A More Effective Alternative to Employee Performance Appraisals

• Is it clear to you?
• Will it be clear to others who did not select it?
• Is the statement observable behavior (you can experience it)?
• Can you personally make an agreement to always follow this behavior (although mistakes may be made, they will not be on purpose)?

Each statement that meets the standard criteria can be confidently added to the formal list of values behaviors.

STEP 3: Openly discuss values with employees

The list of statements must be reviewed by the key individuals who were not able to choose them. You can distribute the list to all employees. Give everyone time to absorb the meaning of each statement and provide opinions.

You may want to create a short-term team that can review the suggestions and opinions, and modify the statements as needed to better meet the standard criteria in Step 2. The purpose is to minimize the feeling of compromise.

One of the elements of a poorly performing organization is a conflict between organizational values and personal values. A feeling of compromise on personal values is deadly to performance. By allowing people to evaluate the statements, ask questions and make suggested improvements, you are providing an opportunity for them to naturally align without compromising their personal values and beliefs.

Facilitating these discussions is a challenging responsibility. Very often an outside facilitator is needed to create an environment of fairness and accelerate the entire process.

Wally Hauck, PhD, is a nationally known speaker and facilitator. His company, Optimum Leadership Inc. in Milford, CT, combines training and facilitation expertise with a business background in marketing and sales to help leaders optimize resources, improve services to internal and external customers, and boost employee engagement. Visit www.wallyhauck.com for more information.