Feedback Strengthens Culture and Retention Through Timeless Value

"I spend 15 minutes with each of my people so I can knock out all of my performance reviews in one day.”

This was the conversation among several leaders from a large health care organization during a recent community hiring event.

“15 minutes to recognize 365 days of effort?” I asked.

Six heads pivoted and stared in disbelief. They weren’t expecting me to speak.

Obviously, they didn’t know me very well.

“That’s all my manager spends with me,” a second leader offered.

Still doesn’t make it right.

Another admitted to only sharing positive feedback because an annual review is “not the time for negativity”, and a fourth blamed human resources for making them meet in person with their direct reports.

And you wonder why they were searching for new talent at a hiring event?

Being available to those looking to you for guidance is the essence of leadership . . . which includes evaluating behavior and performance as it relates to core values and professional competencies.

I’m not sure where this team’s process derailed, but these tips will help get their Review mojo back on track:

·         An Annual Review is by nature a positive experience . . . a collective review of multiple conversations and observations you should have shared over an extended reporting period.

·      “Should” . . . as in you should be consistently reviewing team member performance because it has the single greatest influence on the KPI or KPM data that you obsess over daily.

·         Journal your observations . . . capture examples of behavior and performance while they’re fresh to add relevance and clarity to a review that may encompass several weeks or months of performance.

·         Embrace an Optimist/Realist perspective . . . sounds counterintuitive, but your hope for someone’s brighter future comes with the responsibility of letting them know exactly where they stand.

Numbers and ratings have their purpose, but the intent of a review is to inspire growth, influence performance through trust, and foster the potential for new and exciting levels of engagement.

As for your performance, you own it . . . so don’t hesitate to ask where you are in comparison to where you want to be.

Consistent feedback promotes value and strengthens cultural engagement.