90-Day Review Plan:
A Way To Recharge Your Employees'
Batteries

by Michael dark, CLP

Lack of direction is the reply that most employees will state as the one main factor why they are or become frustrated with their job. For these employees, the importance of receiving timely and quality feedback regarding their performance in accordance with their responsibilities is critical. Furthermore, it is equally important for the manager to create a comfortable atmosphere so the employees can critique their own performance.

Introduction

Almost any employee likes to be told that they are right on target with their performance or that they are doing a great job. Conversely, it seems logical that most employees would want to know from their manager, as soon as possible, if they are off the mark with their efforts or need improvement in certain areas. This way the employee, whether individually or as part of a team, can redirect their efforts or improve on the identified areas before the actual task is completed. Obviously, if a manager gives feedback afterward it basically has resulted in a waste of time and can be chalked up as a learning experience. There is nothing wrong with learning by making mistakes, but if this is a continuous process with no direction it becomes frustrating for the employee, thus creating low morale and an unproductive individual or team. Now enter the annual performance appraisal paradigm into the arena and this creates one complex and subjective situation which most managers will admit they would rather avoid.

First and foremost, there is a need to attain a clear perception between the manager and employee regarding the job and the responsibilities attached to it. This is more than the issuing of a job description or project briefing with a short question and answer session between the employee and manager. This is the most critical step in developing a sense of direction for the employees, but yet is probably the one area that is assumed or overlooked by most managers. It is necessary to illustrate how the employee fits into the agency, and additionally how the employee will and can assist as a team member when attempting to achieve departmental goals. Unless the agency is stagnate and not setting new goals and objectives, this exercise of perception should change several times a year. Therefore, continual feedback, from both the manager and employee, is necessary to agree on the perception of the actual responsibilities involved, and with the process of accomplishing the goals set forth during each change. The acceptance of change is normally difficult to attain anyway, but with a blurred perception due to a lack of communication the system becomes unhinged. This is where the 90 day review plan is instrumental in successfully completing this system and recharging your employee's batteries.

90 Day Review Plan

Before detailing the plan several premises and situations need to be illustrated. First, the question on whether the manager has a clear perception of the employee's job and role in the agency must be answered. No matter what the actual reply is, the action that needs to be implemented is to create a balance between the perception and the feedback given to an employee. The actual time spent attaining this balance for managers can be very limited, and most attempts are of a rescuing nature where the manager utilizes corrective action towards the performance of the employee. Once again this can result in a waste of time for the employee, and a crux for the manager to use when it comes time to evaluate the employee. A consistent rescuing mode by a manager can be dangerous to the productivity of their employees and only adds more confusion towards the direction of their efforts. Now multiply the annual and traditional performance appraisal into this equation, and the result creates an opportunity for employees to be disgruntled. Furthermore, it will develop a feeling of animosity towards their manager, which is counterproductive for the employee, manager and agency.

The performance appraisal has traditionally had a negative connotation tag attached to it. Moreover, it can be very

difficult for a manager to review the performance of an individual over an entire year and can become very subjective or trivial if the instrument being used is not valid when compared to the responsibilities of the job position. So, with these premises in place the appraisal process is difficult enough, but now the manager must justify the monetary raise that goes hand-in-hand with the annual appraisal performance. When an individual's income is involved, it is very easy for a manager to become defensive and emotional in the process, which can be a manager's biggest mistake. However, year-in and year-out the reviews are completed, meetings are held, and the forms are then placed into the personnel files. What is the result? Usually disappointed employees, relieved managers, and still a lack of direction for the agency. It does not have to be this way, and with some concentrated effort and time it can become a manager's best friend. The key as with any personnel management function is a two-way track of communication. The 90 day review plan achieves this goal and creates a comfortable and healthy environment for the manager and their employees to interact. Furthermore, it creates the continual feedback factor which is imperative for any successful appraisal program with changing goals and objectives.

Plan Implementation

The 90 day review plan is exactly what it states. Every 90 days the manager completes a brief appraisal on each employee. This consists of four parts. First, the manager completes part one which identifies three specific responsibilities, duties or behaviors that are in need of improvement. Second, the employee illustrates three goals that they would like the department to accomplish. Third, the manager and employee then agree on three specific accomplishments the employee is going to complete in the next 90 days. Last, there is a follow up over the past 90 days, and the identified areas of improvement, accomplishments and goals are documented and adjusted accordingly. The process should be short so the system does not become cumbersome. This is why only three items of each section are identified, but more items can be included. The key is that the frequency of the process is 90 days or every three months.

