There are two “don’ts” to keep in mind during employee reviews.
Number One: Avoid Finger Pointing. If you’re pointing your finger at your employees saying, “You have done this thing that I don’t like,” that’s not a review. You’re yelling at them. A review needs to be kind because people don’t respond to finger wagging.
Number Two: Avoid Lack of Relevance. Many of the things that people bring out as either positives or negatives about employee performance aren’t relevant to what they do. For example, when I worked for somebody else, I was once told that a negative part of my review was the fact that my cubicle was messy. It didn’t present the image that this company wanted. So, I said, “If you don’t want my desk to be messy, give me a drawer where I can put things away. The reason why my desk is messy is because I’m not thinking about the way my cubicle looks. I’m thinking about what I have to get done. Talking about my cubicle isn’t relevant at all to my performance.”
