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I live in the US and last year began overseeing a foreign office that recently completed employee appraisals. The office had been underperforming, so we re-instituted performance reviews tied with department goals in order to get productivity back on track.
The problem is that many of the reviews came back inflated, which I admit is not unexpected. The problem is that I have an office that thinks they are performing higher than they really are and now are expecting raises.
Am I right to reject the performance reviews and instruct these to be redone? I'm concerned that I will exasperate our staff and that I'm relying too heavily on this particular carrot/stick to provoke change - especially in a country where annual raises are the norm and influenced only a little by performance.
I'm a frequent listener to Manager-Tools and am the first to use an engaged management style (like MT Trinity) with this office.
Thanks for any advice or pointers.
Sincerely, Chris
Keep Calm and Carry On
If pay rises aren't typically tied to performance, then I wouldn't try to introduce that right off the bat, because people get shirty about having their money supply fiddled with. For this time around, at least, just stick with whatever's considered "reasonable" in the organisation. Then, use the MT methods to really get performance pumping, after which you don't need to motivate with the cash carrot any more.
Thanks for
Thanks, Matt. I'm struck by how much wisdom there is in don't get excited, stay the course, slow and steady - that unglamorous side of management as MT calls it. It sounds simple when you say it, but my natural tendency would be to complicate it. I appreciate the encouragement!