Book : Perfect Phrases For Documenting Employee Performance.

-Titulo Original : Perfect Phrases For Documenting Employee Performance Problems (perfect Phrases Series)

-Fabricante :

McGraw Hill

-Descripcion Original:

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Perfect Phrases for Documenting Employee Performance ProblemsBy Anne BruceThe McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.Copyright © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.All rights reserved.ISBN: 978-0-07-145407-0ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart One. Indispensable Communications ToolsPart Two. Lessons from the BestPart Three. Additional Tips and TechniquesConclusion. Minding the Gap Between Performance Problems and Optimum Performance!Appendix A. Sample Performance BuilderAppendix B. Problem-Solving Toolkit to Raise Perfect PhrasesExcerptCHAPTER 1Indispensable Communications ToolsBeware of the Trauma You May Cause When Documenting Performance ProblemsIn the Introduction to this book, I discussed how and why organizations came todocument performance issues in the first place-their initial goodintentions and their eventual malfunction. The following story brings a real-worldface to this critical issue and the importance of finding perfect phrasesto document performance problems.When a Single Word Without Explanation Wont Cut ItJohn, a supervisor at a well-known pharmaceutical firm, shared the followingconfidential story during an interview for this book:I remember when I was coming up through the ranks in this organization. I waseager, hardworking, and enthusiastic about the future until my managerdocumented my performance in a standard 90-day performance review.I distinctly recall that he wrote down in my file that my overall performancewas satisfactory. This one word leveled me. In my head, I was working so muchharder and better than just satisfactory. What did he mean? Why wasnt thedocumentation more specific? Why didnt he write, Johns performance wassatisfactory based on his level of current experience? That, I could havehandled. Instead, I was simply labeled satisfactory-translation: lowerthan highly satisfactory, below good, and far below excellent or a job welldone!You may be thinking, why was this so traumatic? After all, my manager didntwrite something terrible about me. But, you see, it was terrible. My enthusiasmwas squelched and so was my confidence. The documentation without betterunderstanding of what exactly satisfactory meant was insufficient feedbackthat took the air right out of my sails and slowed down my go-get-em stride andpositive attitude. That documentation haunted me for years, and I eventuallyleft the department because of it.Johns point is well taken. As a manager, always be fully aware of the influenceyou may have over someone the moment you write down and document a performanceissue. You dont have to write something derogatory to traumatizesomeone-one word can do it. Lack of specificity and ignoring a specificrecommendation, or a way to help people improve their status, is enough to setthem back and squash their self-confidence. So remember, its not just what yousay in your documentation that matters, its also how you say it.As you use these lists of perfect phrases for documenting performance problems,keep in mind that it will be up to you to provide a thorough explanation of thephrase suggested. A phrase alone is not enough when it comes to really wantingto help someone get better and reach his or her greater potential.Let Performance Problems Be Your Organizations Strength FindersDocumenting an employees performance problems is a delicate matter. When aleader takes the time to carefully craft what he is going to say about someone,that person helps to set the tone for future dialogue and ongoing improvementand personal growth.Right now in some organization, somewhere, a manager or supervisor is meetingwith an employee to discuss his or her performance problems. Some people wouldrather have a root canal! But they feel that way because managers andsupervisors often focus on the problem and not on the strength that can comefrom addressing that problem head on. Leaders also fail to back it up byproviding a method to somehow