Performance reviews, unfortunately, have a reputation that precedes them. While outdated approaches are notoriously known for inducing anxiety and dread in the office, they don’t have to elicit this reaction, we promise!
Performance reviews are an opportunity to provide constructive feedback, sing praises, and help your team grow and improve. An effective approach to a performance review delivers valuable feedback, balancing strengths and areas of improvement equally. Performance reviews are an extremely useful tool for achieving success for both the organization and the employee.
Is your organization’s performance review season approaching? Here are a few key components to consider when conducting performance reviews.
Whatever you deem best for your organization in terms of frequency or depth for performance reviews, ensure that it’s realistic for managers and leaders to accomplish.
Routine is key in tracking progress and staying consistent. Annual reviews tend to be too long between check-ins. Performance reviews should be continuous conversations about strengths and progress. By the time a year flies by, that conversation will mostly be forgotten. Consider quarterly or bi-yearly check-ins to meet with your staff. Most importantly, figure out what actually works for you and your staff and stick to it–don’t waste your or your employee's time. Performance reviews can only be effective if implemented correctly.
Performance reviews provide your employees with constructive feedback to help them thrive in their position. To do this, the leader and staff must both be clear on what is expected from the employee.
Formalize and document guidelines and benchmarks established during onboarding and reiterated since. Expand on these themes during the performance review–”here are areas you’re thriving in and here are areas of improvement.”
Performance reviews are also a good time to tie in your organization’s core values and how the individual represents those values. The more you tie in your overarching mission and connect it back to your employees, the more they’ll be able to see where they fit into the big picture, driving retention in your organization.
Performance reviews are notoriously nerve-wracking, but they don’t have to be.
People tend to dread them because they fear criticism and negative feedback. When providing feedback, you should be fairly equal in terms of strengths and areas of improvement. Remember, positive feedback increases morale and motivation, boosting productivity. It can also mitigate impact when discussing areas of improvement.
Performance reviews are a great time to discuss not only performance but also career and professional development. Take advantage of the 1:1 time to set goals, giving your staff the tools to achieve them. Encourage a culture of continuous improvement, not solely leaving feedback during a review. While performance reviews happen every six months, give credit when credit is due.
Performance reviews also should never have surprises in them—positive or negative. They should serve as a summary and reaffirmation of a person’s strengths, and areas of development, over the review period, that have already been well-communicated throughout the period.
Performance reviews should be conducted with dedicated time and energy from your leaders or HR team. Outsource a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) to handle administrative operations such as benefits and payroll so you can focus on your most important resource–your team.
Download our PEO Buying Checklist to learn more, or reach out to start a conversation about your organization’s HR needs. We’d love to chat about how we can help you support your people so you can focus on business outcomes.