ESTABLISHING EMPLOYEE
ACCOUNTABILITY
Presented By
Gilbert H. Skinner
Criminal Justice Management Institute
2220 Kenmore
Okemos, Michigan 48864
(517) 381-9112
ghskinner@voyager.net
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OVERVIEW
Many supervisors and managers see their role as one of “getting things done” through
others i.e. holding people accountable. What many do not see is that this first requires
identifying as clearly as possible what is to be done, and next requires an intervention
when things are not “getting done” at the level desired. The idea of management and
supervision is to productively help employees become better.
In this training module we will discuss the idea of some arenas of performance, why
some people become “problems”, performance evaluation and how to conduct a
performance interview.
OBJECTIVES
At the completion of this section, the participant will be able to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Describe three arenas of performance.
List three key points that impact success/failure.
Describe important issues establishing accountability
Develop appropriate questions for a performance interview.
Conduct a performance interview.
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EMPLOYEE JOB PERFORMANCE
All people who perform the job of supervisor/manager are supposed to "lift up" their
employees, help their people perform better, and help people see what they cannot see by
themselves! In other words you are supposed to have:
You are charged to maximize people's potential in the job!
Anytime you choose not to help your subordinate's succeed in performance and
conformance, then you are engaged in self-destructive behavior. For you to be
successful, your people must be successful.
Effective supervisors/managers are those people:
 Whose work group, including themselves, accomplish important
organizational goals and objectives,
 Efficiently (proper utilization of personnel, equipment, and supplies),
 Consistently, and
 They provide for their own succession.
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Managing employee performance and establishing accountability involves setting
standards, monitoring the relevant results, and providing proper direction/feedback to
employees in three distinct areas or "performance arenas".
TASK PERFORMANCE
"Must Do the Job"

Task performance refers to whether an employee is actually performing
the required job duties at, at least, a satisfactory level.

Common problems in task performance are: major job duties are not
identified, objective criteria are not used to measure results, and there
are no specified levels of satisfactory performance.
The choices are the employee either
Does not meet criteria
or
Meets criteria
(Unsatisfactory performance
in one or more job duties.)
ATTENDANCE
"Must Be Here"

Attendance is important because an employee must generally be at work
for his or her contribution to assist the court in reaching its objectives.

In most courts attendance is particularly important because of the nature
of the job.
The choices are the employee either:
Does not meet criteria
or
(Excessive occurrences of
absence or tardiness)
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Meets criteria
BEHAVIOR
"Must follow organizational norms"

Behavior refers to employees’ willingness to follow the organizational
norms established through work rules and value statements.

In the arena of behavior, employees not meeting expectations actually
detract or "take away" from the organization.

These detractions may include staff time required to deal with the
inappropriate behavior, impact on other employees, impact on citizens,
etc.
The choices are the employee either:
Does not comply
with expected behavior
or
Complies with
expected behavior
Work rule and value violations.
ESTABLISHING ACCOUNTABILITY - KEY POINTS
Point One: Set the work stage for success
Do all the "right things" to facilitate employees succeeding at their jobs, thereby
minimizing problem employees due to organizational or supervisory shortcomings.
Consider the employee’s abilities, organizational goals, motivation of the employee and
resources you have to provide. What do you want the employee to do?
What Equals Performance?
INPUTS
What people bring to the organization.
Generally should not be in the evaluation
instrument.
ACTIVITIES
What people do in the organization.
Measuring this teaches people to be busy.
RESULTS
Outcomes. What you really want to try to
measure.
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Point Two: Monitor performance and feedback performance information to
employees.
Organizations use a wide variety of techniques to monitor employee performance. The
key in all of them is the quality of the employee's immediate supervisor. The other
critical issue here is that many organizations do a very poor job of feeding back
observations to employees. If you want better work, feed back better data.
Supervisor Preparation for a Performance Interview
Data
Collection
Supervisor
“wants”
Develop the
interview plan












