8 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 9
W
hat's worse
than not get-
ting a perform-
ance review? Getting a
performance review that
results in a predeter-
mined salary increase —
3% if you exceed expecta-
tions, 2.5% if you meet
expectations — and a preprinted evaluation form that's nearly identi-
cal to the one you received last year, right down to the positive com-
ments and the ways you can upgrade your hustle.
In our annual salary review, which begins on page 20 of this issue,
we asked survey respondents if they're satisfied with their annual
review process. If, that is, they even get a yearly performance review.
"We generally don't receive a review," says Kelly Kerkhoff, RN,
CBSPD, director of operative services at Sports Medicine Center in
Appleton, Wis. "Management comes into your office and hands you a
Post-it note with your pay raise on it."
"I do my own review and the owners go over it," says Norma
Bacon, administrator of the New England Surgery Center in Beverly,
Mass.
One in 5 survey respondents were unsatisfied with their performance
reviews. Several complained their reviews were too generic, didn't
match up with or address their actual responsibilities, didn't provide
constructive feedback or didn't impact their pay raise. How can you
rate someone's performance if you really don't know what they do?
Those Dreaded Performance Reviews
A merit increase is nice, but annual salary reviews can be pointless.
Editor's Page
Dan O'Connor