In business, time spent equals money spent. This simple fact means that for the sake of accountability, it's a good idea to hold regular performance reviews. Assessing your team's performance at different points during the year keeps the lines of communication open between you and your employees, and it makes meeting goals a lot easier.
When your company's performance reviews are shorter and more frequent, you come away reassured that your employees know what you're looking for. Here are some of the other advantages:
You can point out strengths you've seen in your employees. No matter the job, people like recognition for the work they do. When an employer can see talent and coach those who need it, employees are more loyal and enthusiastic about their work.
Feedback in short, specific bursts is often more effective than all at once. Flickr/Sylvia Currie
High job satisfaction is key to retention. When you meet with your employees briefly, but on a consistent basis, you have the opportunity to develop a strong relationship, understand their day-to-day work, and clarify expectations, resulting in increased job satisfaction.
Whether someone is doing fantastic, is having issues, or has just been distracted, regular performance reviews can make sure they're on the right path. Most companies start the quarter with goals in mind, but if these are met quickly, employees can be left sitting around.
Regular performance reviews allow you to track and grow employee outputs, without the stress of infrequent and uncomfortable annual appraisals. This is a great opportunity to set short-term goals that will keep people focused.
The most common reason for a performance review is to let employees know where they need to improve. For new and entry-level workers, especially in Generation Y, frequent feedback is vital to providing mentoring and constructive criticism. Quick conversations and short messages help your employees develop without the fear of defeat or termination.
The opportunity to talk about where employees want to be in the future does not often arise naturally in the workplace. Shorter and more frequent performance reviews are a great chance to bring this up. How do you feel about your job? What would you rather be doing? How can we help you get there? These one-on-one communications can help fix minor issues before they become big problems.
Opponents of frequent reviews believe that the process is too time-consuming, which can detract from other important tasks. That's why it's vital that your feedback mechanisms are natural for your team, and compliment your other core managerial functions.
Employees appreciate when constructive criticism feels like great advice, instead of behavioral correction. Many managers prefer providing feedback over the course of the day, instead of on a schedule, when it can feel like a chore.
Reviewing your employees' performance often will let them know what they're doing well, and where they need to make improvements. For a thriving business, open and honest communication is an absolute necessity.
Track the time your team spends on specific projects, offer feedback, manage relationships, and engage employees, with powerful social HR software from TribeHR. Pricing starts at just $2/month per employee.
When it comes to employee reviews, less is not always more. An overwhelming number of companies provide annual performance appraisals. But is there a better way? Certainly, some changes can provide a breath of fresh air to managers and employees. Why not start with more frequent reviews?
Project-Based Reviews
If an employee's job can be easily divided into projects, then try evaluating job performance after each one. This make it easier for reviewers to pintpoint specific instances of strong action, or areas that need more work. For example, try offering feedback to credit analysts after each credit analysis, or to bookkeepers after each monthly set of books.
Kids do peer review in school for a reason: Because it works. Flickr/MsH_ISB
Project-based reviews can be overwhelming if projects are of a shorter nature, but that's an easy problem to overcome. If it's more feasible, try having reviews after every project of a certain size, or after every five, ten, or even twenty projects.
Project-based reviews make it easy for employees to see where they've gone wrong before they repeat the same problems on multiple projects, which helps them be confident that their hard work will be valuable and appreciated.
Monthly or Quarterly Reviews
Simply shortening the time between performance reviews can make all the difference. Set up a schedule of monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or even bi-annual reviews. Quarterly evaluations can work wonders for newer employees, or even for older employees in new positions.
Frequent reviews help employees gain and understand feedback, implement suggestions immediately, and capitalize on strengths that have been newly developed.
Peer Reviews
If management and HR simply can't make the time for more frequent reviews, you can utilize peer reviews instead. Peer reviews are often best if they're anonymous, so that any criticisms don't affect morale or employee relationships. Anonymity promotes honesty, too.
