Today, more than 70 percent of all employees work in service or knowledge-related jobs, jobs that can’t be judged in the same quantitative way they once were. Many new positions require a host of alternative skills—positive attitude, empathy, and initiative to name but a few. The role of the worker has changed through time, so should the way we evaluate them.
Aside from the fact performance reviews are designed to evaluate outdated criterion, the reviews themselves are often outdated as well. Traditional employee evaluations are often cumbersome to administer, focus on an employee’s weaknesses, and are susceptible to inconsistent administration across an organization. These reviews disengage employees rather than inspire them, and ultimately erode an organization’s culture. In a public survey conducted by Deloitte, more than half of the executives questioned (58%) believed that their current performance management approach neglected to drive employee engagement or encourage high performance.
Building on this research, many world-class organizations such as Deloitte are transforming their traditional employee evaluations. If your company is looking to follow in Deloitte’s footsteps and look at alternative ways to measure individual performance, here are six best practices to consider:
- Focus on employee strengths instead of weaknesses. By including phrases of praise on your evaluations, you demonstrate to employees that they are valuable to your company, which encourages a stronger work ethic.
- Use ranking systems cautiously. The more nuanced skills required of today’s workers means standard rating systems are not just impersonal, but also fail to account for the qualitative nature of an employee’s position within your company.
- Train managers to deliver feedback effectively. Invest in developing managerial coaching skills and provide your managers with plenty of resources on how to effectively give evaluations. Better training results in more careful and diligently crafted reviews.
- Use the performance review as a tool to reinforce your organization’s vision. Your EVP should always remain at the centre of employee-employer relations.
- Provide frequent, candid feedback. Rather than annual or semi-annual formal reviews, giving quick comments every few weeks shows employees that you notice and care about the work they’re doing—and their personal improvement.
- End with a forward focus. Rather than strictly evaluating past actions, listing a few ways employees can improve in the future wraps up the review on a positive note.
If employees feel a performance appraisal system is fair, well thought-out, and accurate, employee engagement improves. When used efficiently, performance management systems can help to build compelling work cultures that inspire productivity and trust, and help attract the kind of talent you want. In today’s competitive employment market, evolving your employee review process is an easy and cost effective way to will help maintain the health of your employer brand.
About Blu Ivy Group
Blu Ivy Group is a leading employer branding and employee engagement consultancy that aligns your organization with contemporary workplace paradigms. Blu Ivy Group’s mission is to help client’s build award-winning people practices, inspire extraordinary employee engagement, and cultivate unique and desirable workplaces.
We provide integrated solutions in employer brand and engagement research, strategic consulting, employer brand integration, creative and talent communications. Blu Ivy Group is a trusted partner to many of North America’s most respected employer brands. For more information, go to www.bluivygroup.com