Reviewsnap

How to Improve Employee Performance in 4 Steps

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 13:00:00 +0000

The performance appraisal. Love it? Hate it? Honestly, when it comes to employee performance there really isn’t any other way to improve the quality of their work. However,there are ways to botch the process if you don’t conduct these vital performance methods correctly. Whether your organization likes formal performance appraisals or prefers a casual, real-time approach, there are ways to make sure your team gets the most out of your feedback. Thorough communication and preparation lay the groundwork to improve employee performance. Here are four ways to get started:

Step #1: Communicate performance expectations

The job description may be a cryptic determinant to employee performance, but employees need to understand what is expected of them from management. Communication before performance problems occur is an indispensable method to creating an environment of development. If leadership purveys the necessary information ahead of time, employees will have a greater understanding as to how they will be evaluated in the future.

Step #2: Follow-up after the performance appraisal

The purpose of conducting a modern performance appraisal is to professionally develop employees. However, 40.1% of supervisors fail to follow-up after the performance reviews to see the progress of their team’s work [1]. Mona Berberich explains,

“If you want to permanently succeed, you need to create and instill a routine. One workout is not going to make you look like Arnold. Schedule regular appointments and follow up with your employees’ performance.”

Step #3: Prepare yourself

You expect your employees to come to their performance appraisal ready with questions and input and to receive feedback. The real question is: are you prepared to give it? This is where regular performance reviews or 360 degree reviews come into play. Over half (51%) of employees rank their current performance appraisal system as average [2]. If your organization joins the other 13% of companies that hold performance reviews at least every 6 months combined with good practices, you’ll likely get a better score.

Step #4: Challenge your employees

Your team wants a break from the mind-numbing day-to-day tasks. These might be important responsibilities, but if employees are expected to do these on a regular basis the tasks can lose their intrigue. Studies show if high potential employees are proposed with challenges (accompanied with support if they need it) that 70% of them will stay with their current company [3]. Liz Wiseman suggests:

“Try giving them higher-stakes work that addresses more complex problems and a more diverse set of stakeholders. For example, it might be time for one employee to take a divisional program to the entire company. Remember to make it hard in the right ways though…. You want to productively expand on the meaningful work they’re already doing.”

Whether you love or hate performance reviews, they are necessary. They don’t, however, have to be something to revile. You can make them productive and meaningful if you follow a few simple steps. Communicate the performance you expect of your employees before it’s time for an appraisal, and neither you or they will be surprised with the results of the review. As a supervisor, you have to be prepared before the performance appraisal and follow-up after the review with consistency or you risk losing the developmental efforts of the performance appraisal.

These few tips along with a challenging project on occasion formulate the foundation for improved performance throughout your team. Take a demo of Reviewsnap to see how we can make performance management easier for you.

Sources:

[1] HR Daily Advisory - Supervisors’ Most Common PA Mistakes (2014 Performance Management Survey)

[2] CEB - High Potential Employees - 55 Percent Set to Leave

[3] HR.BLR.com - Infographic: 2014 employee performance appraisal practices

Explore Our Related Topics:

● Is Employee Motivation Increasingly Out of Control?

● Employee Morale Eroding Like the Grand Canyon

● Recognizing the Difficult Dual Role Managers Play - Coach and Mentor

Should Employee Performance be Judged on a Bell Curve?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 14:00:00 +0000

The common practice of professional “grading on the Bell Curve” does little to improve employee performance. In fact, it does quite the opposite - employee performance (and happiness) plummets. So, to answer the question, “Should employee performance be judged on a Bell Curve?” the answer is no. A performance appraisal shouldn’t be conducted on a group level with individual performance expectations… they should be performed on an individual basis for group improvement. Here’s why (with a couple of examples to drive our point home).

Reason #1: Forced Rankings and Collaboration Don’t Mesh

The workforce has changed. It’s not always a 9-5 day, and the way we work is changing. Despite the dissonance between old-school style ranking and the evolved workforce, in some cases, performance management hasn’t caught up yet. Flatter organizational structures and the growing desire for a collaborative workforce negate the effectiveness of the Bell Curve performance appraisal system. Why? Say an employee scores higher on the curve than their co-worker. That can place a superiority position in what’s supposed to be a collaborative team.

Computer Sciences Corp., for example, recently started grading performance on a Bell Curve at an astonishing 40% employee failure rate. Well over one-fourth of their employees will fall under what is considered company standards, no matter how well they performed, simply because their coworker [1] did better.

Reason #2: Inaccurate Assessments

When your team hits all of their performance goals - not only reaches them, but knocks them out of the park - employee performance can’t effectively be judged on a Bell Curve. Charlotte A. Donaldson, Senior Learning Strategist at Booz Allen Hamilton, said:

“On those occasions when managers lead truly high-performing teams, someone still must be ranked low, despite meeting performance plan goals. To replace that person with an unknown is expensive.” [2]

So, each performance appraisal, you would then either replace the poor performers or place them on a probationary period while they fought for a place at least in the middle. Bell Curves mathematically can lead to higher turnover rates and an unnecessarily high recruitment budget.

Reason #3: Your Employees Hate Them

Bottom line, forced rankings diminish the value of your top performers, raises middle performers, and ignores the efforts of the under performers. Josh Bersin explained the basic faults of the system [3] and the damages to employee morale in three concise and poignant phrases:

Grading on a Bell Curve rations high performers, regardless of those who perform well. These are (typically) the top 10% of the workforce.
Forced rankings set a “losers” group at the bottom of the employee food chain. These are (typically) the bottom 10% of your team.
Then there’s everyone else, the middle of the herd. Because they make up 80% of the employees you just scaled, that’s where your budget for employee growth goes.

Even the Masters Have to Change Sometimes

This isn’t the same workforce as it was 10 or even 20 years ago. Even the corporate giants like Microsoft and Adobe [4] have realized this calls for a change. Despite their mass popularity (and resume fodder), these companies realized the need to rid their organizational performance standards of the dreaded Bell Curve. It was a sharp realization when these behemoths began to change their performance management practices that grading on a Bell Curve actually discourages collaboration and damages productivity.

Forced rankings can cause more problems with performance than they actually solve. They invalidate any kind of teamwork atmosphere and greatly disrupt productivity. Grading on a Bell Curve effectively becomes an avenue for expensive employee replacement and training. Not to mention, your employees hate the practice. Replace the faulty system with a more human appraisal that ranks an employee’s performance against their own work, versus the work of their teammates. The Bell Curve may have been effective once upon a corporate era, but the inconsistencies with modern workplace characteristics have rendered the system ineffective.

Ready to change what you believed about performance appraisals yet? We thought so. Take a demo of Reviewsnap to strengthen your employee feedback.

Sources:

[1] Washington Business Journal - CSC begins rating employees on an extreme bell curve

[2] Performance Management - Forced Ranking

[3] Forbes - The Myth of the Bell Curve: Look for the Hyper-Performers

[4] Bloomberg Business - Microsoft Kills Its Hated Stacked Rankings. Does Anyone Do Employee Reviews Right?

Explore Our Related Topics:

Photo Credit: c r i s via Compfight cc

Why Performance Management Requires Leadership

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 14:00:00 +0000

You can’t have a performance management system without someone that oversees the everyday happenings around the office. However, just because the organization’s management has a hand in the performance of their employees doesn’t mean that’s where the buck stops. Organizational leadership has to be involved in the performance management system as well, as they ultimately dictate the performance culture of the organization. Performance reviews give leaders the information they need to analyze the data and help improve their team’s performance. They promote high-performance standards through regular performance feedback and goal-setting through coaching. Organizational leadership has to set these changes in motion.

1. Leadership needs to focus the team

There are many moving parts to performance management that need oversight including aspects like performance reviews to make sure employees stay on track. As a leader, your responsibility in any given performance appraisal is to motivate, coach, and mentor through effective means of communication and recognition. SHRM defines performance reviews and performance improvement as a standard for performance management [1]:

“The most comprehensive application of a dynamic performance management system occurs when the cause and effect connections of current performance are used to define and align future performance. In the field of human resources, the latter connection can be achieved by incorporating the concepts of goal setting and performance improvement plans into the feedback processes of a performance management system.”

2. The team needs leadership to create a performance strategy

Your employees need to understand where their team is headed. That means as a leader, you have to be the one that gets them to that end point. Unfortunately, however, 55% of organizations say that the business leadership is not entirely engrossed in performance management as they should be [2]. Employee alignment, goal coordination, and subsequently strategy suffer when leadership takes a step back from performance management integration.

When leadership has an active role in performance management and creates a strategy for their system, employees are more likely to stay on track with their personal goals as well as organization goals. Not to mention, their managers take accountability for their team’s overall alignment and correct performance issues as they arise. A strategic performance plan keeps the entire team focused on one end goal.

3. Leaders track and analyze performance data

Even though leaders may not aggregate these numbers themselves, they are responsible for understanding what these numbers mean for the performance of their team and the overall success of the organization. With the plethora of talent management systems, 56.3% leadership has begun to recognize the need to integrate their performance management and plan to do so in the next 12 months [3].

Aspects of the performance management system like employee performance reviews can shed light onto practices that need to be altered or areas where employees need training across the board. Unfortunately, the performance appraisal process isn’t approved by everyone; 58% of employees said it wasn’t an effective use of anyone’s time [4]. With communication and collaboration as a part of the company culture however, you can ensure this data and the changes that are made thereafter stick and actually improve the performance standards throughout your organization.