People who work closely with each other can be assigned a new co-worker each month for whom they should complete a simple peer review survey. Even the assigning process can be automated. Before employees receive copies of their reviews, a manager of HR officer can review them to clarify any issues and offer solutions to any problems.
Feedback is a poweful motivator. Of course, it's important to have a healthy mix of positive feedback and productive criticisms. Waiting a whole year for them, though, will only hurt job performance. People thrive when they know they're doing a good job; Those who need guidance can't improve until they know what to change.
Waiting for reviews wastes time and effort. Frequent reviews head off future problems.
Track projects, review performance, get feedback, and build a culture of success. Use HR software from TribeHR: Learn more.
When we were children, most of us probably thought that after we finished high school, those awkward parent-teacher conferences would be a thing of the past. Little did we know that they'd only take a different name: the annual employee review. (Thankfully, parents aren't usually invited!)
The annual performance review is a common practice that's supposed to offer company leaders an opportunity to examine an employee's contributions, and develop strategies for improving the quality of their work. The idea is collaboration for mutual benefit: But in reality, reviews often feel uncomfortably similar to report cards. Not fun.
Even worse, research shows that the traditional employee review isn't even effective for modern workers and their employers.
Although many companies still rely heavily on performance reviews, they've been growing increasingly unpopular for almost as long as they've been around. In 1959, an article in the Harvard Business Review lambasted reviews for damaging employees' senses of self worth, and infecting the workplace with anxiety, dread and resentment.
After all, companies that use traditional performance reviews often rely on them to award promotions, raises, and bonuses. It's serious stuff. But as employees grow increasingly apprehensive about their impending reviews, fear can damage productivity and actually reduce the quality of their work.
What's intended to motivate workers—the knowledge that their work is being analyzed by their superiors and that they will have to defend it—actually introduces hesitation and decreases the quantity and quality of their output. It's a classic observer effect: measuring performance affects it.
The solution, of course, is not to simply eliminate employee evaluations. However, making some changes to the evaluation process can uplift workers and motivate them to work both harder and smarter.
Here are some ideas to start:
- Ditch the huge annual review in favor of smaller, more informal quarterly meetings. This means that nothing will fester for a year and come out in an explosive performance review.
- All employees need to know what the company goals are, and how their work fits in that big picture. Everyone likes to feel that they're making a positive difference in the workplace, and they can't do that effectively if they don't know what they're working toward.
Publicizing these goals (and updating them when they evolve) helps everyone contribute positively to further them, instead of working in fear of unexpected criticisms.
- Motivate with praise, not fear. Managers need to seek out excellent work and be ready to praise and reward it. Employees whose hard work is recognized are motivated to excel; it also motivates their colleagues. In the right environment, employee progress can even be tracked visually, in public displays that encourage friendly competition, which is a terrific motivator.
- Welcome employee feedback, and pay attention to it. When employees are fully aware of their departmental and organizational goals, they may gain insights that their managers miss; they should feel welcome to submit this feedback without fear of retribution.
Annual performance reviews really aren't all they're cracked up to be. It's time to bring everyone in on the action by revealing organizational goals, having a two-way conversation, and encouraging participation at all levels.
Share goals, easily create frequent reviews, and pursue your organization's values, with affordable HR software from TribeHR. Like our Facebook page for great updates.
In his Metaphysics, Aristotle coined the phrase “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” How apt for most businesses and nonprofit organizations.
When a relatively simple structure or shape is replicated many times over, it can take a very elaborate form with interesting outcomes. We see this every day, in the pattern of a snowflake, the creation of a termite hill, and even the way most skyscrapers are built.
Aristotle is dead. Condolences to his family. But that doesn't mean you can't apply his wisdom to your organization. Flickr/Nick Thompson
This form of creation can be disassembled. You can break something down into its pieces. Each piece is small enough to manage and deal with independently. Project Managers often break challenges into smaller chunks of time and activities. Dealing with each chunk is easier than looking at the bigger challenge.