Work records
Written reports
Comparison statistics
Commendations/critiques
What do I want from this employee/job?
What am I getting?
What is the difference plus or minus?
What am I willing to do to help improve/develop the
performance of this employee?
Write down the employees strong points with justification
Write down areas you feel need improvement or could be
developed
Write a general plan on things you want to ensure you say
List some ideas you have for this employee relative to his/her
career/development
For areas that you feel the employee needs improvement analyze the cause of the issue
i.e. think about your answer to these questions:
QUESTION
YES
1. Has the employee received adequate training?
2. Has the employee received adequate supervision?
3. Does the employee have adequate equipment?
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NO
4. Are there “reasonable standards” of performance?
5. Has the employee been informed of these standards?
6. Has the employee been informed s/he is performing in
an unsatisfactory manner?
7. Have the consequences of current performance been
discussed?
Any “no” answers will require will require fixing particularly if the supervisor is
contemplating corrective action for non-performance.
Next determine whether the issue is employee controlled. Again if the employee cannot
control it then she/he cannot be accountable for it.
If all your answers are yes, and the employee can control the issue then it’s time for the
employee’s preparation.
Employee Preparation
This is a collaborative process when done correctly. Both the employee and the
supervisor have a stake in the outcome. So the employee’s role is to prepare a written
narrative of his/her perceptions in regards to each important aspect of the job. The
supervisor should:



Give the employee time to prepare the narrative
Require the return of the employee’s self evaluation at least a week before the
actual interview.
Remind the employee that this is important and is required.
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Employee Preparation Guide
The questions below are designed to stimulate your thinking, and to help you prepare for
the performance evaluation meeting with your supervisor. Complete this form and return
it to your supervisor by______________________.
How would you characterize your performance during the last performance period?
Think about, and respond specifically about task performance, your attendance record,
as well as how well you followed the organization’s behavioral norms
What were your major accomplishments –strengths for this period?
What have you done for you personal and/or professional development?
What areas were not up to your expectations or could you personally improve upon?
What do you need to do differently to improve in these areas?
What are ways your supervisor can help you do your job better?
My ideas for personal performance goals for the next evaluation period are:
Conducting the Interview
Step One: establish rapport. One thing many supervisors and managers forget is that a
visit to the boss’s office is not always seen as a good thing, particularly if the employee
has been told it is to work on a performance issue. In setting the tone keep in mind this is
not discipline. You are trying to help the employee.
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Think about use of the chair and desk, the tone you use - direct but friendly, the warm up
chitchat, etc.
NOTE: Be careful to try and not use words like: “problem”, “weakness”, or “deficiency”.
These are trigger words that lead to defensiveness. Instead use words like “issues” or
“concerns”.
 Use anything that will get the employee talking. Remember most
employees are hesitant about the interview as well so get them as relaxed
as possible. You are trying to improve them – be excited!
 Concentrate on your listening skills. This is a major opportunity to hear
what is on your employee’s mind – listen.
Step Two: state the objectives of the interview.




To determine how you feel about your performance
To tell you how management views your performance
To agree on areas of performance that can be improved/developed.
To put together a performance improvement/development plan.
Step Three: begin the interview with a statement such as; “Tell me all the things you
are doing well”.
 Follow up with any clarifications you need to ensure understanding.
 Provide supporting statements on areas you agree
 When the employee is finished, add any areas you had listed but the
employee did not mention and give your reasons.
Step Four: when you finish discussing the above, ask the employee. “Are there any
areas that you want to improve and/or develop?”
 Follow up any mentioned areas with clarifications.
 When the employee is finished, offer any areas you had listed that the
employee did not mention.
 Discuss how you and the employee have mutual goals – his/her
improvement.
 Consider this statement; “If I can show you ways to improve, are you
willing to try?”
 Get agreement on each area where improvement is needed or desired.
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Some Ideas about Getting Agreement on Performance Issues
Get the facts on the table techniques
 Avoid dwelling on past problems
 Don't get bogged down with how anyone feels, unless directly
related to present performance
 Best choice is to let the employee evaluate his/her own
performance
Work with the employee in
identifying why something
is a problem, i.e.





Other people have to do work
Work doesn’t get done
Employee may not receive desired transfer, promotion, etc.
Negative influence on other employees
As a last resort the employee may get disciplined
Reasons a subordinate won't
agree a performance issue
exists.




