How to reap the benefits of senior agency people having appraisals

It has taken me nearly four decades to realise that no matter their age, seniority or department, people, as neuroscientist Antonio Damasio reminds us, “are feeling machines that think.”  Being entirely logical and objective does not come to us with experience.  Dale Carnegie knew that all people are creatures of emotion and not logic.  Which means that our CEOs need to hear from others about their performance, build on their strengths and set objectives, just like everyone else - there is a reason that a Roman general had a slave to remind him he was mortal.

What are the benefits of the CEO having appraisals?

Quite a lot! The C-suite are the biggest decision makers after all. Tanya Whitehouse, CEO of CPD Platinum accredited agency Elvis, wrote recently about this in The Drum.  I paraphrase three potential benefits she identified in explaining why she always has a performance review:

• It sets a good example – if they want others to take performance management seriously, they have to demonstrate no-one is exempt.
• Business goal misalignment can be corrected – it is very easy to have scope creep in this area.
• Leaders are not infallible – they need a co-pilot to help steer, or indeed to bolster their confidence to try new methods.

‘Appraisal’ methods to try:

1. Consider not calling it an ‘appraisal’ – most busy senior people find that word redolent of off-putting admin. Instead, talk about the most important thing – what do we do now? – in a positive way, for example ‘development discussions’ or ‘forward goal setting’.
2. Use an HR consultant. Aliya Vigor-Robertson, co-founder of Journey HR, told me she has been hired to gather feedback about agency CEOs and relay it back to them. “I have done this exercise several times with founders and CEOs who have found it really beneficial and rewarding.  Of course, there was some management of nerves along the way as most of them had never been given feedback formally in the roles that they were in.  I think they valued me being objective and external from their system so I could share the feedback with them with a straight bat.  They also knew that any feedback shared would be backed up with specific examples to avoid confusion or doubt.”
3. The CEO invites everyone in the agency to provide feedback, using an anonymous link. Not everyone will, but the chance to input will be welcomed.  The CEO could further show willingness by sharing the feedback, grouped into sections, and the actions they intended to take as a result.
4. If the agency has a regular employee satisfaction survey, assuming a robust sample takes part, some CEOs see this as a measure of their success or better yet, something to keep working on.
5. Employ an executive coach with a very tight remit from the rest of the C-Suite to work with the CEO on the goals and report back to the other senior people. The IPA has a detailed CV for each of the 30 industry-recommended coaches.
6. The MD conducts the CEO’s review – that is what Elvis does. Or a non-executive director.  Or use a senior team awayday, facilitated by an HRBP, to do round robin feedback.
7. If part of a Group, ask someone at Group level to conduct the review.

Finally, all the truisms that apply to everyone’s appraisal, doubly apply here, such as finding out how their behaviour has helped business goals and demonstrated agency values. 

Please find more advice on appraisals, or ask gwyn@ipa.co.uk.

 The opinions expressed here are those of the author and were submitted in accordance with the IPA terms and conditions regarding the uploading and contribution of content to the IPA newsletters, IPA website, or other IPA media, and should not be interpreted as representing the opinion of the IPA.