How does this apply to people management? The point is that big issues are made up of lots of little elements. Its easier to deal with these small pieces that the massive system. Put another way, it’s simpler to look at each of the little bits, rather than get overwhelmed by a large task.
An obvious area of HR to apply this to is performance reviews. Consider when someone is underperforming. You don’t want to just see them failing. You want to know what they're struggling with, and where. You examine the small bits of activity that make up their overall contribution to the business.
Finding the individual elements that are lacking gives managers opportunities for development and coaching.
All HR practitioners and people managers know that prevention is better repair, especially when it comes to performance. How can you do this? Simply by looking at the small stuff! If you assess small performance objectives, you'll find weaknesses. By helping employees to convert these into achievements, you can improve the entire performance.
What if it’s too late to turn around the performance on one objective? Don't let it come to that!
If the last review was a full year or more ago, then 12 months of deterioration have been established, and the poor performance has too much momentum to turn around. By shortening the period between reviews, checking performance more often, and spotting problems right away, you can prevent these problems from ever setting in.
Of course, it would be silly to have full-scale sit down reviews every day of the week. There's a healthy balance that needs to be achieved. But most managers don't review performance or offer feedback and recognition as often as they could or should.
Consider Jane. She has 12 tasks in her job description. Each one has a performance objective, which she needs to achieve each day. Some are tim- based, some are quality-based and some are volume measures. A simple number can be provided at the end of each day, week, or month, which says what Jane has acheived. A good manager will track Jane's output, and react if she starts to get too far off target.
It's the same for employees with job tasks that are more difficult to quantify. Setting goals, checking in, offering feedback, and clarifying expectations are vital to keeping the team on track.
Jane and most other workers want to give their best in their jobs. Simple, quick, regular reviews helps them, which helps you. Early interventions, development programs, and coaching can and will improve performance. They also stop you from having to ever deal with major failures.
Frequent small reviews can eliminate large problems.
Give better feedback with less effort, and keep track of what projects your employees spend their time own, using affordable HR software from TribeHR. Find out more.
Some people take a lot of time to contemplate before they give feedback, while others just blurt it out. The best style, like in most things, falls somewhere in the middle.
Good quality feedback is more than just a good style, of course. Making sure you say and do the right things, while avoiding all the wrong things, can be a huge challenge. Here are ten things to avoid when giving feedback:
- Don’t be dramatic.
There's nothing worse than witnessing a full-blown acting school audition. Good feedback is simple, meaningful, and authentic. Be appreciative, but leave the performing arts where they belong: "That was a really great job!" works, but "Wow! You really knocked that out of the park. A totally freaking amazing job!" usually doesn’t.
- Don’t hide.
When you give feedback, you should always be available to discuss your reasoning. If you hide, people won't understand what the feedback means. Never send negative feedback just before you leave the office—and especially if you're taking off for a 2 week vacation. Communication should never be one-way; make sure your team has the opportunity to comment.
- Don’t make it up.
Feedback should always be based on fact, from evidence, and presently as objectively as possible. Don't get caught up in gossip, rumors, or any other unfounded viewpoints. Feedback should reflect your interactions, and be truthful.
- Don’t deny it.
When you provide feedback to a employee, colleague, or anyone else, stand by it. You'll lose respect and reliability if you change your mind later. Though if you did make a mistake, you should of course retract your comments and apologize.
- Don’t be destructive.
Feedback should help the person to improve their performance, by either reinforcing strengths, or explaining where improvements could be made. Constructive criticism is key—avoid identifying problems without solutions.
- Don’t compare.
There's nothing worse than to be told you're good, “but not as good as Jim.” When someone is doing well, just tell them that. Referencing other members of the team can reduce the impact of your feedback, or even cause jealousy and interpersonal conflict. If Jim is doing such a great job, you should just tell him directly.
- Don’t patronize.
No matter what you're going to say, never talk down to your employee. Belittling is the worst form of this. In the grand scheme, condescending tones bring about infinitely more problems than solutions.
- Don’t be humorous.
