Chapter 9 - Performance Management Skills

Learning Objectives

9.1 Understand that managers need several key skills to manage the performance of their employees effectively including skills regarding coaching, giving feedback, and conducting performance review meetings.

9.2 Define coaching and describe its major functions including giving advice, providing guidance and support, and enhancing employee confidence and competence.

9.3 Identify behaviors that managers need to display to perform the various coaching functions.

9.4 Understand that a manager’s personality and behavioral preferences determine his or her coaching style.

9.5 Understand your own coaching style and the need to adapt one’s coaching style to the situation and your subordinates’ preferences.

9.6 Describe the coaching process and its components including setting development goals, identifying development resources and strategies, implementing strategies, observing and documenting development behavior, and giving feedback.

9.7 Understand the time, situational, and activity constraints involved in observing and documenting an employee’s progress toward the achievement of development goals and good performance in general.
 
9.8 Implement a communication plan and training programs that will minimize the impact of constraints present when observing and documenting performance.

9.9 Describe the benefits of accurate documentation of an employee’s development activities and performance.

9.10 Implement several recommendations that will lead to documenting performance in a useful and constructive manner.

9.11 Understand the purposes served by feedback on performance regarding the achievement of development goals and performance in general.

9.12 Implement several recommendations that will lead to creating useful and constructive feedback systems.

9.13 Understand why people do not feel comfortable giving negative feedback and recognize what happens when managers refuse to give negative feedback.

9.14 Understand the various purposes served by performance review meetings and the various types of meetings that can be conducted.
 
9.15 Understand the signs of employee defensiveness, implement suggestions to minimize employee defensiveness before a performance review meeting takes place, and deal with defensiveness during the performance review meeting.

Chapter Outline

Performance Management Skills

Overview
1. Coaching
2. Coaching Styles
3. Coaching Process
4. Performance Review Meetings
1. Coaching

Definition of Coaching
o Manager
• Interacts with employee
• Takes active role and interest in performance

o Collaborative ongoing process involving
• Directing employee behavior
• Motivating employee behavior
• Rewarding employee behavior
• Also concerned with long-term performance

Major Coaching Functions
o Give advice
o Provide guidance
o Provide support
o Give confidence
o Promote greater competence

 How does NCCI Holdings promote coaching skills?

Key Coaching Behaviors
o Establish developmental objectives
o Communicate effectively
o Motivate employees
o Document performance
o Give feedback
o Diagnose performance problems
o Develop employees

 Was Jack Welch a good coach? What is your evidence?

The Good Coach Questionnaire
o Do you listen to your employees?
o Do you understand their individual needs?
o Do you encourage employees to express their feelings openly?
o Do you give tangible and intangible support for development?
o Do your employees know your expectations about their performance?
o Do you encourage open and honest discussions and problem solving?
o Do you help your employees to create action plans that will solve problems and create changes?
o Do you help your employees to explore potential areas of growth and development?

2. Coaching Styles

 More Assertive Less Assertive
Task & Fact Oriented DRIVER ANALYZER
People Oriented PERSUADER AMIABLE

Adaptive coaches use all styles according to employee needs
o Sometimes providing direction
o Sometimes persuading
o Sometimes showing empathy
o Sometimes paying close attention to rules and established procedures

3. Coaching Process
Steps covered in Chapter 8
o Setting developmental goals
o Identifying resources and strategies needed to implement developmental goals
o Implementing developmental goals
Overview of remaining steps
o Observation and Documentation of Developmental Behavior and Outcomes
o Giving Feedback
• Praise
• Negative Feedback
 Observation and Documentation of Developmental Behavior and Outcomes
Constraints
o Time
o Situation
o Activity
Organizational activities to improve documentation of performance
o Good communication plan to get manager buy-in
o Training programs
• Rater error training
• Frame-of-reference training
• Behavioral observation training
• Self-leadership training
Reasons to document performance
o Minimize cognitive load
o Create trust
o Plan for the future
o Legal protection

 How was documentation important in Cleverly v. Western Electric Co.?

Recommendations for documentation
o Be specific
o Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly
o Balance positives with negatives
o Focus on job-related information
o Be comprehensive
o Standardize procedures
o Describe observable behavior

 How do evaluations in Table 9.4 fail to follow the above recommendations?  Be specific.  (If there is time, have the class develop examples of better documentation for some of these statements…or rewrite the statements so that they could be backed up by documentation.)

