work they have done. Everyone needs to be rewarded and complimented for a “job well done”. Brief and vague performance reviews do not serve any purpose.

A common complaint to employees who have been fired or laid off is “I did not see it coming.” People are most likely going to be more receptive to the disappointment of losing a job if the company has faced a crisis or has not been profitable. But, a boss or manager not mentioning an aspect of weak performance and then letting an employee go without warning is unprofessional and often leaves the employee feeling angry and bitter.

Another troubling problem with some performance reviews is what is known as the “recency” effect where the basis for analyzing the entire past year’s work performance is measured on only the most recent aspects. If a boss or manager has no memory of the entire year, work performance can be diminished.

Some sales managers do their performance reviews on the “fly”. Feedback is given from the passenger seat of an airplane or car. This typically means very little preparation and thought has been given to the report. In addition to this, if a manager or boss just “cuts and paste” from last year’s review, it sends the message that “you are not important enough to tell you how good you are at your job”.

Employees need to be given positive feedback and told “you are doing a great job!” It might seem like a simple thing, but many bosses just don’t give recognition to their people when they do a good job. These days, we’re all busy and most people are over-worked and under-appreciated. Maybe it’s just inertia, or fears about doing a job search in a bad economy, but most people want to stay at their current jobs. In a tough job market, many fear looking for another job and remain complacent but a good manager or employer will deem it imperative to create a positive work environment and plenty of positive feedback to the workforce. It has been statistically documented that businesses who create a work friendly environment are markedly more profitable.

Source: Forbes. Forbes Magazine, Web. 26 Oct. 2012.