When you're talking about other peoples' performances, don't try to be funny. Comments should be delivered professionally. The last thing you want to do is hurt someone's self-esteem. There are times and places for humor, but this is not one of them.
- Don’t react.
This may be a no-brainer, but it's always tempting. You’ve just seen someone do or say something wrong, and you want to shout over some comment about their error. Stop. Don't do that. Collect your thoughts before you blurt out something ridiculous. Even positive feedback appears more genuine after a delay.
- Don’t forget.
Never let opportunities for feedback pass by. It's easy to remember a failure, but can be tough to recall a success. That’s human nature. Record instances of both, and share your feedback at the first good opportunity.
If you're ever in doubt about your feedback, pause and place yourself in the position of the recipient. How would you feel, react, and respond to the comments or situation? If your response doesn't seem reasonable, then the feedback needs to be refined.
Give kudos, share with your team, solicit feedback, and refer to all this when it's time for a performance review. It's time for TribeHR. Learn more.
Let's start with a question: Which of these statements is true?
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A) Only 45 percent of American workers said the feedback they receive in their performance reviews is fair and accurate.
B) 67 percent said the feedback they receive during their performance appraisal is a surprise to them.
C) Only 25 percent said their performance reviews include specific examples to support the feedback they receive.
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above.
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The answer, unfortunately, is "D," according to a recent report.
It's statistics like these that are causing a small number of companies to scrap formal performance appraisals—between 1 and 10 percent no longer conduct conventional reviews.
The companies that still do semi-annual or annual reviews maintain that scheduled conversations between managers and employees enable them to formally recognize their employees' achievements, and let them point out weaknesses for employees to work on.
Managers frequently use reviews to offer career guidance and to build relationships. Eliminating performance evaluations, supporters say, might mean that "difficult" conversations between managers and employees never happen.
Failing to officially document problematic performance can pose problems if an employee is fired. But many employees say performance reviews make them nervous, and don't motivate them.
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Managers need to know how to speak to the people they supervise.
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Some companies agree and say they are glad that they no longer give reviews, according to a yet-to-be-published study which examined 17 firms that don't use formal performance appraisal systems. All 17 reported low turnover, high employee morale and strong relationships between managers and employees, among other benefits, according to the study by Scherwin, Coget, and Kirner.
Last year, Atlassian Inc., an Australian software company, ditched traditional performance reviews for its 450 employees. The publicly blogged experiment, which continues, asked managers and their subordinates to discuss performance and goals at weekly one-on-one meetings, with feedback going in both directions. The company says it's working.
Glenroy Inc., a Wisconsin packaging film manufacturer with 178 employees, hasn't given formal performance reviews for about 20 years. The company's informal system has put responsibility on workers to offer advice. The employees, meanwhile, are trained to give feedback effectively, and to receive it graciously. Meanwhile, an outside consultant determines pay, and workers are promoted if they and their supervisors think they're ready.
New experiments in employee evaluation doesn't always work, however. The University of Wisconsin Credit Union gave up performance reviews but returned to them because no other system had been put in place. Experts say it's important to do something if you don't conduct performance reviews.
The bottom line is employees need to know where they stand with their supervisors. When done right, formal performance reviews work well. If companies eliminate them for whatever reason, they need to put another effective strategy in place. Employees need to know where they stand; managers need to know how to speak to those they supervise. Companies do best when all employees feel that the evaluation process—whatever it is—is transparent.
TribeHR makes it easy to try new formats for your employee performance reviews. Get started today with a free, no-commitment 60-day trial.
In order to recruit and retain the best team, you need to offer a compensation package that's competitive in your area and industry, and that meets the needs of your employees.
When it comes to benefits packages, many small businesses struggle to figure out what their employees expect, and how they can remain competitive against larger firms.
Apparently, small businesses are not alone in this struggle. A recent What's Working survey by global consulting firm Mercer shows that across the board, employees are less satisfied with their benefits than they were 5 years ago. 43% of US employees don't consider their benefits competitive, and about the same amount say they don't meet their needs.