The justification of each section is as follows. The first section is utilized by the manager to get their message across to the employee. The second section is to provide the employee with the opportunity to get their voice heard, but more importantly, have involvement into the perception of how their job can assist in the department, and direction of where they see the department going. The third section is basically the critical step to the plan. This is when the manager relates the two previous sections together. Also, this is when the manager can utilize their control and creativity based on department or agency policies and available resources. Why is this step in the plan so critical? First, the employee can visualize why they need to improve in the identified areas as related to the goals of the department and have involvement in how to go about it. Also, the employee can relate the identified accomplishments to the departmental goals and feel like they are contributing to the department as a team member. This obviously creates a sense of belonging and accountability which can carry a lot of weight and improve performance.

When dealing with the development of setting any type of goal, objective or accomplishment, it is very important to have attainable information. For example, the nature, frequency, location and desired result should all be explained. Obviously, the 90 day time frame would be the target date of accomplishment. Again, this is completed with the input of the employee which enhances the all important two-way track of communications.

This entire process is meant to stay away from the forms with scales, scores and ratings. As illustrated in W. Edwards Deming's book Out of Crisis, one of the seven deadly diseases to an agency is the evaluation by performance, merit rating or annual review. It states, "The effects of these are devastating— teamwork is destroyed, rivalry is nurtured. Performance ratings build fear and leave people bitter, despondent, and beaten. They also encourage defection in the ranks of management." Even though this may seem as an extreme, the purpose of how detrimental annual performance reviews can be is illustrated. Too many times employees get caught up in the numbers game in which the manager is grading them or giving a "self worth" rating. Therefore, the whole intention of the appraisal process becomes a numbers game rather than the intention of evaluation and possible improvements that should be implemented. Some concrete "grading" tool must be utilized in order to minimize subjectivity, but it should not be the crux of the process and the overall factor in justifying individual worth to the agency.

The 90 day plan should be completed by writing out long hand the items illustrated previously with explanations and justifications. This does take time, thought and creativity on the manager's behalf, but the pay-back can make a large difference. In the long run, the benefits are going to be everlasting with a greater impact than if an annual review with a bunch of numbers, ratings and recommendations for improvement over the entire next year is completed. Furthermore, the 90 day review plan creates four appraisals during the course of a year with vital and current information that can then be utilized for the annual review when monetary raises are recommended and justified. At this time the manager can just review and reiterate the four appraisals and actually visualize the progression and accomplishments of each employee over the past year. This creates a win/win situation.

Why? First the employee feels that this is a more consistent and fair evaluation of their performance over the year. Second, the process insists on obtaining input from the employee with self and departmental analysis. Third, and most importantly, the employee receives and maintains a clear perception of their responsibilities and how they fit into the overall direction of the department. Conversely, the manager senses that the system is fair and takes some of the subjectivity out of the process. Also, the manager feels more comfortable about the justification process of providing raises to their employees. Lastly, the review process is based on a continual spectrum and assists with focusing on the direction and betterment of their employees and the department in conjunction with the changes over a year's time.

Helpful Hints

• Have the meetings in a neutral atmosphere. Either a

room where it is nobody's territory or in the manager's office with no desk in between the two individuals. This will assist in creating a comfortable atmosphere for the employee to share communication exchanges.

• Be flexible. This system may not work for every employee, so a manager must be flexible enough to utilize parts of the process and adapt it according to the situation with the employee. Do not force anything on the employee because this will create a negative connotation when the manager calls the employee in for meetings.

• Intentionally attempt to maintain a 60/40 listening to speaking ratio during the review meetings. This will influence the aspects of self analysis of their own performance during the appraisal process and may also reveal to the manager the underlying problems or issues that are frustrating an employee. It is amazing what a manager can get out of their employees by just listening more than speaking. So let them talk!

• Avoid speaking about issues that can trigger emotional responses. Stay with the facts, and if issues like attitude or behavior must be dealt with do not get tangled up into a defensive confrontation. Always state that the issue at hand is being discussed because it is affecting their own job performance and is detrimental to the department as a whole.

• Other appraisal techniques that can be incorporated with the 90 day review plan are self assessment where the employees fill out the evaluation tool on themselves; employee appraisal of their supervisor's performance and management of the department; and an additional peer evaluation . The additional peer evaluation is where the manager does an appraisal on the employee and also assigns a co-worker to evaluate the employee. This creates a multi-dimensional concept to the process and can be very insightful for everyone. This tends to be more effective when the individual works as part of a team or must work with other departments.

Conclusion

Any appraisal system is important to the agency and can make or break the happiness of their employees. This obviously has a direct correlation on the performance, attitudes, efficiency and effectiveness of their staff. Therefore, a process that provides employees with a clear perception of the changing expectations and continuous feedback throughout the year will achieve the ultimate goal. Any system that is implemented is not going to work with everyone. However, the flexibility of the process can provide a manager with tools that can make an impact on each employee. Recharge your employee's batteries today and implement a fair appraisal program.

About the Author
Michael Clark has completed his fourth year as Facilities Manager for the Glencoe Park District. Mike serves as the Vice-Director for the IPRA Facility Management Section and is the division representative to the State Certification Board.