Communication Styles in Performance Appraisal for Employers

In the last edition of the Organizational Check-Up, we explored Mark Murphy’s guide to the four communication styles: analytical, intuitive, functional, and personal. Here is the link if you missed it! 

Below is a small guide to leveraging your communication style in a performance appraisal or coaching situation. It will define your form and things to consider when communicating with people who have different communication styles than your own. 

Analytical Communicators 

Analytical communicators like communicating with data and strive to define what “good” and “bad” performance is with objective figures. In a coaching situation, your understanding of performance metrics makes you an excellent resource for pinpointing specific areas of success and areas for improvement. If you give feedback to an analytical employee, objective figures and key metrics will be appreciated and cherished. However, for other communicators, metrics may need some fluff. For intuitive communicators, consider framing the numbers to show how their performance contributes to the team’s success. For personal communicators, some of the best positive feedback speaks to things that cannot easily be measured or proven. (Ex. “Your upbeat attitude does a lot for our teams’ morale!”) 

Intuitive Communicators 

Intuitive communicators appreciate the big picture and do not waste too much time analyzing the details. Your ability to stay focused on the result is great for keeping your team on task. In a performance appraisal, you are probably great at identifying where and how your team members can contribute to future projects and innovations. However, you may fall victim to rater biases such as the Halo or Horns Effect based on whether your employee succeeded or failed in their yearly goals. 

If you give feedback to an intuitive employee, your direct and concise communication is probably well received and understood. For more detail-oriented individuals like analytical and functional communicators, you will need to consider how their contributions and metrics either hindered or contributed to the team’s success to provide meaningful feedback and direction. 

Functional Communicators 

Functional communicators are planners that value context, particularly the small details that contribute to the whole. (I am a functional communicator!) You probably start your meetings with specific objectives that will be addressed logically and linearly, which is great for keeping your team organized and well-informed. In a performance appraisal, your ability to see the small details can uplift employees who may be feeling undervalued, but you may also be overwhelming your employees with information. 

When giving feedback to other functional employees, you will save yourself many questions from your employee due to your thorough and informative nature. Analytical employees will appreciate your specific metrics and the “why” behind them. When speaking to an intuitive employee, consider making your feedback more concise to highlight the most pertinent successes and challenges. 

Personal Communicators 

Personal communicators use emotional language and connection to discover what others are really thinking. In a performance appraisal, your team probably feels that you are genuinely concerned with their progress and development, which does a lot for trust, morale, and cohesion.

Personal communicators will connect with you very quickly. Your compassion will make some of your employees feel like they can be truthful with you if they are experiencing a challenge hindering their work. You may run into challenges with employees who do not want to form these kinds of relationships at work, however, and you will need to adapt your communication style the most. When preparing to present your feedback, consider how much of your feedback is objective vs. subjective for analytical employees. Ensure you can speak to the “why” of your employees’ success and challenges for foundational and intuitive employees.

We hope this provides insight when navigating some difficult conversations, whether in a formal performance review or a general coaching session. Our next edition will switch gears as we focus on the importance of work-life balance!