It’s a common annual occurrence and unpleasant all the same, no it’s not the annual checkup with the doctor, but the yearly Employee Evaluation, what some employees just absolutely dread.
Rather than companies promoting development, rewarding high performance achievement, or acknowledging that extraordinary contribution to the organization, the annual employee performance review, and it’s process, often inspires defensiveness as well as at times disgust.
Emotional reactions are never unfounded. Performance related issues, whether good or bad, are often at times completely forgotten by the time that the formal review is conducted, so the entire process is flawed right from the beginning.
Then there’s the usual ratings system. Without real documented observations as well as input directly from the stakeholders who may of worked closely with an employee, the ratings always appear arbitrary as well as unfair. All which suggests that these measures of performance are extremely subjective at best while reactive at worst.
Perhaps a better way of creating high performance while encouraging progressive development and sustaining behavioral change is by investing time as well as resources to proactively and then regularly engaging with the employees, to be able to make targeted observations along with listening to concerns and offering customized feedback.
This Is Becoming The Age Of The Individual
This very idea of performance management has existed for centuries, but it’s gaining prominence when competitive pressure began to rise in the marketplace. That’s when organizations then decided to introduce comprehensive performance based review processes hoping to enhance or increase employee productivity as well as effectiveness.
We’re now at the beginning of a mini-revolution in how individuals are viewing HR as well as performance management. The catalyst being two basic issues: Employees at the workplace are now more focused primarily on just helping themselves first in attempts to advancing their own careers. They’re beginning to start bringing in tools to work which can make a difference. Also, performance based systems are beginning to and will continue to integrate into the work systems.
Managers recently have become a lot more attentive towards individual employee performance while encouraging additional learning as well as development opportunities, but there’s no one group which is more motivated to enhance or advance their careers than the actual employees themselves. Because of this, new developing enterprise systems are beginning to focus more on the talent.
The tools which these talent managers are beginning to introduce in the workplace are becoming more than just the sum of their parts while integration is important as well.
There are large amounts of information which is locked up in customer support, improving sales and marketing, as well as the production systems. Performance management today doesn’t necessarily pull anything directly from those systems since its not often integrated.
With the ongoing advancements of technology, we’ll begin to see more shorter-term goals as well as tighter performance cycles. The process will also become yet more integrated with the day-to-day work processes.
HR may eventually lose some control over these performance standards as they’ll become more user-driven as well as more difficult to set and then mentor. The trade-off however, which is a much wider adopted process, should be worth it.
Allowing the performance management systems to be able to provide more immediate feedback should show employees how their individual unique contributions are valued as well as recognized by their managers and the company they work for. This while helping employees connect, which should mean something towards the work that they’re doing on a daily basis.
When performance reviews just becomes a once-a-year activity, then all the goals, achievements or contributions are usually forgotten, ignored or swept under the rug while any worthwhile feedback doesn’t happen either. HR departments then becomes the driver while the entire process also becoming a chore which is disconnected from the business.
Ongoing Peer Evaluations Needed
When it’s peer driven as well as ongoing, it becomes a lot more meaningful as well as part of the values of the company. The more sources which the manager is able to capture, the more likely it’s able to get better more accurate measure of performances, along with the exact diagnosis of the developmental needs.
There are some that are good at managing up as well as managing down, but they may not necessarily be good at managing across. In today’s organization which is complex as ever, peer based feedback is needed to help others get a more clearer picture of their impact as well as performance. Timely and accurate feedback is always better, and good managers should be talking to their employees regarding their performance frequently.
In the best organizations, talent executives believe that high performance is linked directly to an open performance based management evaluation system. These companies although they are all relatively new, are also experiencing rapid growth as a result.
Talent leaders often fear losing all of the small-company based dynamics such as small work teams, instant and informal feedback while providing direct access to leadership based on the velocity of the growth.
Leaders will usually develop programs which facilitates while encouraging regular feedback, an area to be able to track as well as share goals and record achievements which aligns to current or future incentive based programs.
When an employee records their own performance, then they’re more empowered as well as confident, which should translate towards better results and engagement levels.
It is after all about their performance as well as their careers. Being able to individually drive this while receiving play-by-play feedback is important in a quick agile environment when focusing on motivating as well as succeeding.