Hi Guys, what action should we take if we encounter as a manager.

Case Study

1.National Event Management Canada Ltd.

It is a large national offsite event management company operating across North America comprised of dynamic and diverse teams focused on regional special events and festivals. Following the end of the fiscal quarter, employees were asked to complete a self-assessment form, before their formal evaluation meeting with the manager. The employees dreaded this. Four times a year, the company atmosphere was tense. Employees did not know if they should rate themselves as they saw themselves as high because maybe that was what the manager expected, or low, to appear as though they did not want to brag. There was never any real constructive guidance or training in how to self evaluate their performance as individuals or teams. The greatest challenge was that nobody knew what the management expected. Even those who had been there for years had not figured it out. Employees going into the meeting after having submitted the self-evaluation forms, employees were asked to sit in a chair while the manager sat behind a desk. She would indicate that she had the form and proceed to tell you little that was generic in both negative and positive ways and never even refer to the self-assessment. When it was over, you knew little about what she felt about your work performance and accomplishment in working with your team. Due to how performance reviews took place, the experience of the employees and lack of constructive feedback provided generally, the staff gave little to no value to the entire process. Employees with expertise tended to see this whole practice as a farce. The evaluations never resulted in any promotions, bonuses, or firings. It was considered nonconstructive use of their time. Employees felt like the management did not care about them, their work, or their thoughts. They, in return, had little respect for their company or the quality of their work.

2.Event Promotions Canada Ltd

Similar to its competitor, Event Promotion is also a significant national offsite event management company operating across North America comprised of dynamic and diverse teams focused on regional special events and festivals. At Event Promotions Canada Ltd., management had informal discussions with employees when hired. Time was spent explaining to them the company goals and the processes for using goals and objectives for work initiatives. They learned upfront about the way the work would be monitored throughout the process, how they would be given responsibility as they both felt the employees were ready for it, and that regularly they would talk about the work and how it was going. The manager told the employees that their work would be monitored for signs of needed improvement and training would be offered. The manager also pointed out that she would also be looking for signs that the employee was on track for promotion and leadership. During free times the manager made a point to hold conversations with all employees, learning about their struggles and successes -- both at work and outside of work. During each step of every task, the manager would go over the work, letting the employee lead in discussing how the work was progressing and identifying successes and failures. The manager would probe the employee to find out what they were learning, and if there were any areas of weakness, making a note to help the employee find some training. The manager would share informally about their successes and failures over the years and encourage the employee to keep moving forward in their career progression. Staff at this company felt respected and valued. In return, they respected and valued the company and the management.

It is essential for a manager to be able to share their own experiences with employees to help others visualize and understand how to improve. In this case study, two assessment and feedback situations are presented, with variations in this process are described. There are ways to set up an organization for a natural flow of the evaluation and feedback regularly.

Please reflect on your own experiences, either as a manager giving feedback to an employee or as an employee receiving feedback during an informal or formal performance or assessment. Try to remember some of your experiences. Think back to the time when you had your first job. What do you remember about being evaluated, assessed, and about the feedback you were given?

Write down times when you felt degraded, as well as times you felt encouraged. Managers must remember those feelings to relate personally to the employees for which they are responsible.

Questions:

Utilizing what you have learned to date, please reflect on the following questions. To answer the question, feel free to use examples of your own experience to support your answer.

1. Consider the positive aspects of providing feedback using steps and goal setting typical to formal assessment and feedback process. What are the advantages of using this method in providing individuals with actions or steps to improve performance?
2. Consider what negative aspects of assessment and feedback were used by the manager at the National Event Management Canada Ltd. What was done incorrectly in the process of the evaluation and feedback for the employees?
3. Consider how you might introduce either informal or formal feedback concerning recognizing merit or improving the performance of your team. How would you plan or set up this type of assessment in your workplace? Provide the necessary steps or principles used.