A Fresh Approach to Performance Management for Millenials

Work has changed. We telecommute from home via video chat and provide real-time feedback to co-workers in the office and on the road through a growing arsenal of mobile and social applications.

Despite these advances, many organizations still rely on archaic processes—in particular, the traditional performance review—to manage their people.  Motivation expert Dan Pink has referred to the annual review as the West’s version of Kabuki theater; UCLA management professor Samuel Culbert has called them “little more than a dysfunctional pretense.” In his provocative book, “Get Rid of the Performance Review: How Companies Can Stop Intimidating, Start Managing – and Focus on the Results That Really Matter,” Culbert builds a strong case for doing away with annual pay and performance reviews altogether.

But whether you love them or hate them, reviews aren’t going away anytime soon. So perhaps a more productive call to action should focus on how to make them better.

This is particularly true when it comes to addressing the needs and work style of Gen Y. Many HR professionals and business leaders are grappling with the question recently posed by Ira S. Wolfe in his article, “Trophy Kids, What Goes Around Comes Around”: “Can Gen Y handle performance reviews without a sugar coating and cream filling?”

Wolfe argues that managers must “tread lightly when making even the most benign critique.” The implication is that whether we hit foul balls or home runs over the course of a year, we expect to be applauded and rewarded for our efforts.

While I don’t agree entirely with Wolfe’s characterization of Generation Y in the workplace, he raises an important question for organizations interested in helping their Gen Y employees perform better at work: How can you tailor your performance process for the so-called millennial generation?

Here a few useful tips…

1. Make the Most of the Review

There are too many organizations out there treating performance reviews as little more than a matter of course. Generation Y is patently idealistic, and we love to know we’re contributing to something bigger than ourselves. Performance reviews are another chance to get quality face time with leadership and to gain insight into their expectations of us. Share your vision with us—and sell us on it! We don’t expect every review to change our lives, but we definitely want to connect with you and with our organization.

2. Lose the Sugar Coating

The recession affected us, too.  According to a Pew Research Center study released last year, about 37% of Gen Y is unemployed or out of the workforce (the highest percentage in three decades). We understand the reality behind the glitter and gilt we were promised as kids. As such, we appreciate honesty in the workplace, even if it means getting some tough love. If we didn’t perform up to par, talk us through it. Help us figure out where things went wrong, and let’s come up with a game plan for improvement with clear, measurable goals. We’re in this together, right? Create some accountability, foster some collaborative effort, and we’ll rock your socks off.

3. Don’t Wait Until Review Time to Give Feedback

Regular feedback is invaluable to us. Connecting on a regular basis helps us improve faster and ensures that we stay focused on the right priorities. Open communication also establishes a solid connection to the organization, which is something Gen Y deeply values. Finally, continuous feedback takes the fear of the unknown out of the review process. We aren’t hearing criticism for the first time, so there are no surprises. Get some conversation flowing, breathe life into your open door policy, and watch it grow.

4. Positive Reinforcement is a good thing

Although we’re not running around on a football field, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be recognized for stellar performance. Though I may not be as satisfied with a plastic “gold” medal as I was in middle school, everyone likes to be rewarded for “crushing it” (as my boss is wont to say). A lot of times, just the act of acknowledging effort or accomplishment makes a world of difference.

The line between work and personal life has blurred in recent years, and this is especially true for Gen Y. When we talk about reviewing performance and recognizing a job well done, we’re not talking about ranking systems and shiny pieces of plastic. We’re talking about cultivating ongoing relationships between employers and employees. From a Generation Y perspective, that’s definitely something worth investing in.