Do you remember the last time you received constructive criticism? If done correctly, it should have left you with a blueprint to add on to talents you already have. This is what a solid performance review process should do for employees: notify workers of areas where they can improve so they can excel personally and professionally.
A solid performance review serves a vital role in the development of employees:
- According to Gallup, those who received strengths feedback had turnover rates that were 14.9 percent lower than employees who received no feedback.
- An Office Vibe infographic included the following statistic: 43 percent of highly engaged employees received feedback once a week.
- According to Forbes, 45 percent of HR leaders do not think annual performance reviews are an accurate appraisal of employee work.
So, what can companies do to reinvent their performance review process to increase engagement and productivity?
1. Keep Better Analytics
It is alarming, but many companies still do not have detailed analytics on who is working in their offices. A Forbes article commented that 58 percent of companies continue to use spreadsheets to track performance metrics. Less than a quarter keep any significant analytics at all.
There are so many HR recruitment and performance management software options that give employers the opportunity to keep track of a worker’s trajectory regarding their training and development, overall performance, and satisfaction. Knowing this information can help employers better tailor performance reviews for employees.
2. Performance Reviews Need to Turn into Performance Management
There is a reason many HR professionals are not excited about annual performance appraisals. It means that, only once a year, managers sit down with workers to talk about their work. Performance reviews should become regular opportunities for managers to address performance issues or provide guidance. If an issue is not handled correctly, then it should be addressed a lot sooner than waiting a whole year. Feedback should flow frequently from managers to employees to give employees the direction they are looking for.
3. Acknowledge strengths
Even though employees need to know where they need to improve, performance reviews cannot always be about criticism. Managers can help employees build on their strengths by giving them opportunities to sharpen them through training and leadership projects.
Performance reviews and feedback should be used as a method of helping develop the company’s next leaders. People become disheartened very quickly when they feel they bring nothing to the table. Constructive criticism and strength acknowledgment should go hand in hand.
4. Give Performance Reviews a Purpose
It is an excellent idea to tie performance reviews to the employee’s journey through the company. Is the employee interested in learning a new skill? Do they want to make a horizontal or vertical move eventually? Are they looking to take on more projects? Performance reviews can give managers the opportunity to discuss how a worker’s performance helps them to reach these goals, and what they need to do to better position themselves for these aspirations. If employees feel that reviews are personalized to themselves and their journey, then they will likely be more receptive to feedback and feel a lot more engaged in their current position.
5. Ask for Their Feedback
Companies should be concerned with how their employees think of the top management. Performance reviews can allow time for employees to share their thoughts about the company, work processes, communication and other relevant areas. Employees should be allowed to be honest and transparent about their work experience. There could be a serious issue going on that upper management has no idea about, and this conversation can shed light on it. However, the most important thing management can do after receiving feedback is follow through with changes. If changes need to be made, then managers should be transparent about the progress towards these changes.
6. A Discussion Should be Front and Center
A performance review should not be a lecture where employers rattle off grades; performance reviews and feedback should be treated as a conversation. Workers should have the opportunity to talk about how they met goals and explain productive moments employers may have missed. An even better strategy is putting away the form altogether and having a two-way conversation about the employee’s performance and ways they can grow. Employees should not feel interrogated, but supported.
7. Follow-Up
The performance review process should be a year-round procedure. Managers should check in with workers throughout the year to address progress towards goals they spoke about and provide guidance on how to continue to improve. The purpose is to help keep employees on track toward growth. Also, all of this data should be entered into a performance management tracking system to give managers all the information they need to track progress.
Performance reviews do not always have to be an experience that employees and employers alike dread throughout the year. Performance reviews should give employees a chance to discuss their accomplishments, receive guidance on how they can improve, and create a plan with their managers to move toward organizational and personal career goals. However, these conversations should not happen once a year, but they should be a constant dialogue between employers and employees. If managers can give workers feedback they can use, then the company and employees will be a lot better off for it.
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