As we move our way through the fourth quarter of 2022, many companies are gearing up for year-end reviews which can inform bonuses, pay raises, and promotions. These annual employee assessments can cause a lot of angst for not only the employee and manager, but also HR teams and organizational leaders. Too often, employees walk away feeling confused and frustrated, taking their concerns to HR, because they don’t agree with the review.
In these situations, we ask companies two questions:
- Is this your one and only performance review of the year?
- Are your managers trained to evaluate and provide feedback?
If a company answers no to either of these questions, there are adjustments and improvements to be made to ensure performance reviews are effective and help drive employee retention.
First, the annual review is outdated and ineffective. Ongoing, regular performance reviews are important to note when an employee is struggling and to identify opportunities for growth. Frequent evaluations throughout the year, help employees to know where they stand to avoid surprise at the end of the year.
In a recent article from SHRM, Pamela Mitchell, SHRM-CP, founder and CEO of Ask HR Partners, a Texas-based consulting firm, shared, “Managers should provide feedback throughout the year to ensure performance discussions are timely. If an employee is shocked by a review, their manager likely missed opportunities to provide continuous feedback. Doing so will make performance review conversations easier. If an employee’s performance isn’t where it should be, more than likely it didn’t happen overnight. If constructive feedback conversations happen throughout the year, when it’s time to sit down to look back over the employee’s performance, you will have a documented history.”
Performance reviews should include more than a series of checkmarks for criteria that may or may not reflect the employee’s day-to-day work. Incorporating comments, examples and recommendations for improvement or notes for what is considered exceptional work, can help an employee understand how they are performing while also being clear on expectations for performance.
This brings us to our second point – management training. Too often managers are thrown into positions with no training on how to manage team members. When things are going well, the position can seem easy, but when a team is struggling, a manager can feel lost in how to approach the situation.
In the article, Jenni Stone, SHRM-CP, an HR analyst at Millennium Physician Group, states, “Most managers feel uncomfortable delivering direct negative feedback about employees’ performance. Providing training on how to deliver constructive criticism or how to have difficult conversations will help managers be more prepared.”
It is critical that companies provide managers with training and professional development to improve their skills as a manager. When managers are able to effectively communicate with employees and employees build a trusted relationship with their manager, retention increases.
The Truvelop app provides a one-stop solution for managers to evaluate and develop team members, and receive the coaching they need to improve the way they engage with employees.
Contact us today to learn more about our modern approach to performance management and development and how it solves for retention. Don’t just take our word for it, see what our Customers have to say.
