Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Never do these three things in a performance review because they quietly kill trust, waste time and stall business growth. Welcome to why your business isn't growing.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: And how to fix it, a podcast.
[00:00:11] Speaker A: For business owners who want practical, people powered ways to grow your business without burning out.
Hey, I'm Brendan Rogers. Today I'm going to share the three big don'ts for performance reviews plus what to do instead so you can grow your business without the HR headache. Now let's face it, most performance reviews are broken too much form filling, inconsistent ratings and end of year scrambles that nobody enjoys. No Wonder up to 90% of people hate them. What's even worse, these habits slow business growth by turning a human conversation into a bureaucratic ritual. If you're serious about growing your business, you can't let your performance review process push your best people away. Now I'm going to share three key reasons why as a business owner, you should care about improving your performance process to help grow your business.
The first one engagement drives results.
Regular feedback and one on ones correlate with higher engagement and productivity. Companies that replaced annual appraisals with ongoing touch points reported big gains.
Secondly, trust compounds conversational values, anchored reviews build alignment and speed. And third, you'll retain talent. People stay where coaching and leadership development are consistent and fair, not where ratings feel arbitrary.
Now I get it. As a business owner, there seems to be no end to the advice people are willing to give you on what to do and what not to do to get the best from your people.
In my experience, the reality is the majority of the advice givers have never built a business themselves or have even led any sort of team. I've run my own business for over a decade with a small remote team, and I've also led teams across sport and business locally, nationally and internationally for almost four decades. Yep, that's right. While some of you might be remembering your first kiss, I remember my first leadership experience when I was just 10 years old with more than 20 years in the corporate space. I've also done countless performance reviews and I've made many mistakes during the process. I reckon all this gives me a bit of credibility to share some advice on the what to do list.
So here are my three points of what to do.
The first one don't skip the conversation.
The worst move is no review at all. Doing something is better than doing nothing.
Even if you think you won't or don't do them well, it's still better to have one on one conversations with your team members focused on their performance and future needs for learning and growth.
A simple, honest 30 minute one on one beats silence.
Employees who have double the amount of one on ones with their manager compared to their peers are 67% less likely to be disengaged. Now that's massive for business growth.
So instead of skipping the conversation, do this instead.
Lock a light monthly check in and a deeper quarterly review into your calendar. It keeps momentum, accountability and trust flowing, which is fuel for growing your business.
Make these conversations routine and let the compounding do the work. The second point on my what to do don't use rating systems ever.
Please Rate out of 10 Sounds like a great idea, but it's subjective, political and guaranteed to create disgruntled employees.
Especially when salary is linked to the number leaders end up defending 8's versus 9s instead of coaching performance.
Now I've seen situations where good employees can become disgruntled because they got an 8 or 9 instead of a 10. Why would you put yourself through that? What value does it serve? Well, meaning HR advisors will say how can we do salary reviews if we don't have a rating system for performance?
Well, how about doing this instead? Replace ratings with evidence and outcomes. Set clear, measurable goals and review progress. Use peer feedback and 360 degree reviews for a more complete picture. Keep ongoing documentation for via regular check ins. If you need compensation signals, tie them to goal achievement or profit sharing. Not a single score. This shift lowers defensiveness and lifts coaching quality exactly what growing your business needs.
They also require a bit more work to implement, but will give you far more useful information and insight about a team member's performance.
A rating system doesn't, so don't use them ever.
My third point about what to do for performance reviews is don't bury people in forms. Using lengthy or complex forms is a common pitfall with performance reviews. These forms detract from the main purpose of the review, a genuine two way conversation.
Again, overzealous HR advisors are most often the culprit for this pitfall. Overly detailed forms are unnecessary and and can be overwhelming for business owners and employees.
They also often lead to superficial reviews rather than in depth discussions about performance growth and future goals.
Business owners love simple and effective Streamline the process with a concise, focused form that facilitates conversation rather than hinders it.
This approach not only saves time, but also makes the review more engaging and productive for the business owner and employee.
Remember, the goal is to connect and understand through genuine conversation, not to get lost in paperwork. Say no to lengthy or complex forms and do this Instead, use a concise one page guide that prompts the right discussion and nothing more. You can grab my one page review form at the link in the show notes. Here's an example. A client asked me, should we add self ratings?
My answer don't go there. Ratings breed arguments and sour the relationship, especially if you haven't had regular conversations through the year. Swap the scores for a consistent cadence of weekly and monthly one on ones and courtly reviews. It keeps expectations clear and course corrections small.
Prime conditions for Business growth and Leadership development if you want to deepen the conversation, I often teach a Start, Stop, keep micro exercise.
The start is what's one thing I should start doing to support you better, the stop one thing I should stop doing and the keep one thing I should keep doing because it works.
Run this in your development one on ones a couple of times a quarter.
It's a simple, repeatable way to grow your business by growing your leaders.
And if you're interested to learn more, I teach this exact process in my Master 101 meetings training, which is part of my High Impact Leader Membership program. You can learn more about it at the end of this episode.
So here's a quick recap of the three big don'ts for performance reviews so you can grow your business without the HR headaches.
Firstly, don't skip the conversation. Schedule light monthly and deeply courtly reviews.
Second, don't use rating systems ever review outcomes, evidence and multi source feedback instead. And third, don't bury people in forms. Use a one pager that drives real conversation.
When you keep reviews human, rhythmic and focused on outcomes, you accelerate leadership development, unlock engagement and create ongoing business growth. It's literally how you grow your business with fewer dramas.
Remember small improvements every day. That's how serious growth happens. I'm Brendan Rogers and this is why your business isn't growing and how to fix it. Thanks for joining me. If today's episode helped you remember to download the one page review form, the link is in the show notes and make sure you schedule next month's 30 minute one on one with every direct report. Get them in your calendar now. Then add the start, stop, keep micro exercise to one or two of those meetings to reinforce your leadership development habit. Your future self and your team will thank you for it.
And if you haven't already, please follow the podcast and share it with another leader who's hungry to grow their business without burning out. Until next time, grow yourself, grow your business.
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