06.

Performance Review
Outline
 To identify what performance review discussion is
 To identify phases of PRD
 To practice the skills needed for PRD
What is PRD?
Is a discussion between performance appraiser (reporting officer) and appraisee
(Employee) on the performance of appraisee, over the performance period, to help
appraisee identify his strengths and weaknesses and help him to develop an action plan
for future better performance
Performance Review Discussion/counseling (PRD) is a structured and supportive
conversation between an employee (appraisee) and their supervisor or manager
(performance appraiser) about the employee’s performance over a specific period.

What is PRD?

Performance Review Discussion (PRD) is:

 A two-way discussion between the reporting officer (manager) and the employee.
 Focused on reviewing the employee’s performance, achievements, challenges,
and behavior during the past performance period.
 Aims to help the employee recognize strengths, understand weaknesses, and
develop a plan for future improvement.

Purpose of PRD

 Encourages growth: Helps the employee grow and develop in their role and
within the organization.
 Promotes self-awareness: Creates a space for employees to reflect on their work
and get feedback.
 Strengthens relationships: Requires good interpersonal skills from the manager
to build trust and openness.

Key Features of PRD

 1. Counseling-based approach: Uses some techniques of counseling like active
listening, empathy, and constructive feedback.
2. Emotional support: Creates a safe and open emotional climate where the
employee feels comfortable to share.
3. Continuous process: Not just once a year—discussions can and should happen
regularly whenever necessary.
4. Future-oriented: Focuses not just on past performance but also on planning
future actions and development goals.

Outcome of PRD

 A clear action plan for the employee to improve and perform better.
 Better communication between manager and employee.
 Increased motivation and engagement of the employee.
 Aligning individual goals with organizational objectives.

Phases of Performance Review counseling

1. Rapport building
2. Exploration
3. Action planning
Rapport building
Rapport building is the first and most important step in performance review
counseling. It focuses on creating a comfortable, trusting, and respectful environment
so that the employee (appraisee) feels safe to open up and honestly share their views,
concerns, and feelings.

What Happens in Rapport Building?

 The manager (appraiser) makes an effort to understand the employee’s point of

view.
 Shows genuine interest, empathy, and support.
 Builds a connection so that the discussion is not threatening or judgmental.
 Encourages the employee to talk freely about their performance, challenges, and
emotions.

1. By providing climate of acceptance

2. Openness and mutuality
 3. Warmth
4. Support

Key Elements of Rapport Building:

1. Climate of Acceptance

 Create an environment where the employee feels respected and accepted.

 Avoid judging or blaming.
 Show understanding by listening to both facts and feelings.
 Use mirroring techniques – repeat or reflect the employee’s words and emotions
to show you are listening and understanding (e.g., "It sounds like you felt
frustrated during that project.").

2. Openness and Mutuality

 Be open-minded and democratic.

 Allow the employee to actively participate in the conversation.
 Encourage the employee to express ideas or concerns freely.
 Focus on mutual understanding, not just one-sided feedback.

3. Warmth and Support

 Show care and empathy through both words and body language.
 Be approachable – smile, make eye contact, and speak gently.
 Offer emotional support – acknowledge their efforts and challenges.
 The goal is to bring the appraiser and appraisee closer, creating a team-like
atmosphere.

Key Element Description

Climate of Create a safe space, listen to both feelings and facts, avoid
Acceptance judgment
Openness & Encourage two-way sharing, be democratic, involve employee in
Mutuality the process
Use empathy, show verbal/non-verbal care, build emotional
Warmth & Support
connection
Exploration
The Exploration phase focuses on helping the employee understand themselves and
their performance more deeply. It involves discussing strengths and weaknesses,
identifying challenges, and uncovering the real causes behind performance issues.
This phase is about asking the right questions and listening actively to guide the
employee in reflecting on their behavior, feelings, and work experience.

Objectives of the Exploration Phase:

 Help the employee gain self-awareness.

 Encourage the employee to identify and accept weaknesses.
 Work together to diagnose problems affecting performance.
 Help the employee take ownership of their issues rather than blaming others.

