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 1 on 1: Informal Employee Performance Review
Employee University, 888-215-8532
www.employeeuniversity.com
Reviewed By: Libby Wagner
There are plenty of management experts who espouse the value of meeting your employees individually to support better performance. There are plenty of theories about how to do it—templates to use, scripts to utilize, recordkeeping tactics.
So I took a look at two Employee University DVDs, 1 on 1: Informal Employee Performance Review and Building Employee Morale: Missed Opportunties, with the expectation that I might not see anything new. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to find that they discussed an issue many organizations face—the “Meets Problem”—and that these short videos might be a very good tool to use to introduce the benefits of one-on-one meetings to new supervisors or managers.
Each product is barebones by training video standards: a DVD, discussion questions for facilitation, and a complete video script. The videos are professionally produced, and the characters discuss the benefits and processes of conducing employee one-on-ones.
The manager-mentor character talks a colleague through why he not only utilizes one-on-ones with his managers but also why he requires his folks to do the same with their employees—primarily to create opportunities for both praising and coaching. The dialogue is a bit predictable but appropriate for this genre—a training video—and there’s enough repetition to emphasize the key concepts.
The Employee U people recommend meeting people once per month for about 30 minutes, which in my experience is a reasonable and attainable goal if someone supervises less than 20 people. They do not address the potential problem of meeting this goal with more than 20 direct reports, but that’s probably more a structural issue than a logistics one, i.e., Why is someone responsible for supervising so many individuals without coaches, peer mentors, and the like?
The one-on-ones encourage regular conversations about performance rather than confine the discussion to a single annual review. The regular meetings should mean there are no surprises at the annual review. The videos note an unexpected side effect: one-on-ones between a manager and his or her direct reports has a positive impact on employee morale. I work with my clients to be purposeful about their one-on-one times and recognize that one of the benefits is to enhance morale, commitment, and retention. This effect doesn’t have to be accidental.
Employee U suggests that each employee keep a notebook with information pertaining to upcoming one-on-ones, thus creating a partnership approach to discussing performance. This has positive impacts as well because the employee is actively engaged in the conversation rather than passively waiting to hear what the supervisor has to say.
One of the most intriguing parts of Building Employee Morale is the treatment of the "Meets Problem." It’s an important look at how we might be negatively affecting employee performance when we have the three-rating system: Needs Improvement, Meets Expectations, Exceeds Expectations.
Their philosophy is that a Meets Expectations rating is not merely acceptable, but it’s a good thing. We want our employees to meet our expectations, after all. However, what typically happens is that our framing of this point on the scale creates a let-down and disappointment because the only "good grade" is Exceed Expectations.
The interesting part is the suggestion that it is the extra attention supervisors give to the Exceeds Expectations employee versus the Meets Expectations employee, when, in fact, the Meets employee is doing exactly what we want. Because employees need a strong sense of achievement, we want the Meets employee to be praised and celebrated too. In other words, it’s not the rating itself but the feeling about the rating that can impact morale. The one-on-one is a good place to celebrate the Meets employee.
Recommendation
Buy 1 on 1 and Building Employee Morale if you are helping managers and supervisors learn how to utilize one-on-one discussions to manage performance. Seasoned supervisors or managers who haven’t utilized this tool could benefit too.
Overall rating: 3.5
Note: ratings use a four-point scale, with 4.0 the highest rating and 1.0 the lowest.
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