When we released our State of the Movement report last year, one of the most notable findings was the massive growth in bike/walk advocacy staff across North America.
When the Alliance was established in 1996, our member organizations had just 12 paid employees collectively; as of 2014, the movement boasted more than 1,100 staff members.
As our professional ranks expand, how can we use performance reviews to help staff become as successful, innovative and effective as they can be? How do we tie personnel to program goals? And are their new tools to make this process easier?
Last month we explored these questions on our monthly Distance Learning Webinar on Elevating Performance through Meaningful Evaluation, hosting two leaders with deep knowledge on personnel matters to share their insight: Ellen McDermott, Chief Operation Officer at Transportation Alternatives in New York City, and Melody Geraci, Deputy Director of the Active Transportation Alliance in Chicago.
Read some of the top take-aways below — and click here to watch the full webinar recording.
Ellen McDermott, Chief Operating Officer, Transportation Alternatives (NYC)
Reviews are bigger than a single individual: TA has grown siginificantly, McDermott said, expanding from about 20 staff members just a few years ago to nearly 40 now. That means perfomance reviews have taken on more importance — not only to assess staff accomplishment but to align day-to-day actions with strategic goals. It's also a critical in establishing the type of culture and relationships that define TA as an organization.
Create shared understanding: Make sure staff have a shared understanding of why performance reviews — which can be time-consuming for both managers and staff — are important. And make sure the time invested is worthwhile by being as honest as possible. One area that TA is focusing more on, for instance, is career development. What do staff want to accomplish and are there areas for advancement within the organization?
Get staff insight: While TA has done 360-degree reviews in the past, they're moving away from it this year, partially due to evidence that it's less effective for smaller organizations. Still, McDermott emphasized, gathering insight from other staff members is vital to getting a full picture of an employee's performance.
Set clear criteria: Make sure staff know what good performance looks like. In fact, TA has a defined list of criteria for staff, with additional skills sets for managers, so employees know what's expected of them in executing their work to the highest standard.
Make the conversation productive: While the finer points of the discussion will be structured differently depending on the organization, there are certain criteria that will help make any review more productive, McDermott suggested. Perhaps most important: Being honest. "This is really the time for difficult conversations," McDermott emphasized. "If you haven't been addressing problems promptly, this is the time to commit to doing that." Be specific in your feedback on past successes and challenges, and remain open to hearing staff members' perspectives on their managers, as well.
Look forward, as well as back: Just as important as assessing past performance is setting the course for future success. Reviews are the time to set goals — not just tasks for the coming year, but clear and measurable goals that align individual workplans with the organization's strategic plan and the staff member's specific department.
Evaluating staff performance isn't an annual event: At TA, staff review is an ongoing process throughout the year. Regular check-ins are critical to staff progress and organizational success, McDermott shared.
Don't rush the process: Don't shortchange yourself or your staff by overloading a single day or week with all your reviews, McDermott suggested. Take your time to make sure you're fresh and engaged for each conversation. At TA, performance reviews take place during the full month of January!
Melody Geraci, Deputy Director, Active Transportation Alliance (Chicago)
Evolving as the organization grows: Like TA, Active Trans has grown over the years to more than 30 staff members, with seven managers. That's meant an evolution in approaches to staff reviews. "We've been on a learning curve in terms of making them meaningful and wholistic and useful," Geraci explained, "while managing the burden on managers themselves." That meant shifting from a relatively informal process to a 360-degree appraisal approach — to a complicated custom process.
Know when to shift gears: "Over the years, it became unwieldy," Geraci said of the review process. Despite the best intentions to develop their staff, they realized their process required too much time and paperwork. Ultimately, the board of directors faced some of the same challenges in assessing the organization's executive director and asked staff leadership to investigate a web-based approach to performance reviews.
Going digital: Based on the critieria given by the board, Active Trans chose an online, cloud-based system called Trakstar. The cost is based on the number of users, which kept it reasonable, and the contract is annual, so there was enough flexibility to give it a go. For more specifics on the Trakstar system and how Active Trans is using it, watch Geraci's full presentation here. Spoiler alert...
