No Time? Grab Two Solutions and Get Going!

Running on empty -- or will be soon? It's time for the end of the year pile up! I've been kicking around how I can help you during the squeeze.  Here's where I came out.

Speak in shorthand

Make it quick, and most of all

Give you something you can use NOW

So here goes. Two short articles that you can pass along to those in the midst of conducting performance discussions and reviews. Useful. Candid. Immensely helpful for a small but important sample of your employees and managers. Both articles are by Amy Gallo at Harvard Business Review.

• "Help! I'm an Underperformer." We've all had years that didn't turn out as planned. This article covers the bases on how to deal with this difficult experience -- which often comes as a surprise, especially to employees who are used to being stars. The article includes emotional insights, realistic suggestions and case studies. It's not for everyone who needs improvement, but I bet you have just the right person in mind.
• "Bouncing Back from a Negative 360-Degree Review" The 360-Degree process invites a higher level of honesty than many people have encountered before. Since a wide range of coworkers provide input, most members of the human race end up with some feedback that is uncomfortable. This article is packed with suggestions from experts on how to weigh the feedback and thoughtfully focus in on findings that should be addressed in order to make the whole thing a positive experience.

Hope that helps somebody out there. I'll keep looking for more quick, handy communication and implementation tools to pass along in the next few weeks. Things that will help you wrestle with your end-of-year action plan. And if you have them, why not share some of your own?

Now, get back to it!

Margaret O'Hanlon is founder and principal of re:Think Consulting.  She has decades of experience teaming up with clients to ensure great Human Resource ideas deliver valuable business results.  Margaret brings deep expertise in total rewards communication to the dialog at the Café; before founding re:Think Consulting, she was a Principal in Total Rewards Communications with Towers Perrin.  Margaret earned her M.S. and Ed.S. in Instructional Technology at Indiana University.  Creative writing is one of her outside passions, along with Masters Swimming.

Comments

[Laura Schroeder]

Thanks for the good, constructive advice for handling negative feedback, esp. for people used to getting lots of approval.

And on a sillier note, how about passing out 'How to bounce back from a negative 360 degreee review' along with the review results? You could say, 'Um... you might want to check out this article before you look at the results.' ;-)

[Margaret O'Hanlon]

Not too silly at all! I have the same inclination about 360 degree feedback -- it can be a real trial in some settings.

Thanks for stopping by.