Leadership needs a heavy hand in performance management. Organizational leadership sets the standards for employee performance standards and company culture quality. Your employees look to you to set examples and to keep them focused on achieving company goals. You can’t do this without an effective performance management strategy and the information to track from that performance management system. Through a strategic performance management system, leaders can identify developmental and training needs throughout the organization and adjust their programs accordingly.

Sources:

[1] SHRM - Performance Management: American National Standard

[2] Training Magazine - Performance Management: Large Divide Between Perceived Importance and Effectiveness

[3] Brandon Hall - Executive Summary : State of L&D 2014

[4] Deloitte University Press - Performance management is broken

Explore Our Related Topics:

● 6 Ways Great Leaders Conduct an Effective Performance Appraisal

● Is Employee Motivation Increasingly Beyond Our Control?

● Are We Doing Enough to Develop Future Leaders?

How Should I Prepare My Team for a 360 Degree Feedback Session?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 03 Mar 2015 15:00:00 +0000

Effective performance reviews include everyone, especially the evaluated employee. A 360 degree feedback looks at an employee from all angles (as the name would suggest), from managers, coworkers, and even the employee. The up-and-coming trend isn’t familiar to many people, considering 69% of companies still assess their team’s performance with outdated tools. That means they will need a little bit of preparation to gear up for their 360 degree feedback. So, take these 5 steps to get your team ready for their performance appraisal.

Photo Credit: Death to Stock Photo

1. Define the goals of the 360 degree feedback

All too often organizations view their performance reviews as routine documentation of their team’s performance at work. 360 degree feedback sessions can have honest results, but only if you take the time to think about what you actually want as an outcome. Defining objectives is crucial to measuring and tracking performance thereafter. Decide:

What is important to organizational success and how does my team work towards those accomplishments?
How will I measure my employees’ performance?
Who will be involved in the 360 degree feedback?

Share this information with your team. The more they know about the performance appraisal ahead of time, the less apprehensive they will be during the review. Because it is a 360 degree feedback, you want employees to be involved in the assessment of their performance. We said in a previous post:

"Performance reviews are not one-sided, or at least they shouldn’t be. The dialogue between a supervisor and their employee is invaluable to the successful outcome of a performance appraisal.”

That is the very essence of a 360 degree feedback. The point is to include the employee so the process becomes more qualitative than quantitative.

2. Communicate what the feedback will cover

Whether you conduct performance appraisals annually or bi-monthly, it is important to tell your employee exactly what it will cover. The success of the last project? Overall performance? All of the above? Employees don’t want ambiguity in their review, they want real constructive feedback. Over 90% of people would rather have properly delivered negative feedback during their review. Employees need to know if their performance matches company standards, and they want to live up to those expectations. While it can be stressful to give employees this news, it will also turnout better results after the 360 degree feedback.

3. State expectations for those who’ve never participated in a 360 degree feedback

If you’ve never conducted a 360 degree feedback, it will be a learning curve for everyone. Establish how the process works and what it will look like when the time comes. In the United States and Canada alone, 47% of companies use this form of review to garner and deliver information about employee performance. What’s left is a surprisingly large number of organizations that don’t participate in 360 degree feedback sessions for performance evaluation purposes. It stands to reason then that a majority of your team won’t know what the process entails from the outset.

4. Disclose Anonymity

Some companies disclose which co-workers participate in the 360 degree feedback, others allow for anonymity. Reviewsnap gives users the ability to use as many anonymous participants as they please. The use of nameless input allows employees to feel they can participate without being chastised for their opinion and it eliminates unneeded bias.

5. Leave room for open discussion and questions

Before, during, and after the review, employees may still have questions regarding their 360 degree feedback. It is important to be open and responsive to the queries as to eliminate any anxiety towards the review. During the performance appraisal, your team may bring up questions or points you might have overlooked. When you establish an open environment for discussion, you give participants a voice, which in turn makes them more receptive to the feedback they receive.

These 5 steps will help you to prepare your team for their next performance appraisal. 360 degree feedback sessions give managers a well-rounded and full-perspective evaluation of their employees’ performance. Performance reviews can be nerve wracking for some employees, but when you create an open environment for discussion, your team will be more receptive to feedback.

Prepare your team for 360 degree feedback sessions by getting employees involved and engaged in the performance appraisal process. Take a demo of Reviewsnap to get started.

Sources:

[1] Harvard Business Review - Your Employees Want the Negative Feedback You Hate to Give

[2] HR.BLR.com - Future of 360 Degree Feedback: New Study Finds Increased HR Influe nce

Explore Our Related Topics:

● How Starting a 360 Degree Feedback Process Improves Performance

● What Makes 360 Degree Feedback Work?

● 5 Must-Have Features for Your Performance Management Software

Change Your Thinking Re: Performance Management

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 15:00:00 +0000

Employers have a large foothold in the employee development process. Performance reviews are a must for the health of your workforce, but what you do with the results of the performance appraisal makes a bigger impact on employee development. To see positive outcomes from employee performance appraisals, employers have to adjust the way they view the process in the first place. Organizations have to create relationships between the performance reviews and employee development.

Our whitepaper, “Bridge the Gap Between Your Performance Reviews and Employee Development - or Both Are Primed To Fail,” discusses the importance of building that bridge:

“The question becomes even more perplexing when you consider how important performance reviews are to effective employee development. Done correctly, performance reviews inspire greater and greater levels of success. They motivate our people to contribute toward critical business goals to develop their skill sets, and to reach their full potential.”

Let’s delve into this further...

Change Your Performance Appraisal Process

Performance reviews are just a fraction of your performance management system’s capabilities. Many employees expect a performance appraisal, but it doesn’t excite them for the growth that will happen as a result: but for the standard 3% base salary raise [1].

Rather than allowing performance reviews to generate a formulaic stigma, change the way your team thinks about performance appraisals. An astonishing 58% of companies say their current performance management isn’t an effective use of time. That needs to change.

Organizations need to update the way they perpetuate sentiments regarding performance appraisals. Simply stated, employees want to grow. Nearly three-quarters of employees would rather receive corrective feedback [2] than positive affirmation. The problem is that managers are reluctant to give the feedback employees need in order to develop professionally. How can you change this? By making the performance appraisal mean something again. Use the information you have to your employees’ best advantage. Lead them!

Change Your Performance Management

Employers understand the need to change their performance management systems. Currently, 70% of organizations [3] are evaluating or have recently reviewed and updated their systems. That’s a good start, but the evolution has to be more than systematic. More than 90% of managers aren’t satisfied with their current review systems [4]. Leadership has the ability to turn the thought process around, however. Supervisors need to be trained on how to give feedback, both negative and positive. Managers want education in how to give feedback; in fact 46% of them want guidance in these sometimes stressful conversations.

A key driver to employee growth after the results of a performance appraisal is how the manager delivers the feedback. Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, CEO and President of Zenger/Folkman respectively, said:

“...We find it telling that the people who find it difficult and stressful to deliver negative feedback also were significantly less willing to receive it themselves. On the other hand, those who rated their managers as highly effective at providing them with honest, straightforward feedback tended to score significantly higher on their preference for receiving corrective feedback.”

See Results in Your Team

Both manager and employee need to have a hand in career development. Although employee development is largely in their own hands, they can only do so if they have the right tools… feedback is one of these tools. Effective performance management starts with thorough performance appraisals and delivers the direction and support employees need to grow. To see performance results in your employees, BLR recommends managers be trained to [5]:

● Develop a close working relationship with employees

● Create continuous opportunities for constructive feedback

● Be proactive about addressing marginal performance

● Ensure employees understand company performance standards

While 90% don’t feel performance appraisals actually boost performance [6], they can if they are conducted differently. Start by training managers to give meaningful and regular feedback. Companies that take performance reviews as more than a formality and conduct them more frequently see a 15% lower turnover rate.

Performance appraisals are key to healing your workforce. In order to see a change in the way your employees work, you have to change the stigma attached to performance management in your organization. A large percentage of companies are currently dissatisfied with their performance management systems; to restructure this takes some managerial training and employee performance appraisals that include constructive (not just positive) points.

Employee feedback should be more than a corporate formality, it should be a route to develop workers. Take a demo of Reviewsnap to see how you can restructure your performance management with the right solution.

Sources:

[1] SHRM - Base Salary Rise of 3% Forecast for 2015

[2] Harvard Business Review - Your Employees Want the Negative Feedback You Hate to Give

[3] Dupress - Performance Management is Broken

[4] Washington Post - Talent Matters: Four ways to get improved performance

[5] HR.BLR.com - Training Issues Among Reasons for Shortfalls in Performance Management

[6] OfficeVibe - 13 Disappointing Performance Appraisals Facts You Really Need to Know (Infographic)

Explore Our Related Topics:

How Starting a 360 Degree Feedback Process Improves Performance

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 14:30:00 +0000

Nearly 90% of organizations conduct formal performance reviews [1] as an attempt to improve their performance management. That is the vast majority of organizations, but the real question isn’t if they conduct performance reviews, it is how they evaluate their team members. What they don’t know could hurt them. The way you conduct a performance appraisal has a direct impact on employee performance. Typically, managers only see a 3-5% performance improvement [2] after a traditional performance appraisal. How then, can organizations assess the performance of their employees whilst improving the team’s work?

360 degree feedback, if conducted correctly, can have better results than the traditional performance appraisal. Because there are multiple individuals involved in the appraisal, each person has a specific role. Let’s take a look...

