11. Performance Reviews – What’s the point?

We’re coming to the end of the series “So you’ve become a recruitment consultant…” and hopefully you’re working for a company that performs regular performance reviews with its staff. It’s important that you put the work in to make sure that this activity is beneficial for all and can also determine your future business planning (more on this next week).

I do come across businesses that don’t perform performance reviews and the common comment from them is “what’s the point?”

Well, I must admit I do enjoy a challenge and when faced with this question I have to make sure that I don’t give it to them with ‘both barrels’ and ask key questions instead.

1. How do you monitor how your staff are performing?
2. How do you know whether your company is going to achieve its objectives or not?
3. How do you determine the members of staff that require extra support and training?
4. How do praise staff for over achieving?
5. How do you motivate your staff to increase their activities and abilities?
6. How do you make sure that your staff have the opportunity to talk about their business and any issues that they are having?
7. How do you determine strengths and development areas for the company?
8. How do you establish what company wide training is needed?
9. How do you set incentives and competitions based on where the development areas of the business are?
10. How do you show that your care about them and their business?

You get the drift. Performance reviews will do all this… and more.

So as a new consultant, how can you help?

Well a couple of weeks ago we looked at analysing and monitoring your activities and results in the post People do what you ‘inspect’, not what you ‘expect’. It’s important that you are recording your activities and working out your ratios on a weekly and monthly basis.  At the end of the month once all of the figures and revenue is confirmed, then you can establish your areas of strengths and areas for development.

If your company doesn’t perform monthly performance reviews, then for you to be able to plan your business in the future, I suggest that you do your own reviews anyway.

Key elements of a performance review

 1.    Performance objectives

What have you achieved in relation to last months objectives and what do you want to achieve during the coming month, whether it’s an increase in average client base, increase of billable hours, x number of new clients etc.

2.    Revenue target

Review achievement from last month and then set the target of how much money you need to make next month to be on target for the year.

3.    Activity Target

From working out your ratios from activities that you performed last month, to using those ratios to determine the activity levels that you need to achieve this month to hit revenue target.

4.   Client and Candidate plans

What have you done last month and what are you going to do this month in relation to attraction of new customers and retention of current ones. It’s important to not just focus on clients here, but to link your candidate plans to your client plans, so that when the business comes in, you’re ready with the right candidates already registered.

5.    KPIs

Point 3 will determine your key performance indicators of 5 or so indicators that are key to knowing if your performance is on track with your objectives.

6.    Training

What training did you receive in the last month, what was your learning, what actions did you put into practice and what impact has it had on your business? Detail this and you can then ask for future training based on your development areas. If your boss can’t see any progression from previous training, then you are unlikely to get more.

 

Next week we’ll look at QBPs (Quarterly Business Plans) in advance of your probationary appraisal and how you can make sure that you not only impress your boss, but are ready for your next 3 months.

Angela Cripps, Connemara UK