The Role of Questioning in Exploration:

Asking questions is a powerful tool during exploration—but it must be done carefully.

⚠️Poor Questioning Can Hinder:

 It can make the employee feel judged or attacked.

 It may cause dependency (waiting for the manager to solve everything) instead of
encouraging independence.

✅ Good Questioning Can Help:

 Leads to autonomy (employee finds answers and takes responsibility).

 Encourages deep thinking and self-discovery.
 Builds trust between appraiser and appraisee.

Don’ts
1. Critical questioning
2. Testing or evaluating questioning
3. Resenting questioning
4. Leading questioning
Dos
1. Trusting questioning
 2. Clarifying questioning
3. Empathic questioning
4. Open questioning

Dos and Don’ts of Questioning:

❌ Don’ts (Avoid these types of questions):

1. Critical questioning – Blaming or sounding judgmental.

Example: “Why did you fail to complete this?”
2. Testing or evaluating questioning – These sound like the manager is testing the
employee’s knowledge or ability
Example: “Do you even know what the company goals are?”
3. Resenting questioning – Shows the manager anger, frustration, or sarcasm. This
creates negative feeling
Example: “Don’t you think this was a careless mistake?”
4. Leading questioning – This question already suggests the answer or push your
opinion into the question.
Example: “Don’t you think your attitude is the real issue?”

✅ Do’s (Use these for effective exploration):

1. Trusting questioning – Shows belief in the employee’s honesty and willingness

to improve.
Example: “Can you share how you felt during the last project?”
2. Clarifying questioning – Helps understand the facts or reasons behind actions..
Example: “What do you mean when you say the deadline was difficult to meet?”
3. Empathic questioning – Connects with the employee’s emotions.
Example: “How did that situation affect your confidence?”
4. Open questioning – Encourages explanation, not just yes/no answers.
Example: “What do you think contributed to the delay?”

Action planning

Action Planning is the final phase of the counseling process. It involves the manager
and employee working together to create a clear and practical plan for improving
performance and supporting the employee’s development.

This phase turns insights gained during the Exploration phase into concrete actions.
🔸 Key Aspects of Action Planning:

1. Joint Decision-Making
o The plan is made together with the employee—not imposed by the
manager.
o The employee is actively involved in setting goals and deciding on the way
forward.
2. Supportive Climate
o The manager creates a positive, encouraging environment to motivate the
employee.
o The tone should be helpful, not blaming.
3. Clarity and Agreement
o Both sides agree on what needs to be done, how it will be done, and
when.
o Goals should be realistic, specific, and time-bound.

Overall Counselor Responses

The way a manager (counselor) responds during the counseling session can positively
or negatively affect the outcome. The tone, attitude, and style of communication play
a key role in building trust and motivating the employee.

Next Session: Identifying Training and Development Needs

After the initial performance review discussion, the next counseling session focuses on:

 Analyzing performance results from the review.

 Identifying the employee’s Training and Development (T&D) needs.
 Planning specific interventions such as:
o Training programs
o Coaching or mentoring
o Job rotations
o Assigning new responsibilities
o Improving role clarity

✅ Goal: To support the employee’s growth by giving them the skills, knowledge, and
experience needed to perform better and prepare for future roles.

Identifying T&D Needs: Step-by-Step

A strong Performance Management System doesn’t just evaluate—it helps employees

grow. This is done by systematically identifying what training or development an
employee needs to improve current performance and prepare for future roles.

✅ Step 1: Review Performance Based on KPA

 KPA = Key Performance Areas

 First, assess the employee’s actual performance in each KPA.
 Ask: How well has the employee performed in each area?

✅ Step 2: Identify Required Competencies for Each KPA

 For each KPA, list what skills, knowledge, and behaviors (competencies) are
needed to perform well.

✅ Step 3: Identify Competency Gaps

 Compare the employee’s current abilities with the required competencies.

 Identify the gaps where the employee needs improvement.
✅ Step 4: List Additional Competencies

 Go beyond basic requirements—what extra competencies would help the

employee perform excellently?
 Include skills needed for routine tasks and for achieving excellence in KPAs.