Roles of the Participants
Unlike the traditional performance appraisal, the 360 degree feedback process is a very involved process. A standard performance appraisal only necessitates the presence of the manager and the employee. 360 degree feedback sessions involve the input of about 7 people (depending on the size of the company): the employee, manager, administrator, and several reviewers. This provides a well-rounded performance appraisal with room for the employee to evaluate their own work and see how it affects the team around them. Jacob Shriar, Director of Customer Happiness at Officevibe, said:

“Most of the time, the annual performance review is one-sided in the sense that it’s the manager who is telling the employee how they did and what they should do better, when it would be great if the employee could tell the manager what they’ve been doing wrong, or what the company could improve on.”

The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way; 360 degree feedback gives employees and those around them a voice in performance reviews. The evaluation of the entire team illuminates the employee’s performance from all angles, including their own.

● Employee - 360-feedback is the perfect opportunity for employees to become involved in their development process. The administrator works with the employees to design a plan to improve their performance, rather than the managers simply providing lists of successes and areas for improvement.

● Manager - While a manager’s role in the 360 degree feedback is similar to that of the reviewer, the information gathered from the manager is significantly different. The administrator assesses this input differently because it is qualitatively divergent due to the contact with the employee.

● Administrator - This is the person who will be conducting the interviews. They prepare the review and speak with the reviewers and the manager as a third party participant.

● Reviewers - Similar to the manager’s role in this process, reviewers are interviewed about their coworker’s performance. Typically, there are 4-10 reviewers in a 360 degree feedback.

Why they Work
The goal of a 360 degree feedback isn’t to punish. It is an opportunity to thoroughly examine and improve the performance of your team on an individual level to help the group succeed. These appraisals give employees ownership of their work and review. By working with employees on development plans, organizations hold their workers accountable for their performance. William Taylor, Contributor to PeopleInsight and HR Daily Advisor said:

“A 360 degree performance review has the power to transform a one-way review into a review process, thus guaranteeing end-to-end feedback and accountability. Depending on the setup and hierarchy of your company, making 360 degree reviews may be an excellent way to analyze your employees and keep an eye on the whole department.”

Each individual involved in a 360 degree feedback plays a specific part. As an organization, it’s important to ensure your teams understand their roles before the review process begins. Unlike traditional performance reviews, the 360 degree feedback process creates a multi-sided conversation about performance from an unbiased third-party administrator. This administrator takes information provided by the employee, manager, and other reviewers to create a holistic image of the employee’s performance. Give your employees the chance to take ownership of their performance and their professional development.

Consider starting a 360 degree feedback program to get employees involved and engaged. Take a demo of Reviewsnap to get fast and easy employee feedback to improve performance.

Source:
[1] NPR - Behold the Entrenched and Reviled Annual Review

[2] Washington Post - The Corporate Kabuki of Performance Reviews

6 Ways Great Leaders Conduct an Effective Performance Appraisal

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 10 Feb 2015 16:00:00 +0000

As a supervisor, there are some tasks that are less than enjoyable. More often than not, the employee performance appraisal is one of those responsibilities. Like all things, practice makes perfect, and the same could be said for conducting an effective and engaging performance appraisal. With a little finesse and some organization, you can conduct better performance reviews for the benefit of you and your employees.

1. Prepare Ahead of Time

In order to provide clear and concise performance feedback, organizing thoughts is key to staying on track. This means you have to understand the employee's job, the requirements associated with it, as well as how their actual performance rates against the predetermined expectations. Prepare an itinerary ahead of time complete with open-ended questions to prompt conversation with your employee.

2. It's a Conversation

You're not the only one in the room so you shouldn't be the only one talking. While it is a discussion about the employee’s performance, they should have an input as well. Harold M. Messmer, Jr. (@RobertHalfFA), Chairman and CEO of Robert Half said:

“Keep in mind you’re having a two-way discussion. This is not a criticism session, so avoid detailing every mistake an employee has made and don’t dominate the conversation. Make it instead a chance to discuss a team member’s strengths and weaknesses in the context of his or her achievements over the review period.”

3. Don't be Afraid to Confront

Positive reinforcement is a good practice to uphold, however, not every employee is going to have a performance appraisal that is all shooting stars. Only 35% of high performing employees feel their supervisors speak with them honestly about their performance. Some managers would rather avoid confrontation than explain how exactly an employee can improve performance. Keep in mind these are critiques, so they are meant to aid the employee.

Tweet This: Only 35% of high performing employees feel their supervisors speak with them honestly about their performance.

4. Provide a Takeaway

Unfortunately, 98% of employees see their performance reviews as a waste of time. Give your employees something to learn from the meeting. No one is perfect, so there is always something new to try or practice to change. If you or your employees haven’t gleaned anything from the performance appraisal, was it really worth it? Professionals spend enough time in meetings they don’t need to be in. You can save yourself and your team a lot of time by building the performance review around key takeaways.

5. Change the Orientation

You've already noticed a reason for change in your current performance appraisal process. Maybe it's simply the way you position the meeting in the first place. Depending on the disposition and learning style of your employees, adjust the review accordingly. Try taking these approaches to adjust the performance appraisal for different employees:

Learning goal-oriented: These are the employees that enjoy learning for the sake of gaining knowledge and who pursue challenges despite setbacks.
Performance-prove goal-oriented: These employees want to perform at their best in order to prove their competence in a position.
Performance-avoid goal-oriented: These employees don’t want to look foolish and may not take direct criticism well.

6. Focus on the Progress

A main component of failed performance appraisal processes is that they are just that, nothing more than a required process. Since you have several employees to take care of in your department, it does not give reason to allow the meaning of the review to slip through the cracks. Get rid of the “good job” and “this needs improvement” statements, and focus on how much the employee has grown and where their development can take them in the company.

Employees typically dread the performance appraisal, but they don’t have to. Supervisors aren’t fond of the practice either. However, if the reviews are conducted in a more discussion-oriented manner with an emphasis on progress and providing a helpful takeaway. As a manager, you can conduct performance reviews better by communicating goals and expectations before the review. Prepare questions to prompt discussion, and target communication with your employees to set the stage for a more productive team and a review that is worth the time of you and your employee.

The performance appraisal is part of your responsibility as a leader.

Take a demo to see how Reviewsnap can help you conduct them better.

Explore Our Related Topics:

3 Steps You Should Take Before the Next Round of Performance Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 Feb 2015 14:00:00 +0000

Supervisors need performance appraisals and so do employees, if not for the direct impact to drive business, at least for the professional satisfaction of both parties. In order to better employee performance, they have to know where their shortcomings lay first before they are criticized for underperformance. Performance reviews help to keep this growth system regulated to get the most out of the entire process.

More or less a formality for many organizations, there are clear performance-related indicators that your current method of review doesn't quite live up to expectations. Fewer than 30% of organizations feel their performance management program drives performance at all. That's why there are an overabundance of articles telling companies to scrap the idea of a performance appraisal rather than update a highly antiquated process. What these organizations don't know is that companies who institute regular and frequent performance reviews see a 15% lower turnover rate. The performance appraisal process needs a remodel, but that can't happen unless there's a stepping-stone to start from. So, let me be your stepping stone...

Set the Bar

Preparing for an employee evaluation can mean the difference in the success or failure of the review. One out of 5 employees don’t feel their manager is prepared for the performance review. Part of that preparation is making sure your team understands the review process. Before the performance appraisal, give employees an overview of what they are expected to accomplish and what they will be evaluated on during their review. It is important to delineate the following before the performance appraisal so employees are clearly aware of what the process entails:

● What are the expectations between appraisals?

● How will performance be evaluated?

● What are the ramifications of good and poor performance?

Performance reviews are widely misunderstood by employees. Often seen as the dreaded formality, one of the biggest problems is that they don't know what they are expected to do. It is your job to ensure they understand how not only their work currently affects the organization, but how they will bring value in the future.

Employee Participation

The very basis of a productive work environment and relationship among the team is communication. Performance reviews are not one-sided, or at least they shouldn't be. The dialogue between a supervisor and their employee is invaluable to the successful outcome of a performance appraisal. All too often, it becomes a situation in which management talks at members of their team versus creating a communication-centric atmosphere.

Today's workforce is highly collaborative. Yes, that includes performance. Employees want a role in their performance reviews; they want to work towards a common goal of solving performance issues or communicating why they felt they performed well over the past quarter. Karima Mariama-Arthur (@WSRapport), Founder & CEO of WordSmithRapport said:

"Performance reviews aren't only about identifying blind spots. They also offer an opportunity to highlight excellence. If you don't offer balanced evaluations, you're not maximizing their potential to inspire your team's performance."

Include Technology

While that relationship does form the base of the performance appraisal, that doesn't mean technology can't play a role. Just as it can automate processes in the hiring process, it can also take the mundane tasks off of your plate as a supervisor. A performance management system can help to track employee progress from one appraisal to another. In fact, 30% of HR professionals rank performance management as a top priority in their companies.

Many organizations already use a performance management system, and the software they purchased a decade ago doesn't quite cut it anymore. Companies are beginning to recognize the need to change their current processes in accordance with the changes in the advancing workforce. Larger organizations are especially ready for the change, as a surprising 29% of them have had their performance management system for more than 7 years. With ineffective and outdated systems, it stands to reason that performance reviews would be similarly ineffective and unappreciated.

Tweet This: 29% of large organizations have had their performance management system for more than 7 years.

After all, the goal of the evolving performance appraisal is to have a more meaningful outcome, i.e., better employee performance. For employees to get the most out of their performance appraisal, it's important they have a role in the discussion. Rather than a flat resolution of mere problems, well-rounded and highly effective performance reviews are multidimensional involving successes, issues and employee goal alignment.

You are responsible for defining what the performance appraisal means for your company.

Take the first step with a demo of Reviewsnap.

