Why do we need performance appraisals? For some, regular appraisals and check-ins with employees are an essential pillar of good performance management. But for others, it’s an outdated system that doesn’t bring results.
Outdated approaches to staff performance reviews
Earlier this year, Forbes described staff performance reviews as “artifacts left over from the Industrial Revolution.” Traditionally, staff performance reviews are annual meetings discussing an employee’s performance against set targets. This once-a-year process is increasingly seen as insufficient. It’s now more often recognised that employees need more frequent feedback to stay focused and aligned with fast-changing customer needs.
Driving a corporation with hundreds or thousands of people employed, requires that you have a solid structure in your performance management process. That’s the reason why some of us during our careers have been forced to follow a traditional performance management process – only to face that both managers and employees are wasting their time. At best the process added some awareness of people development, but no useful outcome.
How performance management has changed over time
At some point the transition of performance management dictated a shift to check-in coaching and surveys to deliver employee feedback. Then soft skills and performance-oriented competence training appeared on the agenda. Finally, it became the norm to skip the focus on KPI’s and start focusing on the conversation instead.
But different organisations find themselves in different stages. In the light of this fluctuating development, let’s just stop and think:
- Will we be able to go on with the time consuming way of doing staff performance reviews with traditional paper or tool support?
- Can we neutralise and reduce the risk of staff churn by just forcing people to follow a performance process that’s not being used for anything afterwards?
- Do we ensure that the new generations in our workforce are continuously given feedback, training and employee-manager conversations?
Hundreds of corporations are going from traditional performance management to people development with a focus on the outcomes of the process instead of the process itself.
Shift to continuous improvement and regular feedback
With modern learning and development tools, businesses are giving staff performance reviews a warm welcome back. But in a reinvented format. Modern performance management has shifted from rigid, paper-based processes to continuous feedback and development. This transition addresses the inadequacies of traditional annual reviews by providing regular, meaningful feedback that keeps employees engaged and aligned with company goals.
The new format is built on modern technology, ensuring that managers can practice great leadership. In particular, an approach that focuses on securing a simplified and fast process, giving room to work with outputs of automatic training and check-ins after we have reflected on how it went, and how we are going to improve. A process going from days and weeks spent on something painful, to something motivating with focus on people performance, where the motivation leads to increased employee engagement and better productivity.
Modern performance appraisal solutions
We have clarified that modern performance appraisals are processes that need to be done regularly. This however can take a lot of time & resources but that can all be solved with a modern performance management solution. We have found a way to simplify the appraisal process while keeping the important factors still intact.
Feedback:
We encourage ongoing feedback which is why we have enabled a way to focus on one-on-one conversations. Our conversations dashboard allows you to keep track of employee check-ins, schedule talks ahead of time, and track outcomes all from a single hub.
Development:
Employees never have to worry about if they are improving their skills because they can track their own progress & create goals for themselves. We help share the power of progress & improvement instead of restricting it.
Formality:
Gone are the days that employees dread their appraisal meeting because we have made reviews easy to track and prepare for. With a shared dashboard for note-taking, and recommended agenda items, questions, and outcomes we have established a way for employees & managers to be in constant contact, and to ensure all voices are heard.
Frequency:
Feedback, reviews & appraisals are now a daily part of life with eloomi rather than the annual timeline of the old days. Employees know where they stand on a regular basis & managers can provide insights in a timely manner.
Related: 7 of the Best Ways to Provide Employee Feedback
Benefits of a modern performance appraisal approach
Future performance appraisals must integrate regular feedback, goal setting, and development tracking. Simplifying the appraisal process while keeping its essential elements intact can significantly benefit organizations.
For Managers:
- Eliminate appraisal formalities and spend more time on coaching and ongoing feedback
- Get uncomplicated review process with simple guides and easy to use templates
- Notification pings tells when to follow up
For Employees:
- Take charge of their own development and initiate new goals and improvement areas
- Make the training and development plan an active part of their day-to-day job focus
- Check in with their manager anytime, anywhere
For HR:
- Increase productivity propelled by a simplified and agile online process
- Improve Work Engagement through active employee development
- Reduce employee churn via better match of job role and development
Explore performance appraisals with eloomi
Rather than viewing performance appraisals as relics of the past, it’s time to embrace their next-generation counterparts. Modern performance appraisals ensure the process is not only necessary but also beneficial for both employees and organizations. Continuous improvement, regular feedback, and modern technology integration make performance appraisals more relevant and effective in today’s fast-paced work environment.
Ready to explore how you can transform your performance appraisals or staff performance reviews process? Get in touch to see how eloomi supports a better process for people development.
