According to recent data, 59% of today’s employees are not performing optimally, meaning they find it difficult to achieve and sustain their best work. Unfortunately, 71% of HR managers are not confident that their organization’s current processes can help employees become high performers — 32% of HR business partners believe that most performance management programs don’t truly deliver what employees need.
As a result, nearly three-quarters of organizations have changed or are in the process of changing their performance management process. If you find yourself in the same boat, you should know that you’re not alone.
You should also know that there are solutions to help you optimize your employee performance reviews so they deliver results. Discover below how to overhaul your performance reviews so you can help your employees — and your organization — thrive.
Getting Better Results From Your Performance Reviews
For many businesses, performance management is a simple process: meet with employees once a year to discuss the shortcomings they’ve had over the last 12 months and what they can do better in the coming year.
Unfortunately, this process often isn’t meaningful or motivating for employees. In fact, there’s a chance that some employees even dread it.
How can you make reviews more meaningful? Research shows that the performance reviews that lead to real results are ongoing. They look much more like weekly coaching and much less like one big annual meeting.
In fact, data from Gallup shows that team members whose managers provide weekly feedback are 5.2 times more likely to see it as meaningful and 3.2 times more likely to be motivated toward better performance.
What’s even better is that regular check-ins and coaching conversations lead to higher employee engagement. They also empower employees to take control of their performance, helping them become self-aware enough to evaluate and correct their own actions before a manager addresses them.
Avoiding the “Recency Bias” Issue
As you consider moving to more frequent coaching, it’s important to watch out for recency bias (also known as recency errors). This refers to a manager’s tendency to focus on an employee’s most recent performance instead of taking into account their performance over time.
Though you may be having weekly conversations, remember that exceptional performers aren’t built overnight. Your employees need time to recognize and fix issues.
Rather than focusing on what has happened in the last month (or even the last few months), you can still consider the big picture, look at the entire year’s performance, and make judgments based on long-term performance indicators.
What Meaningful Performance Reviews Entail
An effective performance management process usually has four pillars: planning, monitoring, reviewing, and rewarding. While your performance reviews can incorporate all of these things, they are most likely to be focused on monitoring employees and reviewing what you have observed.
With that idea in mind, here are a few tips to make your regular performance reviews meaningful and impactful for employees:
- Build a Positive Culture: Start with the positive aspects of an employee’s performance and talk about what excites them about the job
- Focus on Specific Examples: Always back up your assessment with concrete evidence to avoid bias and enhance clarity
- Provide 360-Degree Feedback: Consider gathering feedback from colleagues, customers, and vendors for a more comprehensive perspective
- Set Performance Goals and Objectives: Keep your coaching meetings focused on future employee development instead of past mistakes
These tips can help you build a culture of performance that supports employee growth and development, ultimately benefiting the company as a whole.
How HRM Software Can Support and Enhance Performance Reviews
As a busy HR manager, you may be wondering where you’ll find the time for this kind of continuous coaching model. In addition to enlisting the help of team managers who work closely with employees, a robust HR management software platform can also help streamline and systematize the performance review process. This includes creating templates that guide the process and alerts that can be programmed to notify and remind managers and employees of actions coming due. This makes it much easier for managers and employees to understand and quickly implement a new system.
Additionally, a software platform empowers team managers, giving them an easy way to collect critical performance data for their coaching sessions.
With the right technology, you’ll be able to keep track of important KPIs and objectives to see the bigger picture, gain an in-depth understanding of your employees, and encourage continual improvement in your workforce.
A Good Performance Review Sets Employees Up for Success
Retooling your performance review process requires a significant investment of time and effort, but the good news is that it will likely pay off in the end. Research shows that today’s employees appreciate professional development — 63% of Gen Z graduates moving into the workforce see it as essential to career success.
If you’re looking for ways to get better results from your performance reviews, our team at Focus HR can help. Contact us today to request a free consultation and see how our HR expertise can assist you in pushing your employees (and your organization) toward success.