More from Reviewsnap:

Understanding the Way Minds Work: Think Like a CLO

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 27 Jan 2015 15:30:00 +0000

If you could reduce a good performance management system down to ONE element (hint: you can’t), it would be the ability to allow organizations and managers to train and develop their employees in a free learning environment while maintaining an understanding of where employees rest on the learning curve. An environment that cultivates a desire for more knowledge and experience clearly benefits the employees and the organization as it can improve employee performance by up to 14%.

But how do training and development dovetail into a vibrant learning culture? Both aspects of employee development go hand-in-hand; just because your organization has a learning atmosphere doesn’t necessarily mean the training and development are as robust as they should be. Cultivating employees through performance management inspired training begins to create a learning culture in a cyclic motion of development. While each needs the other to survive, one does not automatically imply the other. Here’s how to get them working in sync.

Training

The inundation of technology has changed the way companies train their teams. Using games as a way to teach employees industry and organizational standards is now more commonplace than ever before. Gamification takes traditional workplace training and situates it in a virtual game. This increases the hard feedback for workers and allows employers to track and document employee progress in their performance management systems. 73.6% of the training provided to Fortune 500 employees is through online methods. While not technically gamification, many enterprises are heading in that direction.

Structural and serious game simulations are used to engage and motivate employees to learn better practices or change work behavior. Structural game characteristics are more popular than serious game simulations (25% and 19%, respectively), and help employees reinforce or practice skills to increase performance.

Training can’t all be fun and games...or can it? While there are one off skills that must be taught one-to-one, organizations like Evault are turning to exciting platforms to teach and engage and are trying to discuss what a real learning and gamification platform looks like:

The program is exactly what Dorothy Serdar had hoped it would be: consistent, comprehensive, efficient, interactive and, according to employees, highly engaging, if not downright fun. “The biggest positive statement is how much they learned in a short period of time,” she says. Read more about how Evault (and other companies) are using gamification both on and offline to teach and train new hires.

Learning

Informal learning is inextricably linked to training and formal learning. Informal learning provides a context for what employees glean from the company’s formal training programs. Saul Carliner (@saulcarliner), Research Director at Lakewood Media Group, said:

“One of the advantages of formal learning is its efficiency. With prescribed objectives, structured learning activities, and built-in feedback, workers can master one or more work-related responsibilities in a brief period of time. Formal learning lacks context, however.”

However linked they may be, training and informal learning are different. Training and formal learning spark instances for informal learning. Employees can take the information learned in the corporate classroom and put them into practice. The differences in formal and informal learning are based on:

Who is in control of the learning and assesses its effectiveness
Where the learning happens (i.e., in the classroom or outside the cubicle)
If the learning was the primary objective or a byproduct of an activity
How much of the learning material is conceptual or contextual

Part of the difficulty is dealing with learning initiatives is the inability of different business units to measure it consistently. Consider this insight from Jay Cross, an informal learning champion:

In 2001, training directors turned their attention to return on investment. Unfortunately, instead of learning cost-benefit analysis, people who wanted to speak the language of business studied accounting. Created long before knowledge work was invented, accounting values intangibles such as human capital at zero and counts training as an expense instead of an investment.

Developing

Employers are responsible, in part, for the cultivation of their employees’ skills and assets. They are not, however, solely responsible for developing the future of their entire team. Employees take the knowledge and experience they’ve gained from an organization and use it to build their careers. One of the biggest issue companies have in engaging their teams is creating an atmosphere that develops management and leadership when employees are overwhelmed with their workloads. Company leadership and the environment they promote within the office are two driving factors behind employee development. Josh Bersin (@Josh_Bersin), Founder of Bersin by Deloitte, said:

“‘Best places to work’ companies don’t just have ping pong tables and free lunch, they have a ‘soul’ which makes work exciting and energizing. They invest in great management and leadership. They train and develop people so they can grow. And they define their business in a way that brings meaning and purpose to the organization.”

Because training and informal learning are so connected, informal learning is a direct result of the complexity and effectiveness of the training program. Subsequently, employee development is a combination of the formal training, informal learning sessions, and how employees use this knowledge in their work to increase performance. Formal training programs have to be robust in order to see results in performance management and better outcomes in performance appraisals. It becomes cyclical: a learning culture is the culmination of the formal training, informal learning, and the development that happens when employees are able to apply their training to their jobs.

How are you implementing training within your workforce? If you had to classify your initiatives, would they be training, learning, development focused? Would they be formal or informal? Do you practice new fangled or old school gamification? Let us know in the comments.

How to Keep Track of Organizational Goals with Performance Management

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 15:00:00 +0000

Some people make lists, others put sticky notes on their computer screen, and many simply fly by the seat of their pants. It's not easy to keep track of work resolutions, especially when they are long term as resolutions tend to be. At work when deadlines begin to pile up and projects are coming out of your ears, finding time to work towards keeping your goals on track is near impossible. But don't worry, your team doesn't have to do it entirely alone.

What tools can help track goals?

Over the last few years, technology has exploded. Between the tablets, phablets, and smartphones… even your car talks to you now. With all of these pieces of technology, there's undoubtedly "an app for that" that also translates to your Tools like Microsoft Office 365, Dropbox, and Trello. These apps can help you and your team stay on task while making the most of available time. Trello, for example, separates responsibilities by importance to keep projects streamlined and the office organized.Microsoft Office 365 and Dropbox allow your team to use their mobile devices to access work documents without the constraints of a desktop computer.

While technology (i.e., big data, analytics, tracking) is necessary in today’s business world, disruptive technologies (i.e., social media, personal devices, email) can impede the success of goal setting and maintenance. Josh Bersin (@Josh_Bersin), Principal and Founder of Bersin by Deloitte said:

“Agile software was the beginning of the era of greater transparency and continuous feedback. Now we have social media everywhere, which promotes even greater visibility into the everyday lives of everyone around us. The other trend driving this is a strong focus on analytics. Open discussion, regular check-ins, big data, and greater awareness are now part of every business and when you pair those activities with company-wide, quarterly goal setting processes - organizations can see 30-40 percent greater returns.”

What can the workload handle?

Perhaps most importantly, employees have to understand their work capacity. The biggest issue with these newfound hopes of a brighter and more productive year is that all too often the goals are lofty. Take a look at the average workday breakdown:

● 44.5% of the day spent on primary job duties

● 13.8% of the day spent on reading and responding to emails

● 12% of the day spent on administrative tasks

● 9.3% of the day spent in useful meetings

● 7.7% of the day dealing with interruptions

● 6.9% of the day wasted in useless meetings.

That leaves a grand total of 5.7% of the day for special projects, working towards goals, and everything else. Adding lofty aspirations to the list of daily activities leaves your team inundated with a workload they might not be able to handle.

This is yet another reason why accurate performance appraisals are so crucial to business development and employee growth. Two-thirds of highly rated employees are not the top performers, so inaccurate appraisals could give them disproportionate time at work for more goals than they can reasonably achieve.

What is the manager’s role?

Productivity and engagement start with the right attitude. Employees have to do more than simply show up to work... they have to actually show up. While employees are their biggest critics, sometimes they need a little help getting motivated to accomplish their goals. Whether it's faith in their own personal brand or how that aligns with the organization, a little "Nice work! This turned out great with the limited time you had," or, "This is great, but it still needs some attention in these areas," are examples of simple continuous feedback. However, there are other more involved ways managers can motivate the team before failing to meet a goal.

● Clearly define expectations - It’s a natural propensity for people to mentally wander. However, if you give employees direction, their goals will align with your expectations for development. Understand how your employees work and what their limits are so new goals don’t push them too far.

● Believe in your team - Employees are more likely to perform well if they know their supervisor has faith in their performance.

● Praise and correct appropriately - Nothing is quite as demotivating as public criticism. More often than not, employees are unaware of shortcomings, and they certainly don’t need to be altered to them in front of their team. On the same note, while private praise is appreciated, it’s not as effective as doing it publicly.

No matter what your role in the company, it’s part of your job to help your employees and coworkers reach their work objectives. While it’s not your responsibility to micromanage their every task, you do have to help them understand how to manage their daily performance requirements and goal maintenance simultaneously. Performance appraisals, goal tracking software and apps, and clear motivation from supervisors all play a role in helping your team reach their goals this year in the office.

Keeping goals on track is a team effort; don’t let your team do it alone.

Take a demo of our performance management software to see how you can streamline this process.

How to Grow Part 3: Rethink Annual Performance Appraisals

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 13:00:00 +0000

It’s 1:53 pm, which means Adam has 7 minutes to prepare for his annual performance appraisal. He was so busy working on this last major report he lost track of time. As he walks to his supervisor’s office door, the butterflies set in deeper and deeper in his stomach with each passing step. Why?

Because the annual performance appraisal could mean a raise, punishment, or - heaven forbid - be the first step in the long road to being “let go”. He feels like he’s performed well throughout the last year, well above par, but he doesn’t know if his supervisor feels the same way. As Adam quickly conducts a self performance appraisal in his head, he becomes increasingly anxious about his impending performance appraisal. He walks into his supervisors office and…

Let’s be honest. Annual performance appraisals can scare employees. They are expected to understand the ramifications of their performance over the last year and prepare for their performance over the next 365 days. Considering that’s an average of about 2,000 working hours, we can assume that employees won’t remember everything they were told during their annual performance appraisal. Moreover, the infrequency of the review makes it a much more daunting practice. So, how can employers take the uncertainty, anxiety, and ultimate ineffectiveness out of the traditional annual performance appraisal? It’s time to rethink the way companies conduct employee feedback.

Frequency: Maybe lose the annual bit?

