Annual Review

Every year in large organizations there is a time called ANNUAL REVIEW. The difference between a good organization and great organization is how they handle these situations. A good organization will review this time as a point to cover last year's performance and maybe upcoming year's goals. A great organization will talk about these same things but will have a few more clear objectives. Here are few items a great organization will do:

Year in review:
The first key is to review the numbers. This is a great time to talk about specifically what might have went well and why. In the same regard it is a great time to talk about what did not go well and how you are planning on addressing these issues in the upcoming years.

Peer Evaluation (360):
Perception is reality and the way your peers feel about us is very important for long term career development. So many times this piece is left out of a performance review especially if you are a manager of people. This is a valuable time to gain feedback about on areas that you might want to change in the upcoming year. If this is done effectively the candidate will be able to address issues and work the entire year to make behavioral changes.

Career Mapping:
Great Managers say, "Where do you want to go and how can I help you get there?" If an annual review does not cover this point the candidate will probably feel very demotivated and feel their career is in a holding pattern. This is great time to talk about future opportunities and set stretch goals for the individual. Something great companies do is map careers with additional training needs thus giving the employee the support to grow emotionally, professionally and spiritually.

Merit Increase:
This needs to match both the potential of the employee and the overall results. In other words if you have a top talent but they have not been able to contribute you might be willing to provide additional compensation. Results traditionally drive this number however it is never popular to say "we have a pool of money and this is how much you get." Remember it is no how much you pay people it is the people that you pay.

Lastly the action plan for the upcoming year should be specific and measurable with each person accountable. The manager should have specific objectives to assist in the career development of their employee. Furthermore the employee should have an action plan on how they are going to develop their career over the upcoming months and year. This is great time to show your employee you care more about their career than the hard numbers that have to be executed.