Giving Feedback
Main purposes
o Help build confidence
o Develop competence
o Enhance involvement
o Improve future performance

Potential costs of failing to provide feedback
o Employees are deprived of chance to improve their own performance
o Chronic poor performance
• Employees don’t recognize performance problems
• Employees feel justified in continued poor performance
o Employees have inaccurate perceptions of how their performance is regarded by others

To be effective, feedback should:
o Be timely
o Be frequent
o Be specific
o Be verifiable
o Be consistent (over time and across employees)
o Be given privately
o Provide context and consequences
o Describe first, evaluate second
o Cover the continuum of performance
o Identify patterns
o Demonstrate confidence in employee
o Allow for both advice and idea generation

 Is Andrea a good coach? What is your evidence?  How could she improve?

Guidelines for Giving Praise
o Be sincere – only give praise when it is deserved
o Give praise about specific behaviors or results
o Tie praise to context of future performance
o Take your time and be comfortable with act of praising
o Emphasize the positive

 How did Ken do a good job giving praise to Mike?

Giving Negative Feedback

Managers avoid giving negative feedback due to:
o Negative reactions and consequences
o Negative experiences in the past
o Playing “God”
o Need for irrefutable and conclusive evidence

Negative feedback is most useful when it:
o Identifies warning signs and performance problem is still manageable
o Clarifies unwanted behaviors and consequences
o Focuses on behaviors that can be changed
o Comes from a credible source
• Using straight talk
• Calm
o Is supported by data

Feedback Sessions should always answer:
o How is your job going?
o What can be done to make it better?
• Job
• Product
• Services
o How can you better serve your customers?
• Internal
• External

4. Performance Review Meetings

Supervisory roles in managing performance
o Judge
• Evaluate performance
• Allocate rewards
o Coach
• Help employee solve performance problems
• Identify performance weaknesses
• Design developmental plans

Performance Review Formal Meetings
Possible types of formal meetings:
1. System Inauguration
2. Self-Appraisal
3. Classical Performance Review
4. Merit/Salary Review
5. Developmental Plan
6. Objective Setting

Steps to take before meeting:
o Give at least 2-weeks notice
o Block sufficient time
o Arrange to meet in a private location without interruptions

Merged Performance Review Meeting Components
1. Explanation of meeting purpose
2. Employee self-appraisal
3. Supervisor and employee share rating and rationale
4. Developmental discussion
5. Employee summary
6. Rewards discussion
7. Follow-up meeting arrangement
8. Approval and appeals process discussion
9. Final recap

Possible defensive behaviors of employees
o Fight response
• Blaming others
• Staring at supervisor
• Raising voice
• Other aggressive responses
o Flight response
• Looking/turning away
• Speaking softly
• Continually changing the subject
• Quickly agreeing without basis
• Other passive responses

To prevent/reduce defensive behaviors
o Establish and maintain rapport
o Be empathetic
o Observe verbal and nonverbal cues
o Minimize threats
o Encourage participation
• When defensiveness is unavoidable
- Recognize it
- Allow its expression
- If situation becomes intolerable reschedule the meeting for a later time

Performance Management Skills: Summary
1. Coaching
2. Coaching Styles
3. Coaching Process
4. Performance Review Meetings
 
Worked Solutions for End-of-Chapter Cases

Answers for Case Study 9.1 Was Robert Eaton a Good Coach?
(Suggested points: 5, .5[9.2], .5[9.3])

Based on the table below, Bob Eaton was a very good coach.  However, there were a few areas that he could have improved on.
Major Functions Present?
(yes/no) Comments/Recommendations
Give advice Y 
Provide guidance Y 
Give support Y 
Give confidence Y 
Promote greater competence Y 
    
Key Behaviors Present?
(yes/no) Comments/Recommendations
Establish developmental objectives N  While the employees set their own objectives,  Bob Eaton should have ensured that formal objectives were documented so that he could ensure that the company was moving forward.
Communicate effectively Y 
Motivate employees Y  While the case did not mention any formal system to reward the completion of developmental goals, it appears that the employees felt rewarded regardless of how it was done.
Document performance N  The case did not mention any system for documenting individual performance. 
Give feedback Y 
Diagnose performance problems N  Bob Eaton used his candid manner to communicate with employees regarding their ideas,  but the case did not mention whether or not he formally sat down with employees to discuss shortcomings that he saw in their performance.
Develop employees Y 

Answers for Case Study 9.2 What is Your Coaching Style?
(Suggested points: 5, [9.5])

Answers will vary, but should contain the following elements, depending on the style(s) identified.  Respondents will identify their individual coaching style(s) and what needs to be done to use other styles as appropriate.  For example, individuals who have a more dominant Persuader coaching style may have to concentrate more on setting goals and driving for results, rather than just seeing and sharing the vision.  They may also have to concentrate more on analyzing an employee’s behavior and the specific steps that an employee will have to take to reach the vision. 