Communication is key to a successful team, right? Well, annual performance appraisals limit the dedicated opportunities for employees to have an open discussion with their supervisors about their work. Increasing the frequency of performance appraisals will broaden employee’s goals and actualize where their work fits into organizational objectives. The problem with traditional employee performance appraisals is that they spark a “fight or flight” response in the human brain.

This fight or flight reflex causes colleagues to work against each other. In fact, it can negate the thoughtful and collaborative atmosphere needed to improve performance. Guided conversations during reviews are more effective in getting employees involved in the discussion. The active participation decreases the stress of the event and increases performance improvement thereafter.

Identification

How to Grow Part 1: Performance Management in 3… 2… briefly touched on performance appraisals as a key aspect in corporate talent management. To grow on that point, a primary fear facet of appraisals is simply the lack of reviewing the employee’s performance. Part 1 said:

“Is it really a performance appraisal if it doesn’t truly identify performance? The answer is no. In fact, performance appraisals are sometimes wildly erroneous and can lead to more performance problems than they actually solve. For example, two-thirds of employees who receive the highest marks during their performance appraisal are quite frankly not the organization’s top performers.”

In essence, when employees are unaware of specific points of poor or good performance, it can lead to anxiety between reviews. If employees are not given the tools they need to solve - much less identify - problems, they can’t be expected to fix performance issues. As an effort to dismiss fear from the appraisal process, remember this formula:

● Recognize good and poor performance = Objectivity

● Identify problems and offer solutions = Ownership

● Tracking development and maintenance = Growth

The Road Ahead

Organizations, albeit changing slowly, have begun the process of altering their current performance appraisal programs to see better results. Currently, 39% of companies already reviewed and changed their performance management within the last 18 months. Another 31% are in the process of evaluating their system. Companies like Adobe have already changed their appraisal programs, and have seen a development in the effectiveness of the feedback.

Tweet This: 39% of companies have changed their performance management within the last 18 months.

Employee performance appraisals don’t have to be scary. They aren’t meant to be punishment; the goal is to monitor growth and performance of each employee and augment it accordingly. Raise the number of times per year management evaluates employee performance. The results include, but are not limited to: decreased appraisal anxiety, increased effectiveness, and better communication up and down the leadership ladder to successfully reach goals. Help your employees help you. Provide better performance appraisals with guided discussion versus strict guidelines that don’t allow room for open communication. The road ahead looks promising, it’s time to get on the right path.

Watch a demo of Reviewsnap's performance appraisal software to get started.

Don’t miss out on the rest of this series:

How to Grow Part 1: Performance Management in 3… 2…

How to Grow Part 2: Compensation Motivation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 06 Jan 2015 15:00:00 +0000

There are a wide variety of compensation plans in the corporate world, but if you’re a startup which one is the best option? When you’re looking to grow your team, it can be overwhelming deciding how to compensate your future employees while taking the compensation thresholds of your current employees into consideration. But know this: when employees understand how their achievements are valued and rewarded accordingly, motivation and engagement improve. Keep these things in mind when planning compensation for 2015.

Good Job! Here’s Your Bonus

Typically a lump sum (year-end bonuses) are one tool that makes up total compensation. In fact, they made up 12.7% of payroll budgets last year. Year-end bonuses are more easily tailored to the specific job role compared to some other compensation rewards. While it’s easy for employers to lump the entirety of the bonus at one time - instead of a steady and consistent raise in base pay - how do employees feel about it?

Typically, employees are more receptive to the lump-sum bonus simply because the 1-3% raise doesn’t feel like much spread throughout the year. Bonuses tend to make employees feel more appreciated and subsequently, more engaged at work. When employees are recognized for good work - as positive reinforcement would dictate - they are more likely to continue that behavior. Consider a bonus for your employees if you are a lean startup and have year-end revenues or cash on hand. Remember that just like any compensation, your employees are required to report this on their taxes.

Tweet This: Bonuses tend to make employees feel more appreciated and subsequently, more engaged at work. @Reviewsnap

Great Performance! We Just Don’t Have Much Cash…

Startups don’t always have the necessary funding to facilitate the typical year-end bonus or even an increase in pay throughout the year. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you can’t reward employees financially for their exceptional work. As a small organization, you can offer stock incentives as an alternative to a direct cash bonus. Now, there are different options for stock incentive plans. Nonqualified, restricted, and performance shares are just a few examples.

At larger firms, stock incentives have become an increasingly popular means of motivation, albeit long-term compensation reward systems, for their employees. These organizations offer two types of stock rewards: 88% offer restricted stock and 64% offer stock options. Just because they are larger companies isn’t to say you can’t offer similar rewards for your small organization. You could translate that Wall Street stock into something more transparent for your company. Give employees room to gain emotional or professional “stock” in their work, their team, and their participation in the organization as a whole. Using ownership in the company (how you structure it) is a great way to keep senior level employees invested in the growth of the company and can be used as a recruiting tool when communicated properly.

Share on LinkedIn: Give employees room to gain emotional or professional “stock” in their work, their team, and their participation in the organization as a whole.

Outstanding Work! Keep it Up

Merit-based raises don’t have to be just money. That’s right… a raise doesn’t have to have a dollar symbol before it. Non-monetary benefits such as extra paid time off or even the coveted desk with a view of the skyline can instigate higher motivation depending upon the needs and wants of employees. While they don’t have to strictly consist of monetary rewards, organizations can offer a choice in a merit-based raise. If you have the financial wiggle room, give high-performing employees the option. Would you like X days extra PTO or X% raise for your outstanding work on last year’s project? Claire Bissot, former HR Consulting Manager at CBIZ Human Capital Services, said:

“HR people should be getting more creative in this area. We’re definitely seeing less extravagant rewards, and seeing more employees in non-executive and non-sales positions being recognized through reward programs with points, or with additional vacation days, for example.”

The use of incentive compensation is changing. Take a gander at the new scenery… what do you see? Stock options, vacation days, cash… Incentives like bonuses, stock incentives, and some non-traditional rewards all can be used as motivation. Whether you decide to use a year-end bonus system, a raise, or some extra vacation time, it’s important to recognize employee work with positive reinforcement if it is deserved.

While large organizations often have a traditional style incentive program, small businesses can participate in a reward system as well. Choosing the right compensation reward system for your organization can be an overwhelming endeavor. The implementation of that mechanism doesn’t have to be. Now start planning!

Watch a demo of Reviewsnap's compensation dashboard modules to get started.

Don't Miss the First Part of Our Series:

How to Grow Part 1: Performance Management in 3... 2...

How to Grow Part 1: Performance Management in 3… 2…

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 15:00:00 +0000

“Only 6% believe their current process for managing performance is worth the time, 58% called their process ‘weak,’ with North American companies 20% worse than the rest of the world.” - Josh Bersin (@Josh_Bersin), Corporate Talent, HR, and Learning Analyst & Founder of Bersin by Deloitte

Only 6%... that’s a pretty slim number of organizations who have a strong performance management system. So what’s the problem? There’s a good chance these companies joined the performance management party late - as in after their employee base grew. Create a performance management system before you begin to gather your team. It’s important to know how exactly you plan to manage the performance of a team before they are onboarded. Why? Unless there is a performance system in place, it will be increasingly difficult to accurately develop and maintain a system of performance appraisals, management system updates, and team alignment with each new employee.

Problem: Performance Appraisals

Is it really a performance appraisal if it doesn't truly identify performance? The answer is no. In fact, performance appraisals are sometimes wildly erroneous and can lead to more performance problems than they actually solve. For example, two-thirds of employees who receive the highest marks during their performance appraisal are quite frankly not the organization’s top performers. Sounds like an oxymoron, right? The underlying problem is that these performance appraisals are outdated and tend to be overly biased. The results are less than flattering. While good employees know they are good, bad performers on the other hand don’t know how poor their performance is. This is because the performance appraisal system wasn’t created until after the maturation of the team, so a set standard of performance regulations wasn’t immediately put into action.

Solution: Create a performance appraisal plan when you recognize the need for growth in the number of employees. Doing so will prepare the organization for the new hires and monitor their growth and performance.

Problem: Updating Outdated Issues

It's really just a formality. Does it honestly need to be updated? Absolutely. The outdated system your organization currently uses needs to be updated. While the company may have originally compiled some sort of performance system for compliance regulations, that certainly doesn’t mean the data from the performance appraisals couldn’t be useful. The data for how the employee works and what they get done during the day can set expectations of the employee, demands of the position, and expectations of the supervisor. Updating your performance management process not only helps the development of your employees, but drives business value as well. Unfortunately, only 8% of HR executives say that their organization effectively uses their performance process to drive business value. Therein lies the problem with using an outdated system - it can in fact damage the value of your business.

Solution: Consistently update the performance management system to meet the needs of the organization and the employees.

Problem: Team Alignment

The team doesn't know the goals of the organization, so they don't understand how their performance fits into organizational needs. Often, the biggest downfall for employee performance is their lack of understanding of organizational goals. If employees are unaware of how the company plans to grow, how can they gauge their own performance? When employees are aligned with organizational goals, they are more engaged while in the office. When employee engagement is high, employees perform 20% better and are 87% less likely to leave the organization. In order to form a high-performing team, it’s crucial the entire organization understands and shares goals. President and COO of Technomedia, Marcel Messier said:

“If leadership is unable to create a clear roadmap that can be communicated and embraced throughout the organization, it will be much more difficult to establish a high-performing workforce able to meet those goals. Alignment only will be achieved by ensuring strong leaders are in place at the top and capable of clearly communicating goals and expectations and providing employees with ongoing learning opportunities to expand and enhance their skill sets. Once these factors are put into place, the organization can benefit from an optimized workforce that operates cohesively to overcome challenges and achieve key objectives.”

