The annual performance appraisal is an opportunity to enhance employee performance and create improved success for the company and the staff member. My intent is to evaluate how coaching skills can be used in creating a positive annual evaluation experience for both the staff member and the supervisor. With our focus on how to maintain good performance going throughout the year.

Performance appraisals are often dreaded by both the employee and the supervisor. Often the manager talks about concerns that the employee didn't expect. With the supervisor as a coach and partner committed to building the staff member's results the environment can shift. The goal is to reframe the experience, fostering a positive, goal oriented environment that thrives on success.

By using coaching type questions you have the opportunity to create powerful positive energy, determine what the gaps are and what the resources needed are.

In meetings with the employee:

oBe in the present, focused on the employee

oListen actively, with focus and eliminate all other distractions

oRecognize their strengths, their value

Simple Coaching Style Questions will assist you:

oWhat's going right?

oWhat makes it right? or Why does it go well?

oHow can we build on this success?

oWhat is it that would be ideal

oWhat are the challenges you are dealing with?

oWhat resources do you need?

You, the business owner become the coach ? coaching staff members for success. In creating a plan focused on success for the employee, the manager begins to shift the paradigm to one of employee and coach/partner. As supervisors, our job is to foster successful teams and we have to have successful team members in order to do that. If we spend our energy on creating successful team members we are more likely to create it. Focus on the positive, the solutions. Why is it right? Why does it go well In working with teams I have found that when I focus on what they are doing well and how we do more of it ? we build on our success.

When we create goals that are ?SMART?, we can measure them, and track their progress. If goals are soft, not measurable it becomes difficult to progress the plan or give any feedback. So, how do we make them trackable? Measurable is countable, how many, when, who?

? Goals tie into the company vision and the employee's vision.

? Goals Point to an exciting future.

? SMART Goals are positive, specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bounded

Annual goals are typically big. It's vital to break them down into smaller steps. Make them doable and not overwhelming.

Building in accountability in your annual success plans is vital. Often performance appraisals are done, and then left without a glance until the following year. This causes the original framework of stress and discomfort to begin again.

Accountability is your responsibility. Schedule regular meetings with staff, go over the goals and create new plans for the upcoming month. Spending time with staff each month or more frequently gives you as the supervisor continuous information about what is happening.

It's unrealistic to come at a staff person at the end of the year and say you didn't accomplish what we outlined in your plan. In addition, if the plan is never mentioned it leaves staff with the impression that it wasn't that important and they don't need to work on the goals outlined. Remember the goals created are focused on creating better results for the company. this is important to you. Put your energy into staff and their plan.

Each meeting:

? Review the vision

? Review the accomplishments (What's going right?)

? Review the goals and score them: 60%; 85%

? When a goal is less than 80% use coaching skills to help figure out what the problem is and how to change it.

At times goals are accomplished by writing it down, but the level of accomplishment is usually lower than what we want in our companies.

The regular review of the performance goals gives you the opportunity to talk with staff in detail and focused on their goals and support them in developing success. These regular meetings build rapport and the manager as an ally and support person. Staffs know you are invested in their success as well as that of the company. This is powerful. It develops you as a leader and partner of the staff member and gives you information about where the focus needs to be. You have created a regular stream of communication-both ways that can only improve results.

Coach them to succeed.