Team Performance Reviews

It’s hard to believe, but 2020 is now halfway done. It’s definitely been a challenging (and sometimes chaotic) first half of the year to say the least, and with adapting to all the changes brought on by COVID-19, etc., your practice may not be in exactly in the spot you thought it would be at this point in the year. But even with all of the things happening in the world right now, it’s still a great time to complete performance reviews – assessing where your personal and professional goals are at, as well as how your team’s doing up to this point.

We’ve mentioned previously that in addition to your patients, your team is the lifeblood of your office. That being the case, it’s important to continually evaluate how they’re doing – what areas they’re exceeding in and what areas they can improve in. And overall, are they working well together as a team (even when things don’t go as planned), aware of what’s expected of them, putting the interests of patients above all else, technically succeeding, improving as leaders and communicating effectively with patients and team members?

Those are a few good things to consider now at the midpoint of the year. If you haven’t already, now’s a great time to do individual performance reviews on your team and assess how the group is functioning as a whole. This will help you and everyone make the necessary adjustments and plan accordingly for the rest of 2020.

What are your benchmarks/criteria/KPIs for performance?

When going into a review, it’s important to know what areas, traits and actions you’re basing their performance on. This will help you measure their success or struggles in these areas, and identify actions they can take moving forward. And once you have these set, you want to make sure your team members have the opportunity to rate themselves in these areas beforehand (and even have them rate each other). That way, in addition to your ratings,  you’ll have their own thoughts and the collective team’s thoughts, so you can compare and look for similarities/differences.

You’ll likely have some of your own benchmarks based on your own practice and values, but here are a few general examples:

• Is a good time manager.
• Displays initiative in learning new skills and confronting new tasks.
• Isn’t afraid/reluctant to seek assistance from supervisors when confronting tricky questions or challenging situations.
• Does his/her job with efficiency and confidence.
• Is generally well-organized and well-prepared for each working day.
• Is able to work independently when appropriate.
• Is able and willing to follow directions to the letter, and not deviate without first obtaining consent from a supervisor.
• Is willing to provide meaningful feedback on facility shortcomings and deficiencies.
• Can take (constructive) criticism well and is able to advance from this feedback.
• Is generally able to get along well with others.
• Has excellent people/customer service skills.
• Is a good listener.
• Pays close attention to detail and is very thorough.
• Is a consummate team-player.
• Handles conflict (whether with staff or patients) with maturity, self-control, patience and calmness.
• Always behaves like the epitome of a “professional.”
• Is always willing to learn something new and doesn’t turn down opportunities to participate in recommended/required seminars and training classes.
• Never violates patient privacy.
• Is a good representative of the practice both at work and outside of work.

You can also list three or so of their strengths and weaknesses (and have them and their co-workers do the same). Then you can compare similarities/differences with these, and raise any additional concerns (or areas of praise) with the team member.

Creating collaboration and rewards.

A good performance evaluation system recognizes good performance just as it identifies areas of improvement. Make sure your team members that are meeting (and exceeding) your standards are consistently rewarded and praised. And you don’t need to wait for performance reviews to do this, let your team members know when they’re doing well regularly. Your team may not be super excited to participate in reviews, so make this a collaborative effort – let your team help you determine the expectations, guidelines and standards of your practice. This will help them feel included in making the practice better as a whole, and give them more accountability to live up to those standards.

Remember too, it has been a hectic and challenging first half of the year for all of us, so do take that into account when doing your reviews as well.

If done effectively, your performance reviews can lead to more satisfied, productive and self-confident team members (and less stress for you). Make your expectations well known, but also be fair, impartial and supportive.

Need additional support with managing your team? We’re always a phone call or click away. Schedule a consultation with one of our practice management experts today!