You are not dealing with a behavior
It is not important
You have not identified all the consequences
Unrealistic consequences are identified that are not likely to
occur
Instead of the consequences being verbalized by the
employee, you are verbalizing them
You threaten a lot but never do anything
There is a positive consequence to the employee if she/he is
fired
The employee is too mentally ill to be managed




Step Five: from the areas where improvement/development is needed or desired, select
out 2-3 areas to be incorporated in an employee performance improvement
work plan.
 By selecting the important areas the employee will become productive
quicker.
 By keeping the list small the chances for success improve.
Step Six: brainstorm ways of attaining improvement/development. Ask the employee
for ideas on how she/he will correct the performance issue. Brainstorm
ideas. There is an old management saying that "if there seems to be only one
way to do something, then it's probably wrong". The more alternatives you
can generate with the employee the higher your chances of success become.
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 Note: you must ask the employee for their ideas on how to fix whatever
issue is being discussed.
Step Seven: set criteria for determining if improvement has occurred.
 How will you and the employee know that success has been attained?
What will you look at?
 Be specific – how many, how much, when, how well etc.
 Write it down
 Be realistic
 Set performance targets and time deadlines when improvement should be
evident.
 Get commitment from the employee
Step Eight: close the interview/follow-up
Summarize the agreement with the employee. If the plan is for needed improvement then
discuss with the employee the legitimate natural consequences that will follow if the
performance issue is not corrected.
LEGITIMATE NATURAL CONSEQUENCES
(These are legitimate because you have told the employee they could happen.)

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
No raise
No promotion
Reduction in assignment scope or responsibility
Transfer
Temporary curtailments of personal freedoms, i.e. making personal calls
Being disciplined
Termination
Offer your support in a sincere manner. Let the employee know the plan is in effect
immediately.
 Agree on monitoring dates
 Provide feedback on all behavior changes
 KEY- keep appointed monitoring dates with the employee.
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Point Three: Take appropriate follow-up actions with employees based on their
overall performance.
SUCCESS EMPLOYEES
PROBLEM EMPLOYEES
. Reinforcement
. Reward
. Personal growth
. Career goals
. Intervention
. Direction
. Follow-up
. Action
New
interventions
up
to
termination.
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EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Describe Performance
Improvement Area(s)
1.
2.
Describe the Desired
Improvement or Result
1.
2.
Employee Responsibilities
How Will
Improvement/Results Be
Accomplished?
Manager/Organizational
Responsibilities
1.
1.
2.
2.
What will be looked at to
say the desired result is
obtained?
1.
Relevant Time Frames
1.
2.
2.
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RECOGNIZING INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT
Many surveys have been conducted where employees have been asked what they most
want from their immediate level supervisor. The most common answer is "recognition".
Deming talks about giving employees "pride of workmanship", but organizationally what
often happens is recognition is only given to those who make mistakes or break rules.
The everyday attention to work, and/or the exceptional work sometimes goes unnoticed
in the organization attempt to "rein in the ne'er do wells".
Praise/recognition should be given when any of the following conditions exist:
An employee
 Exceeds standards
 Consistently meets standards
 Meets minimum standards not normally met
Giving praise/recognition when warranted is one issue, doing so correctly is another.
PRAISE/RECOGNITION GUIDELINES AND EXAMPLES
Step One: Make a general reference to work
being praised.
"Joanne recently I've noticed how you have
been helping customers at the landlord/tenant
counter.
Step Two: Give specific examples
"Specifically, this morning I observed you
using every bit of our customer service training
to calm down and assist an obviously upset
landlord."
Step Three: Discuss personal related qualities
"This incident reflects your dedication and
commitment to our vision of "earning the trust
and confidence of the public". You were
professional, controlled, and you allowed the
customer to keep their self-respect. I am proud
to have you on my team."
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EXERCISE
Think of an employee you have and sketch out a quick praise outline
General reference to work being praised:
Specific examples:
Related personal qualities:
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GILBERT H. SKINNER
Gilbert H. Skinner is the president of the Criminal Justice Management Institute (CJMI), a performance
management training and consulting firm based in Okemos, Michigan. Mr. Skinner is in charge of his
organization's management development efforts and he has designed and conducted in-service and
management development programs across the United States (including being one of the first instructors to
train managers of the Supreme Court of the United States), in Canada, Macedonia and New Zealand. Prior
to forming CJMI, Mr. Skinner held training positions within the College of Social Science at Michigan
State University. Mr. Skinner has a Master of Arts in Adult Education and a Master of Labor and Industrial
Relations, both from Michigan State University. He was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award for
his dedication and commitment to promote professionalism through education by the Michigan Court
Administrators Association. Gilbert H. Skinner, CJMI, 2220 Kenmore, Okemos, MI 48864; (517) 3819112; ghskinner@voyager.net.
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