Given how important benefits packages are to overall employee satisfaction, the study shows that employers need to do more to keep their teams happy. How has your benefits offering changed in the past five years?
Check out this infographic for more survey results:
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By Mark Di Vincenzo. Mark Di Vincenzo is a journalist with 24 years of experience, and a New York Times best-selling author.
Are performance appraisals necessary?
Let’s say you own a small business with 10 or 15 employees, and you have great people skills. You do an excellent job of communicating with your employees, telling them what they’re doing well and what they can do better. And you tell them all this in the most professional and tactful way possible.
So the last thing you need to do is give your employees annual performance evaluations, right? Wrong.
Here are 8 good reasons to do formal staff evaluations:
- You'll have a written record of your employees’ strengths and weaknesses. You need to know this, and so do they. Employees want to hear what they’re doing well, and they need to hear how to improve. Evaluations should include more facts than opinions, because your employees will respond more positively to them.
- Your employees get an opportunity to tell you what they think they’re doing well, and what they can do better. Even if you disagree with them, you can gain insight into their thought processes, which can prove invaluable.
- Formal evaluations show employees that you care about their performance and development. Many workplace studies show that employees prefer negative recognition to no recognition at all. They want to know that their supervisors are paying attention. A comprehensive and well-reasoned evaluation takes time, and workers will feel good knowing that you feel they're worth it.
- Evaluations do more than just spell out what workers have done well and not so well. They actually motivate employees and encourage them to improve.
- You, and your employees, get a chance to meet privately to discuss work issues that might not otherwise be addressed. During these one-on-one meetings, you can learn things about your business from the worker's viewpoint, as well as discover information about other employees.
- Evaluations identify the need to offer training to employees. Employees who see their weaknesses on paper, particularly if they’re based on indisputable facts, are more likely to agree that they need help to do their jobs better.
- They help you determine whether you’re making good hires. By analyzing data from multiple evaluations, you can figure out whether you’re hiring people who are getting the instruction and training they need before you hire them, or whether they're learning on the job. Your analysis may convince you to improve the way you recruit workers.
- Evaluations document reasons why employees should receive pay raises or promotions, and whether they should be demoted, or even fired. This written record, which should include very specific information, will be your best friend if a disgruntled former employee decides to sue your company for wrongful termination.
When evaluations are done properly, business owners and employees find them to be a positive and beneficial experience. And if they help your employees do better, they'll help strengthen your entire organization.
TribeHR's success recognition and performance appraisal system makes frequent staff evaluations easy for managers. Start building a culture of success with a free trial.
How important are employee relations? One word: very.
By Angela Stringfellow. Angela is a social media strategist, and a public relations and marketing communications consultant.
Walk into a workplace. Quick: What's the vibe? Is the place thrumming? Are workers engaged, busy, upbeat? Or does the tension of the place suck the breath out of you as soon as you enter the lobby?
Whether you're the CEO or the customer, a current employee or a potential one, you can tell within minutes whether you're walking into a hostile environment or a positive one.
If you're the CEO, you'd better make sure it's the latter. Good employee relations is as important an operating strategy as a good product or excellent marketing. If morale is bad and your employees are miserable, it will directly—and negatively—impact your success.
Leadership Buy-In
From the CEO to the shift manager, everyone needs to understand the importance of maintaining and developing positive employee relations. Whether it’s dealing with contractors, unionized employees, senior executives or the entry level workforce, company leaders must develop and follow a mission, vision, and values that promote a positive work environment. The culture of the company begins at the top. And the proverbial "it" always flows downhill.
Don't let your workplace be toxic. Unless it's a nuclear power plant, or something. Actually—especially if it's a nuclear power plant.
Flickr/K Latham
Just like any 12-step program, company leaders need to be the first to admit there's a problem, then takes steps to remedy it. Front-line management must work with employees to understand their needs and create a plan of action.
