| Manager:
|
Welcome
Pat. I'm sorry we've delayed this meeting so many times. It
has been tough coordinating our schedules. |
| Employee:
|
That's
OK, I've been rather anxious about this. You know this is my
first appraisal since I started a year ago. |
| Manager:
|
I've
tried to keep you informed along the way. |
| Employee:
|
But
you've been very busy. |
| Manager:
|
We
all are. But dealing with pressure is part of the business. |
| Employee:
|
Of
course. |
| Manager:
|
Maybe
we should begin. I want to start by reviewing your job responsibilities,
then I want to go into the areas of strength and conclude with
areas of improvement. If you have any questions along the way,
just fire away. |
| Employee:
|
I'm
ready. |
| Manager:
|
As
you know, a year ago we established the position of communications
coordinator. So we are still defining the precise responsibilities
of the job. We primarily envisioned the job involving four areas:
1) editing the employee newsletter, 2) supervising the bulletin
boards, 3) advising management on communication strategies,
and 4) producing the in-house video magazine. |
| Employee:
|
Between
a staff of three employees and me, we are trying to cover those
areas. I think we have formed a pretty strong team over the
course of the year. |
|
That's
true, but I have to look at the department's productivity in
terms of organizational goals. |
| Employee:
|
As
a staff, we understand that. |
| Manager:
|
In
terms of strengths, I want to compliment you on coordinating
the various communication activities around the organization.
Our idea about pulling all the communication tasks together
in one department seems to have worked out. You've done a great
job coordinating those efforts. As a result, we've eliminated
unnecessary duplication of efforts and increased the productivity
of our staff. |
| Employee:
|
We've
been able to target our communication vehicles more precisely
in order to serve the various audiences in the company. That
was one of our first tasks. |
| Manager:
|
Well
you did a good job in that area. You also have done a nice job
revising the newsletter. It looks more professional than in
the past. Readership is up and the employees that I've talked
to have commented favorably. I think your work on this demonstrates
a flair of creativity that should be useful in other tasks. |
| Employee:
|
I made
the newsletter our first priority because I knew it was an important
piece in our communication program. |
| Manager:
|
There
a couple of areas I'd like to see improve over the next year.
First, I've been disappointed in the quarterly video-magazine.
What are your goals? |
| Employee:
|
To
be honest with you, I haven't really focused on it. We have
been consumed with getting the newsletter on track. |
| Manager:
|
As
a supervisor you've got to be able to direct several projects
simultaneously. Frankly, I'm embarrassed by the quality—fortunately
very few employees watch it. How do you see the videomagazine
improving productivity around here? |
| Employee:
|
I have
one employee who has sole responsibility for the videomagazine.
I'll have to get him going on it. |
| Manager:
|
Look,
what I'm talking about is the strategic purpose. One of the
key points of our quality program is improving communication
by reducing the lag time in the feedback cycle. What I want
to know is how does this activity help us do that? |
| Employee:
|
When
we set our department goals next week, I'll be sure to get on
this guy, so that we can answer those questions. |
| Manager:
|
But
strategic issues should be your concern--it's hard for this
guy to produce a quality product if he doesn't know what the
goals are. |
| Employee:
|
I'll
sit down and talk to him next week. You said we did a good job
on the newsletter, right? |
| Manager:
|
Right. |
| Employee:
|
Then
give us some time and we'll do a good job on the video. I promise
you that. |
| Manager:
|
OK,
let me just briefly mention my other concern. I'm concerned
that you haven't developed a plan for how your department fits
into the broader organizational goals based on our quality initiative. |
| Employee:
|
But
you said we put together a quality newsletter. |
| Manager:
|
True,
but what I'm talking about is a more strategic focus, rather
than one on departmental activities. I want to know how all
the communication activities in the business are working together
to meet our strategic objectives. That was the main rationale
for creating this department. |
| Employee:
|
By
sitting in on the strategic planning sessions, I know what our
strategic vision is. |
| Manager:
|
But
I don't think you know how to think strategically. I'm talking
about the "big picture". I want to know how the department
is LINKED TO the organization's goals. I don't see it. I don't
hear you talking about it in this discussion. I mean even though
the newsletter has "improved", it is important to
ask questions about how it fits into the overall strategic mission
of the company. For example, what is the rationale behind the
article selection? How do the articles relate to corporate objectives?
These are the kinds of issues I want you to grapple with. |
| Employee:
|
How
am I supposed to think strategically when I've got to put out
a newsletter every two weeks, a videomagazine every quarter,
sit in on countless meetings, and advise speaker's on their
presentations? |
| Manager:
|
You
have a staff. |
| Employee:
|
Don't
you think that my staff is a cohesive team? |
| Manager:
|
Of
course, but that's not the point. |
| Employee:
|
The
point is my team needs more time to solve some of these problems.
After all, we've only been together for a year. You don't expect
a losing football team to win the Super Bowl after a year under
a new head coach. |
| Manager:
|
You've
got a point, but I'm just trying to provide you some guidance. |
| Employee:
|
We
appreciate that, but you have to admit we have put together
a pretty good team. |
| Manager:
|
I see
that. |
| Employee:
|
Give
us a little more time and we will iron out all these difficulties. |
| Manager:
|
Agreed,
but at least you know my concerns. There are the positives of
the newsletter. |
| Employee:
|
So
basically I'm doing a great job and we just need some time to
work out our mission. |
| Manager:
|
I'd
agree with that assessment as long as you understand where the
problems are. |
| Employee:
|
I do
and I'm glad we had a chance to chat about my team. I'll be
sure to tell them how well they are doing. |
| Manager:
|
I need
you to sign this form on the bottom. |
|
|
