Management

7 Ways to Make the Performance Review Process Better

The employee performance review process is crucial for both large and small organizations. That’s mainly because it’s the most effective way you can track and analyze your employees’ performances, results and their contributions to the well-being of the organization. Here are 7 ways which you can use to make the process better for yourself and your employees:

1. Constantly Update Employee Performance Logs

The process is never easy especially if you are using your memory to independently recall each employee’s behaviors and results. If you are a manager in a large organization with many employees, then the process must be a nightmare to you, and you subsequently prepare erroneous reports since you cannot have a superhuman magnetic memory. To make the evaluation process easier, you should maintain a record on the employees’ performances. With such a log, you won’t have to strain since you’ll simply refer to it as you do the actual performance review.

2. Use Positive, Non-judgmental Language

You may have noted an undesirable behavior on an employee. However, you should not negatively state it since that would obviously discourage him/her from improving. For example, instead of stating “You have been lazy lately,” you should say something like “You are capable of producing much more work.”

3. Implement a Solid and Effective Follow Up Plan

You are done with the daunting task of preparing performance review reports. So, what’s next? This is the point that most managers fail to address. Don’t sit and wait for your employees to work on their weaknesses. You should instead set up an effectual follow up plan which would help employees evaluate themselves, maintain their strengths and work to improve their weaknesses.

4. Do Simple and Frequent Performance Review Processes

Most managers and employees prefer having performance reviews just once a year- because it’s obviously daunting for both of these groups. Performance reviews however, are aimed at improving the individual workers. This can’t be effectively done if the review is just done once a year. The most ideal way is conducting performance reviews which are simple for both groups more frequently.

5. Set Up a Simple Performance Measurement System

Don’t just cook up grades for the performances of your respective employees. You should instead use a well detailed performance measurement system which should be made accessible to the employees. This helps them countercheck their performances and keep tabs on how good they actually are compared to other employees.

6. Focus on Both The Positives and The Negatives

No matter how good you think an employee is, he/she has his/her set of negatives. Similarly even the worst employees have their positives. Therefore, each employee’s review should clearly detail all the negatives and positives. This would help them maintain the positives and work to improve on the negatives.

7. Be Frank

This is the most important thing in the performance review process. You have to honestly and accurately review all your employees regardless of your feelings towards them. Each manager has the specific set of employees he/she would prefer gone from the organization. Similarly, there’s a group of employees you would easily favor. Each employee however, should be fairly reviewed by clearly highlighting both the positives and negatives. This consequently improves employees collectively which eventually develops the organization.

[performancereview]