Difficult Annual Review Meeting

JPin

Hi All,

Firstly I am a long term member of this forum, however I have setup a second account for some anonymity as a few people know me on here.

I have been employed with company x now for 32 months. It's been a difficult time as when I joined a parent was diagnosed with cancer and this definitely had an effect on my performance, however as their health improved so too did my performance. 2018 was an extremely difficult year in which their health declined and they passed away in the summer. This has had a terrible impact on me and whilst I am better than I was I am still coming to terms with it. (if we ever do completely)

At my year end meeting my boss really expressed unhappiness with my performance and he put my goals down as being "partially achieved". I did indicate that if he was having concerns with me it would have been better to have heard about them during the year, however I advised that this was the only such conversation we have had since last January (2018). He acknowledged this as valid feedback and did stress that 2018 personally was not an easy year for me (I never brought anything up in my personal life as a defense). My boss also said he has spoke to other team members about me and they too expressed dissatisfaction, mainly about not being proactive enough but also about performance. I did query some of the performance issues they raised but he was unable to elaborate on them but did say they would get back to me on these. My boss also offered the opportunity for a follow-up meeting, however I did advise that if he had covered everything I did not think a follow-up meeting would be productive and I also outlined that I was happy to take on more responsibilities. It was left at that but I am not sure how to take this, was this a kick up the backside for me or is there real danger looming? My boss is in a different location than me and this meeting was just a verbal call, he did say as well throughout the meeting "you know me I don't like doing these things" and "it's such a shame as I think you have real potential". I also know this meeting is compulsory for all staff so that is why it was had and I was only notified by an instant message one hour in advance. The aim of these year end meetings is to go through the previous year and advise on the bonus (the bonus was never mentioned to me and I know there will be none).

I did send a follow-up message to by boss at the beginning of last week about how I was intending to be more proactive and how I was starting this by linking in with a team member to share some of the responsibilities from him. This team member has a heavy workload and I was assigned to him in the second part of last year but with the death and being off on personal leave it never quite took off. My boss never responded and today I have found out he is off on holiday for the next two weeks.

I know we have our team planning meeting in February so perhaps that is when I will find out what is being expected of me and others for the year ahead.

What overall is my best course of action from here?

Gavin83

JPin wrote: »

What overall is my best course of action from here?

Honestly it sounds like you are doing what you need to. You need to take the comments on board, ask what you need to do to improve and become a bit more proactive in the team. It does sound like they've considered your personal circumstances but without sounding harsh here you are employed to work and they would expect a decent level of performance from you, regardless of what's happening outside of work.

I wouldn't look into it too much though or worry unnecessarily. I'd consider it as constructive criticism, improve where you can and ensure that the next annual review is nothing but positive.

ReadingTim

The next step is when it's time to set your goals/objectives etc for the coming year. The meeting you've just has is looking back, and it clearly hasn't been the best year, for obvious reasons. It's now in the past so take the points raised on board and consider them when it comes to objective setting.

I don't know how those objectives are set, but places where I've worked, you have to give examples of what you plan to do, how you'll do it, and how success in that area will be measured. If you're not sure, ask you manager - this is what they're paid to do - manage - so make them do it - it's their responsibility as much as it is yours. In the past I've been blunt and asked "what do I need to be doing to get an excellent/exceeds expectations/etc rating next year?" Once you've agreed all of that, can both manger and employee sign off on the employee's goals/objectives for the year ahead.

Everyone has good years and not so good years. The trick is to make sure there aren't too many bad years in a row - that's the point when performance management measures start getting talked about...but you're a while off those yet, and should hopefully never get there!

jonnygee2

It was left at that but I am not sure how to take this, was this a kick up the backside for me or is there real danger looming?

It was a kick up the backside, by the sounds of it. Or, more accurately, it was just an honest assessment of your performance last year and a general recognition that this needs to improve.

You work somewhere that sounds like enough standard HR procedure to also most likely have an official performance management process before exiting someone from the business, and it doesn't sound like that has been started or is about to be started.

You do seem to care and have a positive attitude to this. But, the next thing is to actually perform a lot better. Talking about performing better isn't going to make a big impact. Also, helping your colleagues is great but first and foremost make sure the core priorities of your own role are covered. Don't leap into trying to solve every problem before you have your own work under control.

getmore4less

Two things stand out for me.

My boss is in a different location than me and this meeting was just a verbal call

My boss also said he has spoke to other team members about me and they too expressed dissatisfaction, mainly about not being proactive enough but also about performance.

