In the Inc.com article titled: Putting an End to End-of-Year Reviews, a recent study by Salary.com found that more than 60 percent of workers doubt reviews boost performance. The criticisms are legion.

Annual reviews fail to motivate people long term; assessments are often perfunctory; problem resolution gets postponed; and the ritual is painful for all concerned. In response, some CEOs are starting to rethink the process, emphasizing more frequent feedback and in-depth evaluations, says Steve Gross, who heads the performance and rewards consulting practice at Mercer Human Retarget Consulting. “Employees want the feedback, and companies want a better sense of whether an employee is at risk of leaving,” Gross says.

There are two case studies which discuss how the review system was improved over time with frequent assessments and rewards process.

Not just one year end review or two in a year is the call of the times but we need more involved process where there employee feels more responsible for the continuous cycle of review and reward. Also whenever possible the organizations must endorse the profit-sharing principles as a means to reward employees, it adds as an incentive towards people retention and employees feel more of a part of the organization than just workers on wages. Compensation, reward, recognition has to go hand-in-hand as a result of a performance review, else the meaning is lost.

“By not talking about performance and compensation at the same time, you cause the review to be as meaningful as possible,” says CEO Craig Erlich of Pulse220.

The sooner the employers start looking at this issue in-depth, the better it would be for them to retain good talent and also enhance performance of the constituents.

 

Tips on giving Effective Performance Review to Employees

 

  • Performance reviews and evaluations must be two-way communication process. Get as much employee input as possible on the goals and expectations. Your goals and expectation must be extremely clear to the employee – ensure it is so. The importance of this step cannot be overemphasized.
  • What is it in for the employee? What will be the outcome of the performance review? What does this evaluation translate in terms of a raise and a promotion? Could a bad performance review or evaluation led to termination? Get all the discussions discussed before an evaluation management system is explained to the employee. The HR plays an important role in explaining and preparing a concrete documentation to all employees upfront.
  • Make the feedback and review sessions frequent. Get it in the system and keep on it to ensure that both the manager and the employee are responsible for the reviews to be updated and expectations discussed every now and then, not once or twice a year only. Is it your company policy to hold reviews twice a year only, how about asking to revise this policy if it is in the best interest of the employees. Rules must be revised to help an organization grow well – there are no rules which cannot be rewritten.
  • If you see the need to talk to an employee about falling standards in performance, do not wait until the performance review to present him/her as a surprise. Constant appraisal and updates must be a norm in an organization. Do not jump surprises on your employees. For this the managers need to be empathetic and use good communication skills as well.

The management might take on various steps to improve the process of the feedback cycle but it the employee’s responsibility to be proactive towards their career development as well as towards their performance reviews.

 

Tips on How to do Effective Performance Appraisals:
 

 

What are your tips for giving an effective performance review?