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How Are You Approaching Performance Appraisals?Regardless of whether you're doing a performance appraisal in a traditional way, allowing self-assessment, or conducting a thorough, 360-degree appraisal (one of the most valid and reliable measures of performance), it is important for HR to take the right approach to reduce stress. However, despite HR’s best efforts, performance appraisals often demotivate employees, mainly due to these four listed reasons:
(For more on this subject, read our article on ‘Performance Reviews: What Demotivates Employees and How to Avoid That’) How Do You Build Better Performance Appraisals?Clearly, performance appraisal time is rarely a great time of year for anyone. But it doesn’t have to be that way. It is possible to take an alternative approach to employee performance appraisals. How? Well, to answer this question, it’s worth identifying the real purpose of a performance appraisal. A skeptic might say that they exist simply to separate the wheat from the chaff and avoid paying employees the bonuses they were promised, but that’s not a fair characterization. While the CIPD says that the purpose of a performance review is, "to identify areas for growth and improvement and inform suitable development plans; or inform administrative decisions on contractual aspects of employment (such as pay, bonuses, promotions or redundancy)," this is only half the story. Sometimes, performance appraisals falter precisely because employees don’t really understand why they’re doing them. Or, worse yet, they believe they are either a box-ticking exercise or an excuse to tell an employee that they are doing poorly. However, when handled well, performance appraisals are part of a broader approach to giving better feedback that enables better performance. When performance appraisals are part and part of a holistic approach to performance management (for example, some companies use performance management software to help with this process) the benefits are clear:
Less Paperwork, More People WorkMake time for more strategic, people-focused work thanks to seamless HR processes. Try Personio today. 7 Steps to Facilitating Great Performance AppraisalsPerformance appraisals can be a helpful tool to improve employee engagement, aid staff development, and measure employee performance as part of an effective talent management strategy. This is true only when they are handled correctly. So, we have pulled together a 7-step approach to facilitate great performance appraisals, based on our own personal experience as well as research into industry best practices… 1. Co-create ‘SMART’ goals in line with company objectivesThe best performance goals are aligned with the organization’s broader objectives, the general purpose of the department that the employee works in, and are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). When these goals are co-created between employees and managers, employees are more likely to buy into them and, therefore, more likely to attempt to achieve them. 2. Meet regularly to discuss agreed goals and performanceMany performance appraisals are challenging because, since they happen so infrequently, employees and managers have forgotten what happened at the beginning of the appraisal period (typically a year ago). So, they become based on our human (and fallible) memories as well as the prevailing feeling at the time. Take the stress out of performance reviews by meeting and documenting these meetings, as well as notable employee achievements regularly. 3. Gather data and share insights for improvement (using a valid, reliable appraisal tool)Some appraisals rely on data only (they address questions like, ‘Did you achieve your KPIs, what are the numbers?’). Others include the human contribution (answering questions like, ‘How do you work with others? Do you embody our company’s values). The best ones balance both aspects. 4. Identify opportunities for learning and developmentNobody is perfect, and we all have room to improve. That’s why professional development is so important. As we said in our blog post about ‘How Can Strategic Professional Development Get the Best Out of Your Employees?‘, ‘84% of employees in best-performing organizations are receiving the training they need compared with 16% in the worst-performing companies’. 5. Openly discuss challenges affecting performanceHow can underperforming employees improve if they don’t know what they’re doing wrong? Unless performance issues are addressed when they happen it’s likely that employees will forget they even happened: creating resentment when the issues are finally raised at appraisal time. Without regular appraisals (informal ones are fine, too), it will be impossible for employees to improve over the course of a year. As our list of tips for conducting productive performance appraisals says below: be open, honest, and positive wherever possible. 6. ListenThis is such an important point that it is listed on its own with one single word. While employee performance appraisals are a chance for managers to tell employees where they performed well or badly, they should also be a chance for employees to discuss what they feel they did well and why. Good managers provide feedback. Great managers listen to their staff first and then use this feedback opportunity to help align goals and values, correct misconceptions, or, better yet, celebrate wins and provide inspiration for the future. 7. Update goals for the next appraisal periodNo matter what your performance appraisal cycle is, it’s always wise to leave employees at the end of a review cycle with a sense of hope and optimism. Even if they haven’t performed as well as you would have expected, use this time to be realistic about what can and should be expected of them in the following appraisal period. 10 Tips for Conducting a Productive Performance AppraisalNo matter how frequently you conduct performance appraisals, it’s always a good idea to make the most of them. These tips for how to approach a performance appraisal with employees are based on a helpful blog post by Mark Wilkinson of Coburg Banks recruitment:
Free Download: Performance Management GuidePut all your performance management processes in focus with our guide. Download it for free today. 5 Mistakes to Avoid During Performance AppraisalsWhen a performance appraisal is done well it can be a healthy, helpful tool for both employees and employers – and one that isn’t full of unpleasant surprises. However, as we cover in our HR lexicon article on staff appraisals, some factors might prevent an appraisal from going as well as it could. To approach performance appraisals with employees in an ideal way, avoid these things:
Other Factors Affecting Performance AppraisalsIt’s also worth bearing in mind that the time of year can influence the impact, especially if your company operates in a global environment. For example, doing an appraisal in June means that people in the Northern Hemisphere might be happy, bouncy, and preparing for a summer holiday, while people down South will be focused on getting as much done as possible in the middle of winter. Since different countries also have different tax year-ends it’s also important to realize that a financial year might not coincide with a tax year – which has potential implications for budgeting. Lastly, while appraisals are typically given by a manager to their employee, some organizations encourage 360-degree reviews, where employees can also provide feedback on their supervisors, for example. As we describe in our blog post on What Is 360º Feedback and Why Does it Matter for Staff Performance?, these allow employees (often managers) to build up an informed self-view, which they can then compare with an external perspective (how others see them, their work, and their growth). Employee Performance Appraisals For Organizational ExcellenceWhile this blog post is fairly extensive, we highly recommend that you take a look at our helpful performance review template and guide, to find out more about these elements, including:
Performance appraisals matter because they help develop your employees. And, in turn, they help boost the performance of your business more generally. After all, employees who are motivated to do their best work, often do exactly that. Which one of the following statements regarding performance appraisal is true?e. All of these statements about performance appraisal are true. ANS: APerformance appraisals can be used as a basis for determining who needs further training. Companieswith poor performance appraisals face tremendous problems.
What is evaluation of employee performance?An employee performance evaluation, also known as a “performance review,” is a process used by organizations to give employees feedback on their job performance and formally document that performance. Although companies determine their own evaluation cycles, most conduct employee performance evaluations once per year.
Which of the following statement is not true with respect to performance evaluation?Performance appraisal reduces managerial control is the statement about performance appraisal is not true.
What are the 4 types of performance evaluation?Performance appraisals can be broken down into four distinct significant types:. The 360-Degree Appraisal. The manager gathers information on the employee's performance, typically by questionnaire, from supervisors, co-workers, group members, and self-assessment.. Negotiated Appraisal. ... . Peer Assessment. ... . Self-Assessment.. |