Answers for Case Study 9.3 Preventing Defensiveness
(Suggested points: 5, [9.15])

First of all, Spencer could have done a better job of developing rapport with Jeff by holding the meeting in a neutral room without interruptions.  In addition, Spencer could have sat next to Jeff as opposed to sitting across the table from him.  Spencer empathized with Jeff’s restlessness; however, Spencer should never have taken the phone call.  Spencer should have given specific feedback and balanced positive feedback with the negative.  He needed to demonstrate confidence that Jeff could and would improve.  Both Spencer and Jeff needed to work together to improve Jeff’s performance.  Spencer should have asked Jeff for his ideas and what resources he might need from Spencer.  In this way, Jeff could have felt that he was part of the solution and left the meeting feeling empowered, rather than as frustrated as he probably was.

Additional Cases and Worked-Solutions

Case Study:  World Wide Conference Center, Inc. (WWCC)

World Wide Conference Center, Inc. (WWCC), is a large telecommunication company specifically in business for the purpose of providing video conferencing for clients around the world.  You are the supervisor of the internal local area network section of the IT department.  There are numerous opportunities for advancement within the company for all but the highest ranking employees. 

You are in charge of fifteen employees, all of whom are technicians responsible for keeping the company’s internal network functioning properly.  There are employees with many levels of experience-- from brand new employees just out of college to employees with ten years of experience within the company. 

You have recently noticed that Sarah, who has worked in your unit for six years, has been having difficulty finishing work in an appropriate amount of time.  You have had two meetings with her about this issue and have been unable to determine the problem because Sarah has become defensive in both meetings.  Her specific response is usually along the lines of, “I’ve worked here for a long time and never had any problems.  Why are you harassing me now?” 

1. You’ve decided that you must take some action in order to remedy this problem.  Give a detailed assessment of the best way to handle this situation with Sarah.
(Suggested points: 10, [9.15])

Tim, a new employee, has begun working for you.  He has no experience except what he gained as a college student and is eager to become a competent and ideal employee.

2. Explain in detail the steps you will take to ensure Tim is given the opportunity to become the best possible performer.
(Suggested points: 10, [9.1])

It is time for you to meet with Kelly for her quarterly performance review.  You are not sure what her goals or interests are.    The one real performance issue you have noticed during the review period is that she is sometimes abrupt with internal clients when she is assigned to answer the “Help” line.  In fact, you have received complaints from other departments that Kelly speaks to them in such a way that they feel stupid for having called.

Other than this, her general performance is slightly above average.  Kelly volunteers to help fellow employees with solving problems and implementing new programs in the network.  She completes her assigned tasks more quickly than most other employees and her work is almost always error free.  When an error is found, she is gracious in her acceptance of feedback. 

3.   Please provide a detailed discussion of your preparation for how you will handle the performance review meeting with Kelly and any follow-up action.
(Suggested points: 10, .7[9.14], .3[9.15])

Marilyn is a supervisor for the Internet section of the IT department.  She also has fifteen employees and is having some difficulty in documenting performance.  She uses nothing but computer-generated statistics in her performance evaluations.  She has come to you at the suggestion of her supervisor, also your supervisor, who has informed her that your performance documentation is exactly what the company is looking for. 

4.   Give Marilyn a critical assessment of the key features of evaluation documentation. 
(Suggested points: 10, .3[9.9], .7[9.10])

During a performance review meeting with Joseph, one of your subordinates, he tells you that he is interested in supervision and would like to take whatever steps are necessary so that he will be considered in the next promotion.  His current performance is below average for your department, although it is not below the company’s performance standards referenced in the performance evaluation forms. 

5.   Discuss in detail how you will help Joseph to achieve his goals.
(Suggested points: 10, .2[9.1], .2[9.2], .3[9.11], .3[9/14])

Answers:

1. First, it is clear that this situation has been mishandled in two previous meetings and I will have to overcome this problem in order to help Sarah correct her performance.  Before any meeting takes place it is important to make sure that I, the supervisor, am calm and know exactly what I am going to talk to Sarah about.  I need to make sure that I have specific information regarding Sarah’s behaviors rather than a general statement about “appropriate amount of time.”  I need to make sure to schedule the meeting in a location and at a time that will allow for privacy and no interruptions.

I can expect Sarah to become defensive again, as this has apparently ended the meeting in the past, so I will need to have a plan for allowing the defensiveness and dealing with it so that it can be overcome and she can leave with a plan to improve her performance. 

