Accountability is a conversation

Many studies have shown that annual reviews are a waste of time and do more harm than good for a company’s bottom line. By the time 12 months have passed, it’s too late to do anything about someone’s performance. Because we’re humans with short memories, they usually only reflect the most recent work performance. They’re a time loss for your company because they’re (wasted) work for managers overseeing the process. In the end, they’re demoralizing for employees and can contribute to poor engagement and eventual turnover.

If you really want to see business results and improved performance, you need to build ongoing communication rhythms that encourage authentic feedback in real-time, when it matters. If your employees are high achievers, they will appreciate your feedback and will take steps to apply it and improve. Likewise, low performers will either self-terminate or be much less surprised when they’re terminated because they’ve already been hearing how they’re missing the mark.

Not everyone needs a weekly one-on-one. Your rhythms will vary person to person and team to team. Regular check ins should be structured with a repeating agenda and should be employee-led in order to ensure they’re not wasting anyone’s time. Regularly reference measurable KPI goals that are expected of them. This helps minimize the micromanaging of immature leaders and forces them to own their own performance with you as the guiding support.

Not sure how to untangle your team’s communication? We can help! Reach out today to unstick your team’s communication.