Scenario – April Raymond: What Would You Do?
April Raymond is the supervisor for the Department of Motor Vehicles, Division of Licenses. She has a team of three people working for her–Mai Chu, a receptionist; Dan, a license processor; and Cheryl, another license processor. All three employees deal with the public, and Dan is clearly the best at this part of the job. When the lines are long on a Friday afternoon or during the lunch hours, Dan is efficient and personable. Customers have even made a point of telling April how great Dan is. Trouble with Dan is that he wants to be promoted, and he won’t wait long for that to happen.
Mai Chu is new to this country and works very hard. Sometimes she has difficulty understanding what the customers are saying, and vice-versa. She is embarrassed when this happens, and rather than asking for clarification, she guesses at the spelling of their names and often takes much longer to process customer requests. Mai Chu also has small children, and when there is a snow day, Mai Chu has asked if she could bring her two children into work because she can’t find appropriate childcare. April has agreed in the past, but she is uncomfortable doing this and afraid it is really against government rules.
Cheryl went to community college for nursing but dropped out after one year. After that, she got a job as a daycare worker but the facility closed suddenly, leaving Cheryl searching for another job. After working at a department store, a fast food restaurant and a drugstore, Cheryl applied for and got the job at Motor Vehicles. Cheryl gets to know every customer’s life story. Whereas customers often comment upon Dan’s efficiency, customers often comment upon Cheryl’s inefficiency. Cheryl took to heart the customer service training which instructed her to be "customer focused." In fact, it is because she is so "customer focused" that the lines are as long as they are. Yesterday, she even took a customer’s photo three times because he didn’t like the way he looked for the picture on his license!
You are April Raymond and it’s time for performance reviews. What do you do?
Workshop DescriptionOne of the best ways to increase an employee’s performance on the job is to let him/her know how he/she is doing. Everyone wants performance feedback, and providing it so that the employee hears both the positive comments and the areas for improvement can be a challenge to supervisors and managers.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
This 2-hour Lunch ‘n Learn Workshop will teach you:
- how to gather accurate performance data
- how to write meaningful performance reviews
- how to provide both positive feedback and constructive criticism that is heard and acted upon
