Ongoing Performance Management Guide

Purpose

To give managers a practical framework for managing performance continuously, not just at the annual review — recognizing good performance, catching problems early, and addressing them consistently before they require formal corrective action.

How this fits with the annual review

The annual performance appraisal is a formal checkpoint; it is not a substitute for ongoing feedback. Managers are expected to:

• Set clear expectations at the start of the year and revisit them as work changes.
• Give feedback — positive and corrective — close to when the relevant performance happens, rather than saving it all for the annual review.
• Use the tools in this guide when performance falls short, so that any later formal step (a documented corrective action plan, if needed) is well-supported.

Setting and clarifying expectations

1. Make sure the employee understands the performance areas they're expected to deliver on — referencing their job description, current objectives, and any other standards that apply to the role.
2. When responsibilities or standards change (a new system, a reorganized team, a changed customer base), communicate the change explicitly rather than assuming the employee will infer it.
3. Recognize that differences in work style are not performance deficiencies as long as the employee is meeting the actual standard — don't confuse "does it differently than I would" with "isn't meeting expectations."

Diagnosing a performance concern

Before acting on a suspected performance problem, work through these questions — they help separate a real, actionable deficiency from a misunderstanding, a training gap, or an isolated event:

1. Were the objectives and expectations clearly established and communicated in the first place?
2. Has the employee's job description and the specific expectations been reviewed with them recently?
3. Was the employee given adequate training for what's being asked of them?
4. What has the employee's rating been in prior review periods? If it was satisfactory or better, has the job changed since then, and was that change communicated?
5. Is this a major deficiency (affects core job outcomes) or a minor one (a single incident, a stylistic issue)?
6. How much documentation exists to support that a real, ongoing deficiency exists — as opposed to a single bad week?
7. How does this employee's performance compare with peers doing comparable work?
8. How have similar deficiencies been handled for other employees? (Consistency matters — treating comparable situations differently is a discrimination and morale risk.)
9. How have previous managers rated or handled this employee, if there's a history to review?

Working through these questions first helps avoid two common mistakes: acting too fast on a misunderstanding, and waiting too long because a manager wasn't sure the issue was "real."

Addressing a deficiency — the counseling conversation

Most performance issues should be raised informally first, through a counseling conversation, before anything is put in a formal corrective-action document. A good counseling conversation:

1. States clearly and specifically what the performance gap is.
2. Reviews the gap against the actual goal or standard — not a vague impression.
3. Explores the likely cause with the employee (workload, unclear priorities, a skill gap, a personal issue, something outside their control).
4. Reviews whether additional training or retraining would help.
5. Agrees on specific corrective steps and a reasonable timeframe to show improvement.
6. Agrees on how progress will be checked (a follow-up date, specific things to look for).
7. Sets a concrete follow-up date and keeps it.

Document it. Even an informal counseling conversation should be captured in a brief written note — date, what was discussed, and what was agreed — kept by the manager. If a second conversation is needed on the same issue, that one should be documented in writing to the employee, not just in the manager's own notes.

When personal issues may be a factor

Personal circumstances — family or relationship stress, substance use, anxiety or depression, a serious illness, or a loss — can affect performance. Recognizing this doesn't lower the performance standard, but it does affect how a manager approaches the conversation:

• Remind the employee of the Employee Assistance Program or equivalent support resource, framed as help, not as a reason to excuse the performance issue.
• Keep the conversation focused on the performance impact, not a diagnosis — managers aren't expected to counsel on the underlying personal issue, only to point to available support and hold the performance conversation separately.
• Loop in HR early if a personal situation might also involve a legally protected leave, accommodation request, or safety concern.

Escalation

• Involve your own manager and Human Resources before taking any disciplinary action — this guide covers the coaching stage; formal discipline is covered by the separate corrective-action process.
• If performance doesn't improve after counseling, or the issue is serious enough to warrant skipping the informal stage, move to the Company's formal corrective-action process.

Responsibilities

Role	Responsibilities
Manager	Sets and communicates expectations; gives ongoing feedback; diagnoses performance concerns before acting; holds counseling conversations and documents them; involves HR before formal discipline.
Employee	Understands expectations for their role; raises questions about unclear expectations; engages constructively in counseling conversations; builds their own development plan with manager support.
Human Resources	Advises managers on the diagnostic questions and counseling approach; helps identify training/development resources; ensures consistent handling across comparable situations; guides the transition to formal corrective action when needed.