Michael Heller — August 23, 2017 Let’s get one thing straight, performance reviews are meant to show the progress of employee accomplishments and strides. However, that’s not the only area that needs to be taken into consideration. There’s a lot more that goes into truly understanding how your employees rank and where they stand as performers. One of these important aspects happens to be company values.
How your employees showcase company values is probably something you haven’t looked into yet, right? Well, you need to! And, the sooner the better. The reality is, having employees that don’t match up with your company values and ideas only makes more room for a dysfunctional, segregated worker.
“…very few companies hold people accountable for company values on performance appraisals or any other mechanism…” – Dick Grote , management expert
Want to stop that from happening and get the run-down on what your employees really value? Here’s how to compare their values to your company’s:
Determine Said Values
First and foremost, before you can evaluate the values of others, you have to understand your own. You may already know the values that your company holds dear, but do you know how those values relate to your employees? Communicate your values in a way employees can understand as well as apply to their own performance. For example, ask yourself, “Does this employee bring integrity to the workplace?” “Are they kind in how they interact with others?” These types of questions are key ways to relate major company values to an employee’s behavior.
However, it is equally important to recognize that not all company values are appropriate to include or evaluate during performance reviews. If you do decide to include certain elements that may be hard to rate, create a description and explanation that provides details on what a “good” and “bad” rating would look like.
Creating these systems and protocols are not only beneficial to you as a manager evaluating your employees, but also to your employees in general. Modern Survey has found that employees who say their organizational values are “known and understood” are 51 times more likely to be fully engaged.
Handle Violations
Once these values are set, you need to not only evaluate employees but reinforce the new standards as well. What happens if an employee does not display the values and ideas that your company wants to display? As a manager or team lead, it is your job to confront and discipline employees who violate guidelines. It’s hard and employees sometimes take the criticism personally. However, this is an opportunity to inspire personal and professional growth.
“Sometimes we lose people, sometimes we terminate, and sometimes people change. We’re OK with all of those scenarios. Our values mean too much to us to compromise. You can’t compromise. You have to have employees who will walk the talk. We don’t have any tolerance for those who violate our values.” – Nathan Bigler , SPHR
Again, this can be beneficial for the employee. Some may not realize the habits they hold or that they aren’t meeting standards. By explaining to them where they are falling short, you increase feedback, communication and, in turn, their performance.
Be An Example
As the saying goes, “monkey see, monkey do,” and that goes for your employees as well. It’s not fair to hold your employees up to certain standards while you are lacking. Walk the walk. 60 to 90% of our communication is nonverbal, so don’t just TELL employees what to do, show them how it’s done!
Use this time of discovery as an opportunity to compare employee performance to your own.
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