When I meet with Sarah, I will start off the meeting with a general discussion of Sarah’s overall performance, which is generally good.  I will then give Sarah specific examples of the performance that needs to be improved, along with detailed descriptions of what performance is expected. 

 If Sarah becomes defensive at this point, I will allow her to speak about her perceptions and feelings and assure her that I understand that she is upset.  I will make sure to tell her that this meeting is not meant to make her feel badly, nor is it my intention to say that she is not a good employee.  I will stress the performance that is in need of improvement rather than Sarah as a person or her general personality.  If  Sarah’s defensiveness cannot immediately be overcome, I will suggest that we continue the meeting in two hours, after she has had a chance to come to terms with the performance evaluation, and ask that she come to the next meeting prepared with suggestions for improvement. 

 If there is no defensiveness encountered, or if it is overcome during the initial meeting, or at the second meeting, I will assure Sarah that I am confident in her ability to improve her performance, and to bring it to acceptable or higher levels.  I will solicit ideas from her as to how she might go about improving this performance.  I will give her my own suggestions and together we will come to an agreement on an improvement plan that will be acceptable to both of us.

We will record the plan in writing and I will follow-up weekly with Sarah’s progress.  If Sarah does not progress as indicated in the plan, we will have further meetings.  If Sarah’s performance improves as planned, then I will be sure to compliment her progress, so she will know that I care about her success. 

2. Orientation and training of a new employee can be administered similarly to a developmental or improvement plan.

The first order of business is to make sure Tim understands the performance management system in place in our organization.  I will let him have access to the performance anchors for his position, so that he will know what is expected of him and what behaviors will be considered acceptable, unacceptable, above standard, and so on. 

Then I will look into training that is available and see if there is someone in my department that would be interested in acting as a mentor for Tim.  It is important that I provide the resources required for Tim to get training that will be required.  It is also important that Tim have a say in who his mentor will be, as both the mentor and the subordinate must agree to the mentor relationship in order for the relationship to be fruitful. 

I will give Tim the opportunity to meet with me twice a week for an update on his progress and any necessary adjustment to his training, as well as explaining to him that I have an open door policy and that he is free to set up a meeting with me whenever he feels the need. 

Depending on the type of training or mentoring decided upon, I will make sure that Tim is on track with his training by asking him for certifications, progress reports, testing, and personal observation.  Tim’s program will be administered and documented in his performance plan and evaluations. 

3.   Kelly’s performance evaluation meeting should be nothing out of the ordinary.  There are some areas of performance where Kelly is in need of improvement, and there are some areas of performance where Kelly is performing acceptably or better. 

First, it is important that Kelly already understand the performance management system.  Hopefully, there was an inauguration meeting that took place when the system was begun.  

Kelly should be given the opportunity to complete a performance survey for her own performance and that should be available during the performance evaluation meeting for comparison with my evaluation of her performance.    

The meeting should be scheduled in a private location and steps should be taken to ensure that there are no interruptions.

Kelly should first be given an opportunity to present her review of her own performance and that should be compared to my review.  In areas of performance where we both agree, much discussion may not be required.  Most discussion will take place in areas where we do not agree.
 
My review of Kelly’s performance will include all areas of performance rather than focusing on either the good performance or poor performance.  I will focus on specific behaviors rather than on Kelly as a person or as a whole. 

Based on the fact that Kelly has received some complaints, I will engage in a discussion with her about the problem of her being abrupt with internal clients.  I will ask for feedback from Kelly about this problem and try to find out if there is anything in particular that is causing this problem.  If Kelly becomes defensive, I will listen to her concerns and assure her that this is an area of performance that is important and that I am confident she can improve.  If the defensiveness gets to a point that Kelly does not appear to be accepting my feedback, I will end the meeting, to be reconvened by the end of the day. 

Once the problem has been identified, I will seek input from Kelly about suggestions for improvement and I will give my own suggestions as well.  We will work together to find a resolution to the problem and that will be included in her goals and objectives for the next review period. 

We will also discuss rewards based on the performance during the recent review period. 
I will then ask Kelly to sign the performance evaluation and explain the process for appeals in case there is any portion of the evaluation about which she and I cannot reach an agreement.   

Overall the performance review meeting should include the following discussions:
 explanation of the purpose of the meeting
 self-appraisal
 share rating and explain rationale
 development discussion
 employee summary
 rewards discussion
 follow-up meeting
 approval and appeals process discussion
 final recap

 (Note:  the student may have different ideas in a different order, but they must meet the requirements of the overall discussions in an appraisal meeting.)

4.   Marilyn may not understand the importance of documenting performance or she may not understand the best way to go about documenting performance.  A discussion of both possibilities may be required. 

