Give the Gift of Employee Recognition
The holidays are gift-giving time. In the workplace gift-giving doesn’t mean you have to spend money to acknowledge the good works of employees. With reduced budgets and stretched resources, this is the perfect time to give what employees crave most. According to...
How to Get an Employee Talking in the Performance Evaluation Meeting
In the employee performance evaluation meeting you probably have the urge to do all the talking – to tell the employee what the evaluation document says (or worse yet, read the document to the employee). You tell the employee what you think of their performance. You...
How to Set Performance Goals
The end of one year provides us with a wonderful opportunity to start fresh in the New Year. In many public agencies a fresh start means new annual goals. Many managers see goal setting as the opportunity to list the classes the employee will attend for the coming...
Five Ways a Public Sector HR Department Can Earn Respect
Human resource (HR) departments in public agencies are fighting for credibility. Pressure to contain costs, engage employees, and be strategic has led many HR departments to flounder. HR wants to be seen as a resource and a trusted advisor to management. HR needs to...
3 Strategies to Engage Employees
Working in the public sector today is challenging. Fiscal pressures, political winds, and shifting priorities can make the most devoted public servant question their commitment. Yet, engaging employees is at the top of the agenda for most public sector human...
How Public Sector HR Professionals Can Get Management to Listen
For years the human resources (HR) professional has been taking about becoming a strategic partner with management. HR professionals say they want to “have a seat at the table,” “to be a strategic business partner,” and “to add value” to the organization. Yet, many...
How to Involve the Employee in Writing a Performance Evaluation
If you struggle to write annual performance evaluations, you may be overlooking the most valuable source of data you have: the employee. Asking for the employee’s feedback before you begin writing can provide helpful and specific input. Here are some tips for asking...
5 Steps to Improve Performance Expectations
It’s a common managerial dilemma. You ask an employee to do something that seems simple to you. And, what you get is not what you expected. For whatever reason, the employee did not complete the job to your standards. Usually, this frustrating experience happens...
Surprise! You’ve Inherited Performance Challenges
Have you ever experienced the inheritance surprise? You inherit an employee who has a history of performance challenges, and the previous manager has not addressed and/or documented the behaviors. As a result, you are "starting from scratch" with the employee—unable...
How to Use Performance Goals to Drive Employee Engagement
Who gets excited about being told what to do? Not many of us. We all want to participate in conversations that impact our work life. One opportunity to engage employees in a conversation about work is to mutually develop performance goals. Performance goals can...
Can Performance Evaluations Really be Painless in the Public Sector?
Managers and employees alike dread that annual ritual of performance evaluations. In some agencies, the event is postponed for as long as possible. In others, it is just avoided – sometimes for years. Performance evaluations offer the opportunity for enhanced...
Calibration Can Increase Consistency in Public Agencies
“A ‘five’ rating in my work group is not the same as a ‘five’ rating in another group.” When you design a performance evaluation system you want it to be fair. Yet, fairness is often an elusive characteristic in public sector employee performance evaluation systems. ...
Three Strategies for Developing Future-Focused Employees
Hierarchical organizations, like traditional public agencies, have developed structures, policies, and rules that minimize risk taking and encourage standardized work processes. Governments have traditionally rewarded those who “play by the rules.” This approach...
Signs Your Performance Evaluation System is Broken
If you are rating employee performance on a five-point scale, it may be time to rethink your process. The traditional approach to employee performance management, which scores employee performance, is being replaced with an increased focus on coaching and development....
Seven Innovative Ideas for Engaging Public Employees
J. Michael Wilkes, City Manager of Olathe, Kansas recently facilitated a fascinating session on organizational culture at the Alliance for Innovation’s Transforming Local Government Conference. The event brought together the best and brightest local government leaders...
Profound Thoughts from Innovative Public Managers
Creative, motivated public leaders say interesting and thought provoking things when you put them in a room together. I have the privilege of eavesdropping in on many conversations between public sector leaders at the conferences and meetings where I speak. At a...