Why do you avoid performance reviews?

This week’s blog is a little shorter because I’m moving house and my priorities are temporarily readjusted. Which is ironic because the topic I’m going to discuss is often brushed aside for other priorities. But, don’t worry; I am going to give this topic the justice it deserves in further blogs.

Performance reviews are those quarterly, bi-annual, or quarterly discussions a manager and employee have about how the employee is tracking against their objectives and/or competencies. However, having conversations about performance is one of those things that managers are reluctant to do. You whack an ‘enforced’ formal review in there and the perception of an onerous process intensifies. The reality is that no one gets enthusiastic about doing them; they are often left to the very last possible minute and then done very reluctantly.

If you’re having performance conversations regularly then the formal review process should not be so onerous. You’re really just recapping on stuff that you’ve already talked about and recording it. They shouldn’t be difficult or time consuming, maybe 15-20mins long. That’s in an ideal world.

I once did a ‘formal’ performance review in 5mins, but that was because I was having regular conversations with that person about their performance, or in this case it was under performance. Quite frankly, the experience put me off ever wanting to manage someone again. No one likes to have difficult conversations week after week, let alone once a year or once a quarter.

So it’s not uncommon to avoid or procrastinate the formal performance review. I’d like to hear from both sides of the fence, from both employees and managers. Why do you avoid or procrastinate doing performance reviews? Or, if you're enthusiastic about performance reviews, why?