Solution: Integrate alignment into performance management. When the team knows how their work affects the organization, they are less likely to leave and more likely to become high-performing employees.

Not all performance appraisals were created equal… the outdated and antiquated ratings will do little to improve an employee’s performance. Performance appraisals must recognize accomplishments and notate areas needing improvement. Likewise, if the management systems the organization uses aren’t up-to-date, it’s unlikely the performance management system will do much to drive business value. Ultimately, without alignment throughout the organization there’s little hope for an overarching level of high performance and engagement.

Your company needs these three things before your team can grow. Otherwise, it’ll not only be difficult to manage employee performance, it will be ineffective.

See how you can begin cultivating growth in your organization right this second.

Happy Holidays? Not if You Forget Your Employees

noreply@blogger.com (Reviewsnap) — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 15:30:00 +0000

It’s the only time of year that it’s acceptable to give a fruitcake. Complete with hot cocoa, stockings hung with care, and holiday bonuses… wait, what? Yes, these are all trademarks of the holiday season, especially the bonuses. Tis the season to recognize your employees, and failing to do so could mean losing valuable employees. Consider the case of a PR firm that usually gave large year-end bonuses and without warning one year, shifted that spend into opening a nice new office. Or what about the high-end magazine that rewarded executive employees with a large novelty candy? Both companies suffered significant attrition before the New Year. Don’t let this happen to you.

Photo Credit: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Frustration can simmer just under the surface of your workforce, but your organization can reduce some irritation by implementing formal recognition and review programs. Organizations that create and sustain an effective recognition program have a 31% lower voluntary turnover rate - i.e., employees quitting or resigning - than those with a poor recognition program. In fact, lack of appreciation at work is the number one reason Americans leave their jobs, but you can use it as a retention tool.

According to the latest Randstad Engagement Index survey, U.S. workers say promotions or bonuses are one of the most effective ways to keep them engaged in their jobs. A holiday bonus increases employee engagement and motivation in the office, which means more successfully completed projects and subsequently more revenue for the organization.

The truth is, your employees might be dreaming of a white Christmas, but they are expecting recognition before the New Year. Some (like Clark Griswold) may even be counting on that bonus to make their Christmas a merry one.

How and When to Reward

Just because you tell members of your team how wonderful their work is all year doesn’t mean that will suffice when it comes to the holiday season. Unfortunately, not every company feels that way. In fact, just 27% of small businesses are planning to offer holiday bonuses this year, compared to 35% last year, according to an American Express survey. (Tweet this Stat) That special recognition in the workplace is one of the greatest contenders to combating high turnover rates. So, even though it makes your employees happier at work, it is a business gain as well.

Some pointers:

● Try to give consistently. If you can’t for whatever reason, let employees know ahead of time.

● People will talk. You don’t have to give the intern and the top performing sales person the same amount but keep it similar within job titles.

● Speak up! Bonuses and gift cards have to be declared so give your employees a head up!

The ROI of employee recognition stretches beyond a mere monetary value. The emotional response is what fuels a difference in an employee’s work and engagement. For example, KPMG, an international tax and audit organization, increased awards dispersed throughout the company by 25%. The results were, according to Sara Turner, UK Head of Employee Benefits and Wellbeing at KPMG:

“What you get with the recognition is a really emotional response… Though the monetary value is low, the impact is really huge. In monetary terms, recognition is so much less expensive [than other reward systems], but what you get is this emotional gut response from people who are overwhelmed, happy and excited when they get an award. People are so engaged because someone has appreciated the extra effort they’ve gone to and taken the time to make sure they acknowledge it and that others acknowledge it as well.”

Think Outside the Box

The business landscape has changed over the last few years. Employees are feeling the effects of a slowly healing economy. Unfortunately, employers aren’t so trigger happy when it comes to expenses that aren’t deemed “necessary.” Individuals on your team expect some kind of bonus around the holidays. If business was down, communicate it well and set expectations before the office party if you are planning on giving a non-monetary gift.

On average, there is an expectation of a 2.9% bonus increase among the workforce this year. (Tweet this Stat) Even if you’re not prepared to dispense a monetary reward for all of the meritorious hard work from your team, leadership can still give employees a “bonus.” If budget constraints prevent a traditional bonus, Glen Tullman, CEO at Livongo Health suggests trying these alternatives:

● Give a tangible gift - A gym bag, a nice sweater, or a small piece of technology would suffice. However, don’t put any company logos on the gift… otherwise the gift loses the “it’s the thought that counts” factor.

● Offer a chance for community involvement - Websites like TisBest allow employers to offer “gift cards” that employees can use towards the charity of their choice. This gives them a semi-monetary reward for their hard work and the opportunity to give back to their community.

● Give to employee families - Why not engage your employees through their support systems? Families are important to the engagement of your team, so try sending a basket of gourmet snacks or giving a list for the family to choose from.

● Give time off! Can’t afford a lavish bonus? Give the gift of paid time off. People love unexpected vacations. (Tweet this Tip)

The holidays can be a stressful time for employees. Finishing year-end projects around the office can be taxing. Acknowledging their work and rewarding them through traditional bonuses or non-traditional gifts maintains engagement levels and produces a real ROI for the organization. Bear in mind that performance bonuses and holiday bonuses should be kept in two separate categories. As company leadership, ensure you’ve dotted your holiday I’s and crossed your T’s; make employee recognition part of your holiday to-do list this year. Give your team a little something special (hopefully more than just a holiday fruitcake).

Friends don't let friends be the Frank Shirleys of their company. Spread the holiday cheer by tweeting these year-end bonus tips.

The Million-Dollar Performance Review Question

noreply@blogger.com (Reviewsnap) — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 16:55:00 +0000

If there’s such a thing as a million-dollar question that managers should ask employees during a performance review, it’s this: What do you really want to do?

Why is such a simple question so valuable? First, it helps you understand exactly what your employees are passionate about, what engages them, and what they see as truly meaningful work. Second, it helps to instill greater accountability in your people by involving them in personally managing their careers and creating reach assignments. And third, it shows that you care about your employees’ needs as well as those of the company.

Add those factors together and you have a powerful equation for boosting the value of your performance reviews—and for raising employee engagement, happiness and retention levels.

Another reason this simple little question is pure gold is that helps transform your performance appraisals from backward-looking reviews into future-focused planning sessions. In fact, more and more companies are de-emphasizing the “review” aspect of their performance appraisals and focusing more on looking ahead—at what makes employees happy and productive, how they’d like to grow, and how they envision their future with their employers.

Texas Roadhouse recently changed its performance review process to be more forward-looking (which you can read about here). And Union Bank & Trust revamped its performance appraisals in a way that more deeply engages employees in the review process (which you can read about here). Both companies now ask employees about their feelings regarding their work and the future.

In her Harvard Business Review post, “IfYou’re Not Helping People Develop, You’re Not Management Material,” professor of management Monique Valcour offers managers this piece of advice: “When planning your team’s work, ask employees to identify both how they can contribute and what they would like to learn. This gives employees the primary responsibility for clarifying what they want to learn and for proposing ways to incorporate on-the-job learning. It also helps to avoid having employees volunteer to perform only the tasks that they are already highly skilled at.”

She also urges managers to require employees to report back to them periodically on what they’ve learned and how they’re using their new skills and knowledge.

Asking the million-dollar question—“What do you really want to do?”—during your performance reviews can be a powerful way to maximize employees’ contributions and commitment levels. And when you actually put your findings to use, the results will be money in the bank.

Connect with the individuals and sources highlighted in this post by clicking the links below:

A Players or Top Guns: Call Them What You Want, You Need More of Them

noreply@blogger.com (Reviewsnap) — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 14:30:00 +0000

Can you afford to put up with mediocre employees?

Humetrics president, Mel Kleiman, posed this question in a recent TLNT.com post. Despite the obvious answer, Kleiman notes that employers and managers frequently keep mediocre workers around rather than replace them with top talent (whom he refers to as “A players”). He even offers 10 reasons they do so, including:

They’re focused on low turnover rather than on retaining the right people.
They don’t really know what constitutes an A player.
They use a screening process designed to screen people out rather then let the right people in.

Recruiting top talent isn’t easy by any stretch. But it’s worthwhile because, as Kleiman points out, “hundreds of research studies have quantified the difference between having an ‘A’ player versus a ‘C’ player in a job … (and) every one of them concludes the difference in productivity and the impact on the bottom line is anywhere from 20 percent to over 1,000 percent greater return when you compare the best, most productive employees to those who are average.”

Of course, to effectively recruit top talent, you need to know who your current A players are and precisely what sets them apart. Once you do, you’ll know which skills, behaviors and attributes to seek out as you recruit new talent and as you craft your employee learning and development programs. (You can read more on this topic in a previous post, “Do You Know Who Your ‘Top Guns’ Are?”)

If you’re interested in raising the bar on your recruitment of top talent, you might consider a recommendation from Jonah Berger, marketing professor at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School: “Stop selling, start storytelling.”

Rather than trying to sell A players on a specific job, Berger encourages employers to snag top talent through word of mouth from their own employees and storytelling related to their actual work experiences. In a recent article on Inc.com, “Howto Use Viral Marketing to Recruit Top-Notch Talent,” Berger notes that there’s an entire psychology behind the power of social sharing and word of mouth—and this same power should be applied to attracting new talent.