✅ Step 5: Suggest Methods to Develop Competencies

List practical ways to bridge the gap:

Development Method Description

Reading books/literature Self-learning to build knowledge

On-the-job training (OJT) Learning by doing tasks at work

Visits Observing best practices at other places

Regular meetings Sharing experiences and getting feedback

Expert consultations Learning from senior or external specialists

Short-term attachments Temporary roles to build exposure

Training programs Structured internal or external learning

Job rotation Moving between roles to build broader skills

Reorganization of work Changing tasks to provide learning challenges

✅ Step 6: Summarize Development Needs

 Prepare a summary of all learning needs for the employee’s overall job
excellence.

✅ Step 7: Identify Motivation Gaps

  Check if the employee is lacking motivation.
 Is the issue due to lack of interest, recognition, challenge, or growth?

✅ Step 8: Prepare a Motivation Development Plan

 Plan how to improve motivation, such as:

o Recognition
o Career path clarity
o New responsibilities
o Supportive leadership

✅ Step 9: Plan for Next Year’s KPA Needs

 Think ahead: What will the employee’s KPAs be next year?

 Identify competencies needed for future performance.

✅ Step 10: Prepare for Future Responsibilities

 Consider any new roles or promotions the employee may take on.
 Identify both skills and motivational factors needed for future success.

✅ Step 11: Prepare a Full Development Plan

 Combine all needs from steps 9 & 10 into a comprehensive plan.

✅ Step 12: Prioritize and Inform HRD

 Rank the needs by importance and urgency.

 Send the list to the HR Development team so they can arrange proper training,
coaching, or support.
🟩 Summary Flow:

1. Review KPA performance

2. List required competencies
3. Identify gaps
4. Add extra helpful competencies
5. Suggest development methods
6. Summarize needs
7. Check motivation gap
8. Plan to boost motivation
9. Prepare for next year's KPAs
10. Plan for future roles
11. Create total development plan
12. Prioritize and inform HRD

Performance Review Counseling is a key part of a Performance Management System

(PMS) in organizations. It focuses on not just evaluating employee performance but also
guiding and supporting employees to improve and grow. This process is usually carried
out by the immediate supervisor or reporting officer through a structured discussion. It
takes place in three main phases: rapport building, exploration, and action planning. Each
phase plays a vital role in ensuring the counseling process is effective and developmental.

The first phase is rapport building, where the manager creates a comfortable and
trusting environment. The purpose of this phase is to make the employee feel at ease and
open to discussion. This is done by showing empathy, listening actively, and expressing
genuine interest in the employee’s thoughts and feelings. In organizations, this might
include casual conversation to break the ice or acknowledging the employee’s efforts.
Establishing a climate of acceptance, openness, and mutual respect is crucial at this stage
as it lays the foundation for honest and meaningful communication.

The second phase is exploration, where the manager and employee engage in a deeper
discussion about the employee’s performance. This includes identifying strengths,
weaknesses, challenges, and reasons for any performance gaps. In this phase, the
manager uses open, trusting, and empathic questioning to help the employee reflect and
understand their own behavior and outcomes. In a real workplace setting, this might
involve reviewing Key Performance Areas (KPAs), discussing missed targets, and
identifying factors that affected performance. The goal of this phase is to raise self-
awareness in the employee and encourage them to take responsibility for their
improvement.

The final phase is action planning, which focuses on developing a plan for future
performance improvement and employee growth. This is a collaborative process where
both the manager and employee agree on specific development goals and actions. These
might include training programs, job rotations, mentoring, or changes in work roles to
support the employee’s development. Additionally, motivational needs are also addressed
if there are signs of disengagement. A well-planned action phase ensures that the
employee leaves the counseling session with a clear direction and commitment to
improvement.

In conclusion, the three phases of performance review counseling—rapport building,

exploration, and action planning—work together to create a positive, developmental
experience for employees. When applied effectively in organizations, this process helps
improve employee performance, build stronger relationships between managers and staff,
and align individual growth with organizational goals. It transforms performance reviews
from a judgmental activity into a constructive and supportive conversation.