3-2-1 … It’s that time of year again… time for annual performance reviews!
Or is it?
A recent survey of Human Resources and Benefits professionals indicates that among the top five critical issues facing their organization, Performance Results and Performance Management are near the top of the list. Not only achieving Performance Results for the business and conducting Performance Reviews for employees, but, more specifically, addressing the complexity of Performance Management and Performance Reviews.
Everyone has an opinion on the effectiveness of these reviews. Forbes has a number of articles offering Good Reasons to Kill Performance Reviews whereas Harvard Business Review says Let’s Not Kill Performance Evaluations Yet. But performance reviews are not ending anytime soon, and it is important that management figure out ways to adapt the evaluations for today’s unique workforce.
Historically, performance reviews have been handled on an annual basis. More recently, companies started adopting a philosophy of “continuous feedback” and real-time performance management. Businesses trying to revamp the archaic evaluation systems want to offer feedback and recognition in the moment instead of holding it all until an annual review. This helps adjust behavior and improve productivity right away, but real-time feedback isn’t feasible in all workplaces. Still, the workforce has changed and collaborative work environments are the trend, so it is important that companies begin thinking about practices that can modify performance management while continuing to compel employees toward better work conduct.
As companies become more nimble, flatter organization structures emerge, and collaborative work environments become the norm, managers and employees have naturally started having more frequent conversations about goals, results, and barriers to optimal performance. The following are five tips to enhance annual reviews and begin adapting them for your unique work culture:
Shift the ownership of performance management
Traditionally, Human Resources bears the brunt of the work with performance reviews. The collect information, organize ratings, and, in some instances, deliver the evaluations. Performance management needs to be taken off the backs of HR, and put where it belongs: with each and every leader in the organization. Make your leaders accountable for the successful integration of the processes and rate their performance based on how well they embrace and set the tone for performance management.
Provide real-time feedback
Providing real-time feedback is a key player in today’s performance management practices. Place powerful, mobile tools into the hands of your managers and your employees to provide real-time, pulse feedback on performance and goal achievement. There are several methods that a company can introduce that will encourage employees. Two great methods that aren’t costly to the organize are points and polls.
Points
Giving points to employees is a good way to encourage positive results in the moment. Many companies offer rewards for point-earners such as company gear, extra time off, or lunch with the boss. Giving points for performance can be customized based on the company, like meeting sales goals, attendance, good customer reviews, etc.
Polls
Polls can gauge employee fulfillment, but they can also offer insights on supervisor performance, company culture, and innovative ideas. There are many websites that will help you create polls that only take a minute for your employees to complete. Better yet, you can tie points to poll completion to provide feedback while getting feedback!
Educate, educate, educate
Constructive feedback is important in the workplace, but relating to and cooperating with employees can be difficult. Not everyone has the same communication style, and not everyone is prepared for the open dialogue that comes with constructive communication. One of the best things you can do for your team to enhance performance evaluations is to educate your employees on the elements of constructive communication.
Enable the paradigm shift
As with any process change, the shift to real-time performance management must begin somewhere. Small steps such as introducing polls while maintaining annual appraisals can enable employees to begin the period of adjustment that happens after process revolutions.
Slowly add more to the continuous process of evaluation while reeling back one-time, yearly feedback. For example, when you have points and polls in place, perhaps only do yearly feedback on goals met or begin offering quarterly feedback on goals and achievements.
Implement a cloud-based system
The cloud has given businesses more opportunities than ever, and utilizing it to enhance your performance management program has several up sides, including:
- Placing the power of rapid performance assessments and analytics at your fingertips
- Offering your team visibility to deep analytics
- Allowing your business to translate performance management data into organization intelligence
These opportunities can be used to make critical decisions and team member reallocation as-needed, and will give your business greater insights into areas that need improvement. Additionally, employees that have access to the cloud-based system can learn about of areas that need corrected and begin refining their behaviors autonomously and in-the-moment as opposed to hearing about it months later.
For guidance regarding Constructive Feedback, Performance Management, Employee Relations, Leadership and Executive Coaching and Development, and all things “HR”, The Pendolino Group is here to support you and your team. Join us for our next blog as we explore Optimizing the ROI of Performance Management for your team.
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