A players, top guns, high-performance workers—however you refer to them, one thing is certain: the best way to attract more of them consistently is to use this three-step process:

Step 1. Identify your current top performers and what makes them special.

Step 2. Use your findings as a “template” for recruiting and hiring new talent.

Step 3. Leverage your current top performers to tell your brand’s “story” in their own real and meaningful terms.

Connect with the individuals and sources highlighted in this post by clicking the links below:

Are We Doing Enough To Develop Future Leaders?

noreply@blogger.com (Reviewsnap) — Tue, 25 Nov 2014 15:30:00 +0000

We’re not, according to Deloitte’s BusinessConfidence Report 2014, which summarizes findings from a survey of 600 U.S. executives—300 c-suite executives and 300 c-suite executives in waiting (i.e., those at the SVP, executive VP or an equivalent level)—about their confidence in various aspects of their businesses.

While the majority of these executives are “very confident” that their organizations will outperform their competitors over the next year, many also believe their organizations “are not adequately investing in the development of leaders,” the report states.

Here’s a sampling of the worrisome leadership-related statistics the report offers:

Only 48% of these executives believe their direct reports have the skills to become part of the c-suite in their organization.
50% of the surveyed c-suite executives in waiting have little or no access to leadership training to help them grow into more senior positions.
Only 49% of the c-suite executives in waiting agreed that their organizations create opportunities for them to succeed.
And just 49% of c-suite executives say they’re committed to developing leadership skills at all levels of their organization.

In an October 31 blogpost, Josh Bersin writes that after studying the leadership development practices of companies for nearly 10 years, his research reveals that “only 26% of companies even have successors identified for their top positions—so the problem is not only one of development, but more significantly one of ‘selecting the right candidates.’”

As Bersin notes, the development and selection of leaders is difficult. It requires an investment of resources, time and money. It also requires guidance, support and mentoring of current leaders, who are often overwhelmed with their day-to-day responsibilities. Focusing on the development of future leaders only stretches them further. Yet it’s imperative that they find the time because we need to develop future leaders. The future of our organizations depends upon it.

Clearly, this isn’t an issue we can fix overnight. “Executives have to realize that it often takes years for new leaders to become seasoned, high performing executives,” says Bersin.

So what can we do in the meantime? We can make progress by doing a better job of identifying our best leadership candidates, giving them the attention and development they need to fulfill their destinies, and putting greater effort into our succession planning strategies.

If we can actually accomplish these goals, our business leaders’ confidence about the future will be justified.

Connect with the individuals and sources highlighted in this post by clicking the links below:

@DeloitteUS

@Josh_Bersin

We Need To Fix the Broken Candidate Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Reviewsnap) — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 16:41:00 +0000

Every now and then, you read an article that you have to share with others. It’s just too good to keep to yourself.

That’s the case with Anne Kreamer’s recent Harvard Business Review blog post,

“The Rise of the Rude Hiring Manager.” In the post, Kreamer shines a fair and fairly unflattering spotlight on the experiences of several individuals as they undergo the rigors of today’s job search, recruitment and hiring processes.

Kreamer describes how these individuals are put through their paces by prospective employers—often being asked to interview multiple times over the course of months, to take on test “assignments,” and to deliver polished business plans, proposals and presentations as part of the process of applying for an open position. During their ordeals, these candidates also experience administrative incompetence, a lack of timely communication, and just plain rudeness from their potential employers. And the sad fact is these experiences are growing more common.

Although the headline of Kreamer’s post calls out hiring managers specifically, the entire hiring process is actually at fault here. At one point, Kreamer astutely observes: “I can’t pinpoint exactly when the hiring process went off the rails, but I believe it began in the late 90s, when cost cutting became a mania and headcount was slashed to the bone, requiring every employee to do the work of many. With so little margin for error, every hire became a fraught decision, and the fear of making a mistake loomed larger and larger.”

Vetting candidates became increasingly complex and time-consuming, Kreamer writes, and “new hurdles were added until someone interested in a director-level position … is now routinely required to submit the kind of analysis and proposals that were once the province of in-house executives or paid consultants.” Especially harrowing is the interview process, which ballooned from an average of 12 days in 2009 to an average of 23 days in 2013.

Putting job candidates through a reasonable but thorough screening process is just good business. But it appears this process has gone haywire at many organizations, which is just bad business. After all, the candidate experience we provide says a lot about us as employers. It’s the first taste people get of our culture, our work environment and how we treat our employees. If we have any hope of consistently hiring the best talent and building great employment brands, we need to fix the broken candidate experience—and the sooner the better.

Connect with the individuals and sources highlighted in this post by clicking the links below:
@AnneKreamer
@HarvardBiz

Don’t Slam the Door on Exit Interviews

noreply@blogger.com (Reviewsnap) — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 18:10:00 +0000

Performance reviews and exit interviews might seem like very different animals but they share an important quality: both are opportunities to gather essential information for the future success of our people and our organizations.

Performance reviews accomplish this when managers ask the right questions—e.g., how their reports feel about their own contributions, their interactions with coworkers, and the growth and development the company is providing. (If you’re interested, you can read more on this topic in past posts, “The Art of Effective Performance Reviews,” and “Meeting Employees’ Needs: Culture Management, Engagement, and Preventable Turnover.”)

Exit interviews, on the other hand, require similar but specialized questions—questions that are appropriate to the fact that an individual is leaving the organization. This type of questioning can pose a significant challenge due to the unique dynamics and emotions involved. For instance, the information we receive can depend heavily on whether or not employees are leaving on good terms, their willingness to share honest opinions (i.e., fear of burning bridges), the specific reasons behind their exit, and the like. How the interviewer goes about her or his work makes all the difference.

The challenges and benefits of exit interviews are highlighted by an article on TLNT.com, “You Need to Stop Going Through the Motions on Exit Interviews,” and by another on the StaffMasters website, “The Importance of an Exit Interview.”

In the TLNT.com article, HR Acuity CEO Deborah Muller urges us to remember that the biggest reason exit interviews end up being ineffective is that most HR people who conduct them don’t really know what they’re doing. “An untrained interviewer might not know how to configure the interview in order to make it relevant to the employee’s role, level and functional area,” she writes. That’s why trained professionals and specialized technology are so crucial to maximizing the value of exit interviews. Muller points out that many companies are outsourcing their exit interviews or training their HR teams to conduct these interviews properly. Others are using secure links to interview modules that enable departing employees to answer questions in relative anonymity (a key to getting honest feedback).

The StaffMasters post offers interviewers a list of helpful questions that range from the basic (What made you decide to leave the company? and What did you find most/least satisfying about working here?) to the complex and potentially touchy (How would you rate the level of support you received to perform your job duties? and What qualities do you think a person should have to succeed in this organization?). The post encourages employers to be consistent in the questions they ask of exiting employees, to maintain an objective listening attitude, and to document all responses so that the feedback can be leveraged to the organization’s benefit.

Interestingly, Jeffrey Sharlach wrote about a different kind of issue in his recent Huffington Post piece, “Are You Learning Too Much at Exit Interviews?” Sharlach is CEO of the international communications firm, JeffreyGroup, and has taught in the MBA Management Communication program at the NYU Stern School of Business. He noted that many organizations only learn about crucial employee experiences and opinions during exit interviews rather than during regular performance reviews when the information could do far greater good. Sharlach remedied this situation at his own organization by retooling the performance review process, making it more of a two-way communication experience.

“We were amazed at what we started to learn from our staff once given the opportunity to talk about themselves,” Sharlach writes. “We began to treat each review session as an interview with a new employee, learning more about the friction points in their current conditions and their goals for future growth.”

Performance reviews and exit interviews may indeed be different animals but the two share a connection that shouldn’t be overlooked. And, as the articles referenced above remind us, both performance reviews and exit interviews can be powerful tools for improving the performance of our people and our companies.

We just need to conduct them properly.

Connect with the individuals and sources highlighted in this post by clicking the links below:
@TLNT_com

@HRAcuity

@StaffMasters

@HuffingtonPost

@JeffreyGroup

@NYUStern

Performance Review Beat Down or Blueprint for Improvement?

noreply@blogger.com (Reviewsnap) — Tue, 04 Nov 2014 14:05:00 +0000

Perspective makes all the difference.

Take a recent infographic from employee communications firm, GuideSpark, for example. At first glance, it seems to offer a pretty solid beat down of performance reviews:

89 percent of individuals GuideSpark surveyed don’t want their performance review feedback to be a surprise.
89 percent want their managers to be direct in giving performance feedback.
64 percent wish that their employers would focus more on their growth and development as part of their review.
60 percent don’t understand how their performance is measured relative to their peers.
56 percent say their company’s goal-setting process doesn’t help them prioritize their work.

Before you chuck your performance reviews altogether, however, consider this: these survey respondents aren’t simply grousing about what they dislike. They’re telling us exactly what we can do to improve performance reviews—and improve them in a way that will allow our people do their jobs better, grow into their full potential, and meet our expectations more effectively. These individuals are telling us precisely how we can increase their commitment and engagement levels and motivate them to accomplish more.

In other words, this data is a good thing, shedding light on how we can transform our employees’ revulsion toward performance reviews into rapture. It’s a matter of perspective.

For our money, these individuals aren’t saying, “Do away with performance appraisals.” They’re saying, “Here’s how to do my appraisal right.”

The question is … are we listening?

Connect with the individuals and sources highlighted in this post by clicking the links below:

@GuideSpark

Research Shows Crucial Skills Are Low Training Priorities

noreply@blogger.com (Reviewsnap) — Tue, 28 Oct 2014 14:30:00 +0000

When it comes to employee training programs, most organizations are focusing on teaching communication skills.

