Performance review and its benefits

Do you have performance reviews in your organisation? If not, it’s time to start!

We often hear managers say, “We don’t need these conversations, we already talk to our people every week.”

Performance Reviews: a discussion of long-term goals and achievements

However, it’s not just about having conversations, it’s far more important what you talk about. Quantity and quality are not the same thing. The main purpose of these conversations is not to discuss daily tasks, but rather to focus on a longer period: a quarter, six months, a year. What has been achieved? What has been done? What challenges have been faced and how have they been overcome? This conversation is a great opportunity for both the employee and the manager to pause and reflect on the past months. In the daily grind, we often fail to recognize how much has been accomplished and achieved.

Performance reviews: giving feedback to your employee

This conversation is a great opportunity to give your employees feedback.

• Recognize their work: show them that you see the value they create. This is especially lacking – after all, well-done work is taken for granted. But everyone likes to be appreciated. In employee engagement surveys, employees often say they lack recognition and a kind word. This is one tool that costs the organisation nothing – just the manager’s willingness and time to acknowledge their employee.
• Celebrate victories together: too often, when we reach one goal, we rush to achieve new ones, but when do we have time to celebrate what has been done? These conversations are for self-reflection.
• Discuss challenges and areas for improvement: it’s important to discuss not only what is being done well, but also what challenges arise and where improvement is needed. While feedback should be given throughout the year, performance reviews are meant to summarize and address all key points.

Performance review conversation – planning future work and goals

After evaluating the past period, these conversations offer the chance to look ahead: setting goals, identifying training needs, and understanding employee expectations and needs.

• Goals for the future: where are we headed in the next six months or a year? What do we want to achieve?
• Areas for improvement and growth: where could the employee do better, or where are they keen to develop? What steps can we take to make that happen? Remember, learning isn’t just about training courses; it happens on the job, with support from colleagues and managers.
• Employee expectations and needs: This is an excellent opportunity for the employee to express their expectations and needs, and for the manager to respond accordingly. Employees often feel uncomfortable discussing salary expectations, career needs, team relationships, etc. Performance review conversations create the space to talk about these things openly.

If you get it right, performance reviews become a genuine dialogue, after which your employee should walk away feeling motivated and with a clear understanding of what they have accomplished and what they will do next. They should also know what the organisation can do to meet their needs and what it cannot. Most importantly, the employee will feel heard and recognized.

The Benefits are clear, so why don’t performance reviews always work?

The value of these conversations is undeniable, but when not properly organised, they can become unwelcome by the team. What are the main reasons performance reviews fail to deliver the benefits described above?

1. Infrequent Communication: Managers only talk to their employees once a year. Regular catch-ups are key, with one-on-ones and team meetings to keep the conversation going. Performance reviews should be a chance to sum things up and look ahead.

2. Outdated goals: Yearly reviews just don’t cut it anymore. Goals set a year ago can quickly become old news when things change. Goals need to be flexible and updated as the situation evolves.

3. Goals do not match reality or are artificially imposed.

• For example, “Read a book” is not an appropriate goal. It should be based on SMART principles (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).
• Or, if the goal is basically impossible, your employee won’t be motivated to even try. Why bother aiming for something you know you can’t reach

4. Managers struggle to give effective feedback: employees are left in the dark about their strengths and weaknesses. The conversation just feels like a tick-box exercise, something HR told them they had to do.

5. Poor communication from HR: HR doesn’t get across why these conversations are important or how they should work. It’s important to spell out the value and process and to train people properly. Don’t assume managers will know how to have these conversations without any help or preparation.

6. The wrong format: performance reviews can have different parts and questions, so it’s important to pick the ones that suit your company’s needs and culture.

It’s not just about having the conversations, but also how and where they happen. Too often, these conversations are still recorded in Word or Excel files. This makes life hard for HR and managers alike. Don’t miss the chance to simplify things by using the right tools and dedicated platforms for the job.

Want to have a top-notch performance review conversation? Whether you’re already doing them or just getting started, we can help. Get your hands on the UNLOCK Tests Performance tool and manage those conversations with ease. Try the UNLOCK Tests platform for free: book a meeting and we’ll give you access to a demo version.