I have always found annual performance reviews almost useless. If we wait to get and give performance feedback on an annual basis, it must not matter much.
I want to give and get feedback in a much more timely way. Dan Pink, author of Drive, publishes a weekly article in the Telegraph UK. This Sunday his article was right on. He suggests three things we can do to make a workplace a little more feedback rich:
- Do it ourselves. Why not establish our own feedback system. Get feedback on a regular basis (once per month?) from colleagues on how we’re doing. If we have a boss who’s really thinking clearly, they will honor and support this activity.
- Peer Recognition. I’m a big fan of people giving each other recognition. In the company I run, people are encouraged to send each other written acknowledgments on a card we call an “ACE” card. In Pink’s article he references a large American engineering firm where employees also have the green light to award team members $50 gift certificates.
- Do it with software. There are some great software packages that drive extensive 360 degree feedback – the more timely, specific, and constructive, the more effective results.
Great leading companies have feed back systems driving behavior.
Self accountable people find a way to get timely feedback on our performance.
Live the Triangle,
Lorne