Make review positive experience

Giving employees annual performance reviews or appraisals can be one of a small-business owner's most dreaded tasks. Doing them more often and going into the process with a positive rather than a punitive attitude can make a review much less of an ordeal.

Perhaps the first thing to know about employee reviews or appraisals is that they shouldn't be once-a-year events.

You should be giving your staff feedback — positive and negative — regularly. Some companies have sit-down sessions with workers two, three or even four times a year, finding it's worthwhile whether an employee is doing well or struggling.

By giving more frequent reviews, "you focus on identifying problems before they get too big and mapping out ways to correct the behavior," said Julie Lenzer Kirk of Damascus, Md., who owned a software and consulting company for 10 years.

You also defuse some of the tension that's incredibly painful not just for the staffer, but for you, too.

Jeri Uhlmansiek, whose marketing firm gives staffers reviews three times a year, said placing a lot of demands on a staffer at an annual review and expecting them to be met quickly "doesn't seem fair."

Or realistic: "What we wanted was incremental progress, and they wanted that, too," said Uhlmansiek, president of Zillner Marketing Communications, based in Lenexa, Kan.

Furthermore, it's better to make reviews and discussions of them as positive as possible.

Rather than unloading criticism on an employee, reviews should be aimed at helping a staffer improve and help the company's productivity and growth. They should help build a staffer's confidence and sense of purpose.

"I can be a mentor and a coach or I can walk around with a hammer," said Peter Boritz, president of RDM, a New York-based real estate technology and management services firm.

Uhlmansiek sees reviews as a way to retain good employees: "It helps connect them with the company's progress and show them where their career path is within the company," she said.

A formal review involves a written appraisal, as well as a discussion with the employee.

But again, feedback shouldn't be limited to a specific time of year; workers should be hearing from you in the course of their work about what's going well and what isn't.

"It should be something that's ongoing and open communication," Kirk said.

Uhlmansiek finds that employees want that feedback: Good workers want to know where they stand and what they can do to be even better.

"There's no substitute for recognizing a job well done," she said.

For some employees, the review may be part of a disciplinary process. That's all the more reason to conduct it in a positive way, letting the staffer know he or she has the opportunity to rectify a situation.

Then, if there's no progress after several attempts, you have a record to back up a dismissal.

Kirk recalled an adviser telling her, "No one should ever be surprised when you fire them."

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