You need to work out what it is that the rest of the team are not happy with and how you address their issues.

you need to do this from two angle.

One is with the boss and that second meeting is very important to get feedback on what their perception is of how you are letting the team down along with clear guidance on where you only "partially achieved" your goals and performance.

The second is how you repair the team dynamic so you become part of the team again, to do that you need to know what is P**g them off.

It could be something as simple as you have had a lot of time off, you are a clockwatcher

or something a little more complex like

you don't pick up that stuff needs doing and getting on with it.

you are part of a workflow and you are always just on time or late leaving the next person in the flow under pressure
....

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Might be a new identity but I would have though anyone that knows you will have clocked you from your two posts ther eis a lot of information in them.

TELLIT01

Firstly I think it's appalling management if problems have been allowed to develop for up to a year without you being informed about them. However, we are where we are now. I think you were wrong to decline the follow up meeting. You say you weren't provided with any details of your apparent shortcomings, just vague comments. Your manager needs to come back with solid examples, and then the pair of you need to discuss how to get things back on track.

happyc84

honestly, i'd start looking for another external job. Most objectives should be SMART. Do you have a policy where you can appeal the year end position. Sounds like your line manager is washing their hands, you could go off on sick for months. Finally do you have access to a Union?

Takeaway_Addict

TELLIT01 wrote: »

Firstly I think it's appalling management if problems have been allowed to develop for up to a year without you being informed about them. However, we are where we are now. I think you were wrong to decline the follow up meeting. You say you weren't provided with any details of your apparent shortcomings, just vague comments. Your manager needs to come back with solid examples, and then the pair of you need to discuss how to get things back on track.

It more looks to me that they understood the OP was having a terrible time and waited and tolerated the lower than acceptable performance until there was a more appropiate time to raise the issues.


The fact it was verbal conversation and no more wouldn't make me worry that much.



Play the game OP like you are and keep dropping your boss the odd email showing proactivity.

warby68

I'd ask for the follow up meeting and preferably have that one in person.

Explain you feel able to perform much better and would like to agree to some specifics to tackle and timescales. The discussion can be a mix of what the current problems are (sounds like manager didn't deliver much here to guide you but perhaps was uncomfortable because of your personal difficulties) and your plans to improve.

Do have a supervisor or team leader between you and your boss or is there a colleague you are friendly with - they may give you some honest feedback if you ask.

Its tough when underperformance is 100% due to difficult personal circumstances - colleagues can struggle with balancing the two and end up doing nothing, a bit like your boss. If you can demonstrate you are now receptive to feedback and are in a better place and want to improve hopefully others will follow your lead.

I'd also make sure you have another performance review booked in - say in 3m time so your progress can be evidenced. You don't want another end of year disappointment too late to tackle.

Unfortunately you have only been with the company for a couple of years and have had issues for most of that time. You don't really have a 'baseline' of performance for them to compare to so some proactivity on your part is called for so they get to see the 'real' you fairly quickly now.
Seek feedback as you go along also from whichever stakeholders are appropriate (if its positive try and get it in a form you can use as evidence - email great for this). Keep your own record of achievements, what went well, what didn't - it can all be difficult to recall some months down the line if you don't.

This ALL assumes you can do a good job when on an even keel - you will need to be honest about yourself, is everything due to the personal issues or do you have some training/skills/motivation gaps as well? Did you really not know you were underperforming?

The fact that the performance review took you by surprise is probably the most concerning. In my career, its always been a given that by the time you have the year end review, nothing will really be a surprise. You need to take control of this, especially if management are a bit backward and reluctant in implementing regular and even the compulsory reviews. It works both ways and you're the key player, not your manager.

TELLIT01

Takeaway_Addict wrote: »

It more looks to me that they understood the OP was having a terrible time and waited and tolerated the lower than acceptable performance until there was a more appropiate time to raise the issues.

I totally disagree with that. There is no excuse for management not addressing issues with performance for a full year. The OP was apparently allowed to carry on in the belief that there performance was OK when it was clearly not viewed that way by management.
In one of my jobs I was one of 9 team managers for teams providing 24x7 support for network infrastructure. We managers used to have monthly meetings to ensure that common practice was being used in all areas. When discussing managing team members, one of them managers said they would only raise performance issues at the 1/4ly staff appraisals. Our manager hit the roof about that because in his view any performance issues need to be addressed quickly. That is a view that all the rest of us agreed with.
It is unfair both on the person whose performance is in question, and all those affected by that, to allow it to go unaddressed for months on end.