What’s Wrong With Your Performance Review Method?

Today's performance reviews have a reputation for causing more harm than good.

It is difficult for employees to believe that the standard performance review properly and fairly portrays the work they have done over the course of a year. That is perhaps why over half of employees believe annual reviews are not accurate, and a majority believe they do not feel motivated by them.

Employees have every reason to dislike ineffective performance reviews, given that their salary and ability to be promoted often rests on them, but it's not just workers who are frustrated with the process. Traditional performance reviews are also unsatisfactory for 95% of managers.

In summary, it's long past time for a major overhaul of performance reviews. Here are the four important things you should do as a leader to improve your company's annual review process.

 

1. The frequency of performance reviews must change.

Martijn Vollmuller, Director of People and Culture at Epos Now, said that rather than an annual evaluation that feels inflexible and one-sided, performance reviews should be divided into frequent feedback sessions that take place throughout the year.

To conduct successful performance evaluations, one must switch from annual or quarterly assessments to monthly reviews.

As more organisations adopt a remote and hybrid model, there is less transparency and open communication in the workplace. As a result, employees may be concerned that their superior or management is unaware of how hard they work on a regular basis. This leads to them being overlooked for promotions and career progression, resulting in organisations failing to retain their star employees.

 

2. Performance reviews should include both quantitative and qualitative data.

Daivat Dholakia, VP of Operations at Essenvia, said that more organisations are expanding what parts of performance they focus on instead of simply looking at certain figures like direct sales.

If one simply judges a person based on their direct successes, they miss out on all of the other ways the person offers to the team and the company. Strict performance reviews fail to see the full picture, such as how well an employee leads, the great attitude they bring every day, and the extra time they spend supporting their coworkers.

Jared Pobre, Co-Founder of Caldera + Lab, said that it's past time to better recognise and reward soft-skill contributions like these.

When analysing a remote employee's productivity, qualitative performance reviews should be weighted equally with quantitative assessments.

While qualitative measures are subjective, they are the intangibles that drive long-term value. Looking at a team member's total performance and how it contributes to your goals is critical in determining their actual success rate.

 

3. There should be two-way feedback systems.

Anjela Mangrum, President of Mangrum Career Solutions, said that companies should go beyond this type of hierarchical framework, rather than managers merely analysing and scoring their direct reports.

She said she had seen effective employers today who are eager to use performance reviews to obtain constructive criticism about their leadership.

Leading a firm or holding a senior-level job is a learning experience in and of itself, and employees are an excellent source of advice on how to do better professionally.

It can also give you insight into how you can better support their day-to-day operations at the office and provide the resources and training they require to boost productivity.

 

4. Instead of viewing performance reviews as a static report card, leaders should regard them as an opportunity for active listening.

According to Caio Bersot, Communications Manager at Rank-It.ca, the most crucial component of a performance assessment is listening.

Whether positive or negative, people have reasons for what they do, so being a leader who listens is the first step in doing an effective performance review.

It's also vital to ask people questions not only about their most recent review period, but also about the future. It's great to learn from the past, but it's even more important to provide employees with a sense of future and continuity. People want to know that their bosses are ambitious and that they have great plans for the future.

At the end of the day, performance assessments are not an occasion to demonstrate authority or be nosy. It is a manager's responsibility to provide their team with everything they require to succeed. According to him, this is how a manager achieves success.

 

Source: Ivy Exec