The Not So Surprising Truth About Performance Reviews
It’s the end of the year, which means it’s performance review time. The performance review is supposed to be a great way for managers and employees to talk about successes, needs for improvement, and way to grow and motivate the employee to succeed. Sad thing is… this doesn’t happen like it should. A large percent of employees view performance reviews as stressful, awkward, and a huge waste of time.
Why do most employees feel this way? A few reasons:
- Waiting for once or twice a year for feedback is too long. People shouldn’t have to wait half a year to realize their successes and/or failures. If there is an area someone needs to improve on… WHY WAIT? They need to know so they can do a better job, as well as grow as a professional. The same goes for when someone is doing an amazing job… why wait to tell them they are awesome at what they do? Frequent praise and feedback is crucial for employee motivation and success.
- Performance standards are biased. What one manager may see as wildly successful, another could view as average or inadequate. It’s funny, too, because a big handful of bosses aren’t even aware of the killer job their employees are doing… so how can one judge another person on if they are “creative enough” or how good their “organizational skills” are when they don’t even check in with them on a frequent basis? Seriously. Think about it. This leads us back to point number one. There is a huge benefit in frequent communication with employees—getting to know the details of what they are doing, how they work, their process, their goals, etc. Doing THIS can lead to a performance review that is actually beneficial, accurate, and can help the employee GROW.
- The dreaded PR is linked to compensation. Obviously. This is great when a feedback session helps the person become better and moves them closer to their goals! But a review that is chocked full of criticism (constructive, yet still criticism) and more “needs to improve” feedback than praise only fills the person with fear, disappointment, and lack of motivation. We all know a review has an affect on an employees take home pay, that’s why it’s so important for managers to refer back to point number one, so that a biased point number two, doesn’t happen, so that point number 3 can be the awarded appropriately.
As you waltz into the loving arms of performance review season, keep these points in mind so that way both sides of the table leave feeling happy and confident!
Check out the infographic below to see how employees really feel about PRs:
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Non-award winning (former) Banker | ?? Mother of Twins ??Investor, Board Director & Leadership Coach ?? Only here to write my authentic stories
9 年'Courageous' firms such as Infosys, Dell, Microsoft, Google have ditched these semi-annual performance reviews for exactly the reasons you have stated. I blogged about this same topic a few months ago.
Manager: Data Analytics
9 年Truth be told, this is a great post indeed Alan.
Business Services
9 年What about the employee evaluating the appraiser too? Sometimes, the employee goals that are set to be reached depend on management's assistance. The employee probably will not want to give a truthful answer in fear of a negative reaction. BUT if feedback is provided more often, both the employee and the appraiser will have a better idea of what is expected from each other; causing the annual merit increase review be accepted with a more positive attitude. Just my thoughts. I have only just discovered this group and am enjoying it tremendously. Thanks!
Senior Manager, Customer Service |Experienced Call Center Manager| Customer Experience Champion| Expert in Contact Center Operations| Fostering Team Excellence and Development| Streamlining Processes for Peak Efficiency
9 年Great post! Unfortunately in many cases performance appraisals are one-way lectures about how well the employee performed and how he can improve. Employees should be provided with ongoing performance feedback at least quarterly to keep them focused on their most important goals, to provide them developmental coaching to help them increase their ability to contribute and to recognize them for their contributions.
Lead Process Engineer
9 年Good piece, Alan. I appreciate the reinforcement and fresh perspective.