Replace Annual Performance Reviews with Monthly Ones

Henry Chidgey, who once ran several railroad and diamond companies, advocates monthly performance reviews. These reviews need not and should not be complex; they work best when kept extremely simple. Maximum accountability is the main goal.

Here’s how the process works. The day before meeting, your coworker brings you a list of five or six key objectives, detailing her progress on each. During the review on the following day, you simply assess the data and discuss how performance compares with objectives. Depending on the employee, this can be a short thirty-minute process, or take as long as two hours.

When an employee comes into your office, she should always bring a pen and paper and be required to take detailed minutes of the meeting. Once the meeting is over, the employee should make a photocopy of the minutes for your file. The reason for this is twofold: first, the notes allow you to verify the individual’s understanding of the review; second, the notes increase consistency from one review to the next.

These are the key questions to ask during the meeting:

1. How well did you meet the objectives we mutually agreed on?
2. II. Choose one of the following:
1. If you’re ahead, how did you get ahead?
2. If you’re behind, how did you get behind?
3. If you’re on target, is there anything I need to know?
1. If yes, discuss further.
2. If no, extol the virtues of coming in on target.
3. If you’re not meeting your objectives, what’s the root cause?

The [final] question should trigger a discussion. In it, remain objective and listen, giving your coworker time to sort through her answer. If you can accept her explanation of the “root cause,” you allow it to be the actual root cause. If you can’t accept this explanation, you become her coach, helping her better understand the situation. Don’t provide solutions; the employee needs to do this. If you tell rather than ask, you will not have accountable employees. Be patient. Having employees solve their own problems is the key to building their accountability.

Once the employee develops a solution, coach her through the following steps:

1. Establish an action plan.
2. Establish a deadline for implementing the action plan.
3. Schedule another meeting immediately after the deadline.

With difficult employees, you may need to increase the pressure, particularly if they consistently fail to meet goals. Pressure can be increased simply by increasing the frequency of reviews. The process can occur every two weeks, every week, or even daily, if needed. It’s unlikely that daily reviews will continue long term, as an employee at this stage is usually on the way out.

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