Career conversations for optimum motivation

Everybody hates the annual performance review process and recently we’ve been seeing a lot of articles about companies who have replaced the annual review with more regular feedback sessions.

There are a number of problems with the traditional performance review – managers are not trained to do them well. Many managers prefer to leave well alone, if they don’t mention career progression to the staff perhaps they won’t ask for development opportunities! This is short-sighted at the very least because most staff want development and growth and will leave to find it elsewhere if necessary.

A big issue for many mangers is that they believe staff always  want more – either in terms of promotion, salary or power – and when they have more they will still want more. In fact, many employees don’t want any such thing but they do want recognition and to make best use of their skills and talents.

Reward and recognition need to be relevant to the individual otherwise it won’t have the desired effect; some employees need regular reassurance and positive reinforcement and some need only the occasional pat on the shoulder and a ‘thank you’. The first person will feel neglected and under-appreciated if their managers doesn’t take notice of them often enough, the second will be irritated and worried if they feel they are being micro-managed.