Performance management is a critical function of a company, and it is one of the most important meetings between a manager and an employee. Despite everybody agreeing to the importance of performance reviews, it seems nobody wants to do them.
The reason why it’s so unpopular is two-fold. First, there is the inherent stress of going into a meeting where you are either going to judge somebody or be judged yourself. Second, many employees feel there is no practical or useful outcome from performance reviews.
According to a 2013 i4cp.com survey, only 28% of the respondents felt their company was using performance management efficiently.
So, how can you change your approach to performance reviews? The first is to set the expectations of the meeting with the employee and yourself. The other is to turn the meeting into a positive and mutually beneficial experience for the company and employee.
Employees Want Personal Performance Management
A 2015 Workplacetrends.com survey of companies revealed employees don’t dislike performance reviews if they believe they are receiving something actionable and beneficial from the process. In fact, if they are receiving career advice and direction, they would like to have more frequents and regular performance reviews.
Effective Performance Management Isn’t Only Spreadsheets And It Shouldn’t Be Solely About The Employee
Performance management isn’t just looking at “the numbers” and extrapolating meaning from them. It is building a bridge with the employee and seeing where they need help and learning how you can help them.
Furthermore, it is a chance for you to learn more about your company. Performance review meetings are an excellent opportunity to see how your training, HR, and resourcing programs are working for employees.
Encourage your employees to discuss things with you throughout the rating period openly. This might be a more significant hurdle than you realize, there is a natural reticence for employees not to report deficiencies in a company to managers. However, you can solicit frank and open advice from people during the performance review process.
Nobody Said It Would Be Easier, But Your Company Will Benefit From Every Performance Review Meeting
Explain to the employee that the performance review isn’t only about the employee. It is also a review of the company and how they have performed in supporting the employee.
This approach isn’t something you can begin overnight. You need to develop a trust with your employees that they can be open and frank with you. But then again, shouldn’t that be one one of your goals anyway? The best way to implement this is to recreate your performance review system and announce it to your staff. Consider objections, be prepared for honesty, and then reap the rewards.
At Equal Parts Consulting we work with companies in the development of performance management systems that work. You are going to have to do performance evaluations, so you might as well get them done in a way that benefits both your company and the employee. We invite you to contact us for to discuss how we can help you create a process that is mutually beneficial for you and your employee.
