The Importance of Performance Reviews & How to Conduct Them

Although performance reviews probably aren’t your favorite task, they’re critical to your portable restroom operations. The one-on-one meeting gives you and your employee a private moment to hold a two-way conversation. When done correctly, both parties walk away feeling satisfied.

However, vague assessments that simply check off the boxes do little to help your company or team member. Before scheduling your next performance review, explore these tips and best practices.

Performance Reviews: Importance and Frequency

On-the-spot feedback is great for correcting negative behaviors and recognizing positive ones. In comparison, performance reviews summarize actions during a specific timeframe and set goals. It’s the place to go over how an employee handled some challenges. You can give them actionable advice so they can walk out of your office and apply what they’ve learned.

But annual performance reviews are an outdated concept. Summing up a year of work, including thousands of on-the-job hours, into a single meeting isn’t as effective as quarterly assessments.

Effective performance reviews:

• Increase employee engagement on the job
• Improve relationships between yourself and your team
• Provide actionable feedback and examples
• Underline the importance of safety when performing all tasks
• Give the employee and owner/manager things to think about

How to Conduct Performance Reviews

Before heading into a performance review meeting, grab a copy of your employee job duties, company goals, and employee file. Also, look at any customer feedback and comments about the quality of their work.

Plus, don’t forget to check out the employee’s responses to service issues at the customer location, along with interactions between other team members. Typically, PROs cover a few categories, including:

• Problem-solving: Note their ability to make good decisions when faced with challenges and areas where they fell short.
• Communication: Assess their written and verbal responses to customers or team members regarding job site, safety, or other issues.
• Accountability: Think about times where your worker owned up to a mistake or didn’t bother to report something.
• Quality and consistency of work: Consider if your employee repeatedly performs as expected or if they hurry through certain tasks.
• Policy adherence: Think about your workplace and customer policies, including safety procedures, and see where they do well and where they fall short.

Performance Reviews: Best Practices

Constructive feedback empowers employees to do the job correctly. Moreover, it ties their performance to specific individual benefits. For instance, let them know when a job well done resulted in a customer extending their contract, therefore, achieving a business goal and enabling your company to thrive during the slow season. Or, how doing things right the first time makes their job easier and safer.

Additionally, feedback shouldn’t be generic or vague. A pat on the back is nice, but be specific. Let them know that you appreciate how they handled a situation or their attention to detail.

Improve Performance With Actionable Advice

When leaving your office, employees should know how to improve and why it matters. Furthermore, a performance review should highlight a path forward. If there’s an opportunity for a bonus or pay increase, let it be known.

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