Ongoing documentation of behaviors and performance is an important skill for Marilyn to learn, so that she will be able to remember behaviors and performance for the duration of the performance review period.  Documentation also reduces errors, such as primacy and recency errors in evaluating performance.  Computer statistics may not be accurate or may not tell the whole story. 

The important things to remember when documenting performance are: be specific; use adjectives and adverbs sparingly; balance positives with negatives; focus on job-related information; be comprehensive; standardize the procedure; describe observable behavior rather than subjective perceptions.

Marilyn may benefit from seeing some performance notes that I have written, so I will give her some of them to review.

5.   To begin with, Joseph and I will need to discuss how his performance needs to be improved so that he is seen as having promotional potential.  He will need to have an opportunity to improve his performance so that he is at least average within the department, and probably above average. 

 Given his desire to become a supervisor, it is important for him to understand the benefit of all employees performing to the best of their abilities. Joseph will need to attend any training that is available in supervisory skills, whether through the company’s assistance or on his own.  It might be helpful to find out if there is anyone in particular that Joseph would like to have as his mentor in his quest to become supervisor material. 

With my assistance, Joseph will need to pursue any or all of these options as soon as possible, so that Joseph will have the best opportunity to improve his performance.  He and I will develop and implement a plan for improvement. I will schedule regular follow-up meetings to review his progress in following up on that plan. 

Case Study: Henry’s Commercial Sales and Leasing

Henry is the owner of a small real estate agency that handles the sale and leasing of commercial property.  He has two real estate agents working in the office, along with himself.  He also has two customer service representatives (CSRs), each of whom has a real estate license, and one receptionist who has worked for the company for about three months. 

Henry has recently decided that he needs another customer service representative (CSR).  He has noticed that the receptionist, Tara, is very smart, seems to learn quickly, and is very good in dealing with clients.  He has decided to promote Tara to CSR and hire a new receptionist.  In order to familiarize Tara with her new duties, Henry has assigned Martin, the senior CSR in the company, to be her direct supervisor and coach her. 

1. In the context of this chapter, provide a critical analysis of the decisions that Henry has made.
(Suggested points: 10, .3[9.1], .7[9.2])

2. Provide a detailed discussion of Martin’s new role as coach.
(Suggested points: 2,[9.2])

Three months into Tara’s training program, she seems constantly upset and has expressed concerns that she is not able to learn the information and feels she may be “in over her head.”  Henry knows that Tara is capable of the work required and is confident that she will be a very good CSR, so he talks to her about what she feels is going wrong.  Some of Tara’s comments include information that Martin is very short with her, and rather than explaining why certain procedures are required and what certain procedures are given certain circumstances, he simply directs her to do certain things. 

3. Critically assess Martin’s coaching and style. 
(Suggested points: 10, .3[9.2], .3[9.3], .4[9.4])

4. Discuss possible solutions to help Tara become an effective CSR. At a minimum, what should Martin be doing to help her?
(Suggested points: 10,[9.6])

Answers:

1. There is no indication that Henry has consulted either Tara or Martin regarding this plan.  In general, it’s best to allow a mentor and subordinate to choose each other rather than to assign them.  There is also no indication that Tara wants to proceed in this way, since this promotion may be contrary to her career goals.  If Henry wants to proceed in this plan regardless of the above information, then he absolutely must give Martin the appropriate training in supervision and coaching in order to ensure that Martin has the tools he needs to be successful in his part of the plan.

2. Giving advice, providing guidance, providing support (facilitation, being there when needed but not monitoring and controlling all of Tara’s actions), giving Tara confidence, helping Tara gain greater competence, establishing development objectives, communicating effectively, motivating Tara, documenting her performance, giving feedback (both positive and negative), diagnosing performance problems, developing Tara’s competence by providing financial support and resources for Tara as needed.

3. Martin is displaying (at least based on the information given) a “driver” style of coaching, primarily providing direction.  Given Tara’s confidence levels, Martin is not doing most of the required tasks of a coach.  In fact, it appears that he only provides guidance.  Martin’s performance as a coach is not satisfactory.

4. There are numerous possible remedies, including choosing a different coach for Tara (with her involvement this time), providing training to Martin regarding appropriate coaching behaviors, and/or coaching Martin in his new role. 

Martin needs to sit down with Tara and help her set development goals.  Martin and Tara should work with Henry to identify development resources and strategies for Tara to meet the goals.  As time passes, Martin will need to observe and document Tara’s behaviors (positive and negative) as she performs CSR duties.  He will then need to give her effective feedback so that she can continue doing effective behaviors and make any necessary changes in less effective behaviors