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FACE Tool for Performance Conversations

The FACE of Performance model is based on continuous, ongoing conversations between employees and supervisors that keep us focused on achieving our organization’s goals. We all need to know what we are doing well and how we can improve. Summary conversations that happen four times a year are an opportunity to reflect on both. You are 98% of the way there when you:

  • Share expectations and goals with your employees.
  • Talk about performance regularly and as part of everyday work.
  • Record comments concerning these conversations.
  • Maintain a professional relationship based on trust.

Tips for Supervisors: Prepare, Converse and Summarize

Three steps will help you succeed in having a quarterly summary conversation with your employees:

Step One: Prepare

Gather Information

  • Review expectations and goals you have shared with the employee.
  • Review all of the comments you made in one-on-one conversations with the employee over the past quarter. These comments remind you what you have discussed over the last several months.
  • Review representative examples of the employee’s work product—for example, a completed report, pictures of a project or a log of activities.
  • Review any correspondence you received from internal and external customers about the employee.

Organize Materials

  • Sort items into two categories:
    • What the employee is doing well.
    • Areas where the employee can improve.

Review the Template

  • Review the guiding statements on your Appointing Authority’s quarterly summary template found in the FACE system.
  • Use the information you gathered above to assist you in completing the quarterly summary.

Think About the Person

  • Think about how the specific employee likes to receive feedback.
  • Modify your style to meet the needs of the employee.

Step Two: Converse

Choose an Appropriate Time and Place

  • Ensure privacy.
  • Remove distractions.
  • Schedule plenty of time for the conversation.

Talk About Performance and Expectations

  • Acknowledge good performance and address areas that need improvement.
  • Clarify expectations. Cover any expectations that may have changed.
  • Provide detailed information about the employee’s behavior and actions using specific examples.
  • Agree on action plans.
  • Offer support for meeting goals and expectations.
  • Be direct and honest.

Address Disagreements

  • Be open to hearing the employee’s point of view.
  • Listen.
  • Ask clarifying questions.
  • Be assertive when needed.

Step Three: Summarize

Complete Your Summary and Prepare for the Next Conversation

  • Edit your remarks in the FACE system.
  • Complete your final summary conversation in the FACE system and make it viewable to the employee (select “Mark as in Progress”).
  • Think about how the conversation went, what you learned and how you will improve the experience for next time.