Performance evaluations rarely work as well as we need them to. In fact, 95% of managers are dissatisfied with their performance evaluation processes according to SHRM.
The reasons why almost everything from the horribly outdated, if not outright dangerous, rank-and-yank frameworks to modern processes like growth mindset reviews fail are inherent in their design.
Processes that seek to identify, quantify and address weaknesses all overlook a fundamental fact of human psychology: our brains are simply wired to respond more effectively to positive reinforcement.
The Psychology of Positive Reinforcement
Understanding how the human brain processes feedback is essential if we want to have any hope of reaching the lofty expectations we set for our performance management processes.
Whether it’s our pets, our partners or peers, negative reinforcement primarily triggers ‘avoidance’ behaviors, where the focus shifts to steering clear of mistakes rather than pursuing success. Psychologists have known for decades that prolonged negative reinforcement events can lead to ‘learned helplessness‘ where subjects become unable to adapt and learn, even if it comes the cost of continued electric shocks.
Something similar can be seen unfolding today across much of corporate America, with performance improvement plans and dreaded review meetings being nothing more than a string of painful triggers that are leaving workers performing worse rather than motivating them to do better.
On the other hand, positive reinforcement stimulates the ‘seeking’ behavior in individuals, encouraging exploration, rewarding risk taking, and promoting learning the adoption of new strategies. Positive reinforcement aligns with the brain’s natural inclination towards growth and development, and it is the bedrock upon which our reward seeking behavior, which includes success at work, is built.
This dynamic alone gives reason enough to revamp our performance evaluations so that they are centered on strengths, not weaknesses. Here are three ways to integrate positive reinforcement into your performance management strategies:
Immediate feedback is crucial for reinforcing desired behaviors.
When employees see in real-time which of their actions deliver the best results in alignment with organizational goals, the desired behavior is encouraged without any further inputs from management or anyone else.
To achieve this in practice, companies can leverage technology platforms that offer instant feedback mechanisms, such as gamification in project management tools where completing tasks rewards points or badges. The more immediate and transparent the feedback for contributing to OKRs and KPIs, the better.
Creating a culture where peer recognition is encouraged can further amplify this effect. Tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams can be used to give kudos for achievements in view of the entire team, fostering a sense of accomplishment and visibility among peers, leveraging our innate desire for social status and recognition.
Transitioning from a deficiency-focused to a strengths-based performance evaluation involves managers rethinking how they approach the review process itself.
Managers should be trained to identify and discuss strengths in every review, focusing on how these can be leveraged for both individual and team success. This can be complemented by self-assessment tools that prompt employees to reflect on their strengths and how they’ve used them in their work.
Such an approach not only shifts the narrative towards a more positive tone but also helps in crafting personalized development plans that are rooted in enhancing what employees already do well.
This doesn’t mean that poor performance should not, or can not, be addressed. However, it’s important to realize that emphasizing performance gaps, even with a growth mindset, is likely to put employees’ brains on the defensive.
Wonderful things happen when individuals are engaged in work that aligns with their sense of purpose, skills and interests.
This is why one of the easiest ways to lean on positive reinforcement is to carefully curate employees’ roles so that they and their work form a tight feedback loop.
It’s critical to allow employees to play to their strengths, particularly when we expect them to have the confidence and drive to learn things that they are not strong in yet.
Implementing Positive Reinforcement Effectively Requires Commitment
By focusing on strengths, leveraging immediate and transparent feedback mechanisms, and designing roles that inherently provide positive reinforcement, organizations can unlock the full potential of their workforce, creating a more resilient, motivated, and high-performing team.
However, none of this can be accomplished without consistent application. Smart employees will immediately see through any attempts of talking the talk without walking it, and managers need to be sincere in their attempts at introducing positive reinforcement to their review processes.
Integrating feedback into the regular workflow is key, and with the right framework one might not even need performance reviews to begin with. After all, what would reviews be needed for when employees can self-regulate their performance based on role-based and data-driven feedback mechanisms on their own?