Get an A+ for employee reviews

Make performance reviews top priority in your organization and help prepare your employees for top sales performance

I was talking with a few of my retail colleagues recently and they all mentioned that they’re heading into the dreaded performance review period – the time of year when they feel they have an obligation to do performance reviews on everyone in their companies. Like many small business people, performance reviews are often seen as a chore that needs to be done once a year.

But what if you turn it into a great opportunity?

As business owners and manager, you CANNOT do all the daily tasks needed to run your business. In fact, when you boil it down, you do by far the minority of the tasks. Like most small business owners, you depend on others to work and help you and your business attain its goals and objectives. For this reason, probably the most important task that you do in the run of a year is regular performance evaluations.

This is your great opportunity to sit down with all your direct reports, address the small issues before they become large ones, communicate expectations for the coming year (be candid) and realign everyone towards common objectives. So make it a priority and dedicate the time (I recommend 2-4 hours per person, twice per year). It’s the most productive time you’ll spend this year.

Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, and probably one of the greatest developers of corporate talent, claims he spent the majority of his time on human resources. Read his book; Winning. It’s well worth the read. You’ll pick up an immense amount of knowledge relating to performance evaluations.

What an opportunity! That should be your attitude!

Would your staff see performance evaluations as an opportunity in your eyes, or a yearly chore?

Andy