Transparency and Communication
Employee relations are built and maintained through efficient communications. Poor communications creates a destructive environment. Employees need to know they're being kept in the loop. Even if it’s as trivial as a change in the dress code to a more career-altering change in ownership, morale will diminish if secrets are kept and leadership can't be trusted.
Allow employees the opportunity to speak freely to upper management about questions or concerns they have about their positions, the company or even their colleagues and managers. Being able to express their needs without fear is essential in keeping an open forum with employees.
Also, employees need to feel as if their concerns are being addressed. If something requires action, get it done. Show your employees that they're valuable to the organization and that what they have to say is important.
Build teams
It doesn't really matter if you work by yourself, behind a desk or if you're the figurehead of the company: Teamwork is inevitable. Whether it’s a group of department heads making budgetary decisions or laborers working the floor, creating a sense of team develops accountability.
Employees are no longer responsible just for themselves, but for a group of others. Teams that work well together bond, develop dedicated and loyal relationships, and ultimately create positive environments.
Cultivate Positive Relationships
The old adage “if it ain't broke, don’t fix it” forgets a key component: maintenance. A beautifully running sports car still needs regular oil changes and service. The same holds true for successful and efficient work environments.
Companies where employee morale is high and relationships are great have to work to maintain it.
Supporting the team is essential. Whether it’s financial incentives, tokens of gratitude or just simply a pat on the back, recognition for jobs done well is vital. More often than not, lack of recognition is a leading cause of morale breakdown and turnover.
Your employees make your company. Without them, almost nothing gets done. Your customers and clients can tell when something isn't right. That's why it's critical to promote and maintain positive relationships with every person who enters your establishment—starting with the people you pay.
TribeHR opens communication channels, helps promote teamwork, and builds positive relationships. See how TribeHR's affordable software can manage your human resources, faster and easier.
The “inner-view,” or employee survey, is supposed to be a way for companies to gather voluntary data from their trusted staff. The problem many face is getting their employees to participate in the survey. Some feel their anonymity will be compromised, fearing retaliation from management for their comments. Others simply think the process is an exercise in futility, with HR gathering the information, but doing nothing with it.
Love them or hate them, there are times when these surveys need to be taken seriously, and actions need to be considered in order to maintain and sometimes re-establish harmony in the work place.
In many companies surveys are a yearly Q&A process, while in others they're only initiated when upper management sees an obvious breakdown in the systems in place, low morale, or poor direct employee leadership.
The results are in. Now what?
Paper surveys? Not with TribeHR!
If you have any disgruntled or apathetic employees, they're inevitably going to take the opportunity to bash their supervisors and leadership if you give them a chance. Although it may be difficult to weed out these particular surveys, it's only an accumulation of negative reviews that should get your attention.
Anonymous feedback mechanisms can help you get a better understanding of what people actually think. But there's a place for open, identified feedback, too—especially if it's positive.
If there are a large number of negative reviews about the management or leadership within a particular department, it’s time to take action. Initiate random face-to-face interviews to get a better sampling of the culture within.
Take action
If your data collection is consistent, and there's a problem within your organization, you must take action. Realign management, offer training courses for effective leadership and reestablish accountability for productivity. In some cases, reassignment or even termination may be warranted. Crucial to these actions and expectations is follow-up. Create a stretch goal and establish a time frame in which surveys or interviews will be held again, to see if changes have proven to be successful.
On the flip side, take time to celebrate the positive reviews regardless of whether they're from initial or follow-up surveys. Recognize those who effectively lead their employees. Give a pat on the back to the employees who day-in and day-out make the company a success. Find a way to do something special for the team, even if it’s as trivial as a pizza party. The gestures of goodwill will not go unnoticed.
What defines the culture of your company? Is it time to take a closer look at what the employees have to say? Remember, actions speak louder than words. By acting upon the results of the survey, you not only let the employees know they have a voice, but remind them that all of their contributions are valued.
TribeHR's social human resources software has features like kudos and get feedback, which let your organization's people give public feedback, and receive 100% private and anonymous feedback. Build a culture of success!