Developing a Successful Feedback and Performance Reviews Process
In today’s dynamic workplace, traditional performance reviews often fall short of providing a well-rounded perspective on an employee’s performance. This makes it increasingly difficult for companies to assess their employees’ efforts and plan the future of their human capital growth and overall people succession. For organizations in the growth phase, it becomes more important than ever to ensure that the feedback processes and mechanisms being implemented are effective and impactful. At Bay Street HR, we run into several different organizations that are looking to continue developing their high-performing employees while guiding them to professional success and ensuring the growth of their overall business. Below are some trends that we noticed in small to mid-sized businesses when it comes to feedback and performance review processes. Simple Processes – We’re seeing a big shift from the numerous pages of performance review documents to one to two pages that focus on the feedback and growth plan for each team member. Setting Expectations Early – Primarily and likely the most important step is laying a groundwork of open and clear expectations for all employees. Settings goals, targets and expectations at the onset save a lot of headaches and difficult conversations with employees later about their performance. Start with a Competencies Matrix – A document that outlines the growth of levels within the firm, the skills and competencies associated with each level and a typical timeframe of achieving each level in order to move on to the next. It’s important to ensure that the skills are broad and encompass not only technical abilities but also firm initiatives and team and leadership skills. Collection of 360 Feedback (at all levels) – Incorporating feedback from various team members across different departments ensures a wholesome approach to the process. 360-degree feedback systems which gather insights from multiple sources, provide a more comprehensive view of performance and help reduce bias in evaluations. While technical skills are important to evaluate and grow, a team member’s leadership, communication and collaboration skills need to also be assessed to have a well-rounded professional in the role. This also means collecting upward feedback for the senior team members of the organization – everyone should be receiving honest and constructive feedback. Moving Away from the Quantitative Ratings – Ratings in performance reviews have become cumbersome, difficult to allocate, and at times meaningless on a grander scale. Firms are now minimizing giving ratings for every skill and competency. Instead, firms are being mindful of providing thoughtful qualitative feedback about a team member’s performance. Focus on Development – To continue motivating and advancing your team members, a large focus has been placed on producing meaningful plans that specify how individuals can continue to grow. Looking backward is important for learning, but don’t forget the forward-looking plan to ensure growth within the team. Integration of Technology – Utilizing online tools such as an HRIS is increasingly becoming more popular. We noticed our smaller clients leaning toward an electronic review process to minimize long paper trails to provide feedback in real time. Consistency – How easy is it to think about punting the performance review process at the end of the fiscal year, especially when there are ‘more pressing’ tasks that need to be completed first? While this might be a tempting thought, just know that as with anything, you won’t see the results that you want from your team members until you put in the consistent effort to deliver feedback. Keep a simple process if needed, but ensure it occurs at the same time annually or semi-annually. Changing timelines or delaying the process shows that your team’s growth and development aren’t that important to the firm. Too busy at year-end? No problem, move the robust feedback process to mid-year, with a smaller touch point at year-end – but give the feedback process the attention that it deserves. At any time of the performance review process, whether you are starting a new one from scratch, making minor adjustments to your current one, or completely re-inventing your ‘out of date’ process – know that it is worth the added effort to take your time and not try to do it all at once. Having a lighter process one year and then adding more rigor to the process next year will guarantee a higher success rate than trying to implement everything at once. It also takes time for team members to adjust and trust the new process – know what works well for your organization and push to move that forward first. Bay Street HR has over 20 years of experience in tailoring and customizing performance review and feedback processes for many different organizations in various industries. Written by: Maha Masood, Partner, Consultant