That’s the scoop from a recent American Management Association survey, which examined the training programs at more than 700 organizations. When asked to identify the training content provided to individual contributors at their companies, executives and managers taking the survey indicated the top three types of content are: communication (65%); skills and competencies specific to the individual’s role (60%); and leadership development (53%). Project management (49%) and interpersonal skills (48%) rounded out the top five responses.

Perhaps more interesting are the skill sets that didn’t make it to the survey results’ upper echelon. They include collaboration at 43%, decision making at 40%, and critical thinking at just 38%. Creativity and innovative thinking barely cracked 30%.

We’d never criticize any organization for the way it spends its training dollars. These decisions depend upon a number of complex and fluid factors. From a big-picture perspective, however, it’s difficult to overlook the fact that the skill sets appearing lower on the AMA’s list are the very same ones so many of us claim to need desperately, as they go right to the heart of our competitiveness, innovation, employee engagement and retention levels, and profitability.

The business press, professional blogs and conference keynotes have all been filled lately with calls for employers to drive collaboration, critical thinking and creativity deep into their organizations—not just nurture them among leaders and executives—and to hold everyone more accountable for utilizing these skills in their day-to-day work. Of course, that can’t happen if we’re not formally teaching them to our employees. (Rachel Burstein recently offered an interesting take on just how imperative critical thinking and creativity have become in her August opinion piece on SFGate.com, “Critical Thinking, creativity: the skills workers really need.”)

Again, it makes sense that we devote greater attention and dollars to teaching employees certain types of skill sets. After all, some skills are more universal and are in greater demand. But it seems fairly obvious that until we see some hefty spikes in the percentages next to skills such as collaboration, critical and innovative thinking and decision making, we’re not going to achieve the levels of productivity and profitability we so urgently desire.

Connect with the individuals and sources highlighted in this post by clicking the links below:

@AMAnet (American Management Association)

Negotiating vs. Dictating Performance Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Reviewsnap) — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 11:00:00 +0000

Modernizing performance reviews (and performance management at large) is the subject of a recent LinkedIn post by Robert Bacal, CEO at Bacal & Associates.

In his post, Bacal offers 10 ideas to update how organizations manage performance and appraisals, including: individualize expectations even for employees doing the same job; put to bed the myth of objectivity; and realize that the purpose of reviews is improvement.

Sound advice, for sure. But Bacal’s wisest counsel was his plea for managers to negotiate goals and objectives during reviews, not dictate them. “Employees know far more about their jobs than their supervisors,” he writes, “in addition to wanting to be more involved in steering the direction of their jobs. No longer does it make sense for goals and objectives to be dictated by the manager. When employees are active in determining what they need to do to contribute to the company, you'll find higher levels of employee engagement and commitment.”

Some managers might have trouble swallowing the idea of “negotiating” goals and objectives—especially those tied to departmental and organizational targets. However, Bacal correctly points out that employees have a better, more intimate understanding of their roles and responsibilities than their managers. Smart managers put this knowledge to use in the process of managing performance effectively. If the word “negotiate” isn’t quite palatable, ask your managers to “collaborate” more with their teams regarding performance goals and objectives.

One item we take exception to is Bacal’s dismissal of ratings forms, which he flatly calls “terrible and demoralizing.” While that’s true of some ratings tools, not all are categorically terrible. Many organizations have found that modern performance management tools actually help them take a more disciplined approach to holding reviews and extracting real value from them.

For instance, with easy-to-use software in place, both managers and employees are more engaged in the review process, reviewers are more aware and respectful of timing and deadlines, reviews are completed faster, and the communication between reviewers and employees is often greatly improved.

In one of our latest case studies, Roseann Rush, Vice President of HR and Risk at PrimeSource, describes how modernizing her company’s review system improved results across the board, including raising its completion rate for reviews from 65% to 89% … slashing its annual review period by more than 50% … and making significant improvements to its documentation and communication processes. You can read about PrimeSource’s experience here.

Bottom line, for many employers, updating their tools and systems goes hand-in-hand with modernizing their approach to performance management. Doing both together can lead to long-lasting, meaningful change.

~

Connect with the individuals and sources highlighted in this post by clicking the links below:

@rbacal

For Feedback To Be Effective, Put First Things First

noreply@blogger.com (Reviewsnap) — Tue, 14 Oct 2014 22:21:00 +0000

First things first.

This wise little maxim is the underlying theme of “Stop Teaching People How to Give Feedback,” a thought-provoking post written by Fistful of Talent guest blogger, Ben Olds. When Olds instructs us to nix the feedback lessons, he means temporarily of course. Just until we’ve put first things first.

The “first thing” in this case, according to Olds, is for us to recognize that simply teaching managers to give feedback “doesn’t work.” The reason? “Because this approach starts in the wrong spot! There are four traits that have to exist to have a strong feedback culture, and we typically need to foster each,” writes Olds. These four traits are: 1) the will to receive feedback; 2) the skill to receive feedback; 3) the skill to give feedback; and 4) the will to give feedback.

Olds’ position is that giving feedback is part of a larger continuum and we need to instill other necessary feedback proficiencies across our organizations before and after we train managers.

Olds’ points are eminently sensible but it’s not entirely true that teaching managers to give feedback effectively doesn’t work. Our employees want feedback and the vast majority say it improves their performance. Read the Harvard Business Review post, “Your Employees Want the Negative Feedback You Hate to Give,” which makes a strong case for the value of both positive and negative feedback. And even if 100 percent of employees don’t put feedback to use, many do.

Undoubtedly, we would be better off if we took Olds’ advice and created workplace environments in which all four of his traits could take root in the proper order. These environments would be true “feedback cultures,” nurturing continuous learning and improvement, inspirational performance reviews, and universal accountability.

But even in our less-than-perfect workplaces, managers who know how to give feedback effectively do make a difference.

~

Connect with the individuals and sources highlighted in this post by clicking the links below:

@FistfulOfTalent

Benjamin Olds (LinkedIn profile)

@HarvardBiz

HR Tech Wrap Up

noreply@blogger.com (Reviewsnap) — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 14:30:00 +0000

Getting ready to pack up and head back to the office after several great days here at the HRTechnology Conference and Expo.

As always, attendees were treated to some truly thought-provoking presentations including a lively panel discussion moderated by David Gergen about how data and analytics will shape the workplace. And, as always, I met some extremely dedicated HR professionals who were interested in discussing my favorite topic, the state of performance management.

Being that we’re here in Sin City, however, I also happened to see some pretty crazy behavior when the nightlife got underway, the kind of behavior that made me look the other way. Thankfully, none of these shenanigans took place at the event itself! But now I fully understand why they created the slogan, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

It struck me that I’m not usually in the business of looking the other way, and neither are the people I spoke with at the conference. We’re performance management and HR professionals. It’s our job to pay attention to behavior—to recognize and reward good behaviors in our employees … to offer counsel and feedback when we see the wrong behaviors … and to develop and instill the right behaviors throughout our workforces by modeling desired behavior ourselves.

Of course, I’m using the term “behavior” in a pretty large sense here and I’m mostly referring to performance-related behaviors, the kind that make individuals either effective or ineffective in their roles. Still, the whole behavior issue got me to thinking that this is one more reason performance reviews are more necessary and valuable than ever—provided they’re conducted well.

At one point during the conference, I was asked whether performance reviews are here to stay or whether they’re dying out. I said that performance reviews, in one form or another, will always be around for a whole host of good reasons. But I’ll add a caveat here. I certainly don’t want those traditional, once-a-year, paint-by-numbers reviews to stick around. As we’ve said in the past, they’re not much good to anybody.

The good news is … the performance review revolution has begun! I’ve seen firsthand how more and more employers are updating and improving their review process. (Read a few of our recent case studies to see for yourself.) When I think of the progress they’re making, I want to do backflips and jump for joy.

But that kind of behavior tends to draw attention—unless you’re in Vegas.

From the Floor at HR Tech …

noreply@blogger.com (Reviewsnap) — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 14:30:00 +0000

The hustle and bustle of the HR Technology Conference and Expo are in full swing in Las Vegas! And despite the famous slogan, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” I want to tell you about a subject that a surprising number of HR professionals here have raised with me.

That subject is … more frequent and streamlined performance reviews.

These conversations have been music to my ears! As you know if you read this blog with any regularity, we’ve been writing about the benefits of holding more frequent and informal reviews for quite some time. (If you’re interested, you can read “The Case for More Frequent Performance Reviews,” “The Art of Effective Performance Reviews,” and “Heed These 5 Performance Management Realities—Before It’s Too Late!” for more about the topic.)

The type of review we’ve been advocating increasingly is conversational in nature, less geared toward “criticism” or “critique,” and intended to either supplement or replace the traditional annual review (we prefer supplement). We’ve been recommending that managers hold meetings with their reports at least quarterly, if not even more frequently. And we’ve been stressing that managers should focus on asking just a few very simple and direct questions during these meetings—questions such as:

·      What have you accomplished since the last time we spoke, and what do you intend to accomplish in the next two or three months?
·         What are the main challenges you face in doing your job?
·         How can I help you overcome these challenges and clear roadblocks you’re facing?

With so many HR pros actually seeking me out at this conference to discuss revamping their performance review process, I’m more certain than ever that our cloud-based technology can be a catalyst for real change. It not only helps companies streamline their review process but it also gives their managers the tools they need to guide and track these discussions more effectively.

Given the urgency I’m sensing in these conversations, there’s no way that what’s happening in Vegas is going to stay here! In fact, I’m sure these conversations are going to continue long after we all get home.