Don’t Sugarcoat Your Performance Appraisals

by Richard P. Dacri

“I need to fire Jane. I have repeatedly warned her about her attendance, overall performance and attitude. She just won’t change and it’s now beginning to affect the other employees.” It sounded like the right decision. Millie was a fine manager and generally a good judge of employees. When she decided to terminate someone, it was usually justified. So when I was approached to evaluate her decision before the termination could be made, I assumed everything would be in order. It wasn’t.

The first thing I did in evaluating the proposed termination was to review Jane’s personnel file. In it I found a performance appraisal that was given to Jane a little over one month ago. Jane had been given a positive review by Millie. It noted that Millie did have some attendance problems, but stated that she performed her job well and said nothing about her “attitude problem.” Why? Where was the discussion about her performance problems? Without documentation about Jane’s performance problems, the termination could not be done. Looking only at her file, anyone would conclude that Jane was a good employee and if she were terminated with this kind of documentation, the company risked a potential wrongful discharge lawsuit...a very expensive proposition.

Why did Millie want to terminate Jane? Why was her last performance appraisal so positive if her performance and attitude were so sour?

When Millie was questioned about Jane’s positive appraisal, Millie’s only response was that she did not want to face a potential outburst from Jane. Jane had a habit of “blasting” anyone who confronted her. Millie figured that if she gave her a bad review, she was in “for a fight” and frankly she didn’t need that. She felt it was easier to just sugarcoat the review and hope that Jane’s performance would improve. It didn’t, and it rarely does.

Sugarcoating a performance review benefits no one. The employee with the performance problem is cheated because the manager fails to provide the necessary guidance and support needed to change and improve their performance. The manager is cheated because the employee never understands the extent of the problem, so their performance does not change. And, just as in this case, if a termination is made, the company opens itself up to the potential of an expensive lawsuit.

So what should a manger do? Frankly, the only solution is to deal with the negative behavior as soon as it occurs. Don’t wait. At the first sign of problems, managers should take the following steps:
Present your assessment of the problem to the employee
Be open, candid, and specific
Tell it like it is...don’t sugarcoat!
Focus on the employee’s behavior, not his/her personality
Explain why the behavior is unacceptable
State clearly your expectations of them
Outline the consequences of continuing this behavior
Provide the employee ongoing assistance and support to help improve the behavior
Build on the employee’s strengths
Document your discussions

Dealing with difficult employee problems is never easy, but that is the job of a manager. Failure to take action will result in long term problems and potential lawsuits. Addressing them early and directly is the manager’s best solution.

Rick Dacri is an organizational development consultant, coach and featured speaker at regional and national conferences. Since 1995 his firm, Dacri & Associates has focused on improving the performance of individuals and organizations. Rick can be reached at 1-800-892-9828, or rick@dacri.com