Time to toss the annual review? (The employer branding booster shot you can use right now)
Annual Performance reviews, if you are still one of many companies conducting an annual review with your employees, we understand that 2020 may be the trickiest yet.
No matter what side of the table one finds themself on during a performance review, this has to be the single most despised day for all. How could it not be? Traditionally this one moment is tied directly into an individual’s yearly earnings and how much their earnings may or may not increase over the course of the year.
Well, it seems as the season is upon us! For many companies and leaders alike we are willing to bet you’re looking back at 2020 questioning how you’re going to do this.
Yes, you have your standard outlined criteria. Little boxes to tick in terms of productivity, attendance, and a myriad of additional line items to be reviewed. Maybe this year, due to the obvious, increases are being delayed, diminished, or not given at all.
As many companies are unable to provide pay increases this year, some may want to abandon the “yearly check-in” with employees. Completely abandoning this process signals that the only time to “care” about employee performance is when it is tied to monetary rewards. We can’t stress enough, that is a mistake
We can’t stress enough, that is a mistake.
Rather than abolishing the review process, why not take this opportunity to examine the existing program and shift gears! Moving away from a single point performance review and moving toward more frequent, informal touchpoints with your employees may yield better results for everyone.
Why?
Every employee matters and they NEED to know it. Too often, the annual review is the only time an employee sits one on one with their manager. We know regular touchpoints and two-way conversations with employees allow for the greater ability to get in front of issues with more productive and meaningful mentorship and “real-time” guidance. More so, this is a golden-egg type opportunity for a company to evaluate itself continually. The past year has been tough for many of us at all levels for a multitude of reasons – nevermind the viral Voldemort (Covid-19). Shifting how you communicate, and what value is placed on both the company and individual during a performance review is more important today than ever before.
Spending frequent and meaningful time with your employees is an excellent way to take a pulse check on everyone and make sure all are okay with the responses your company has enacted over the year. If you’ve had to move some of your workforces to be more home-based, checking in should already be a regular occurrence. This doesn’t mean setting up a decent one-on-one video call for a more structured conversation regarding performance and employee well being shouldn’t be a scheduled thing.
Regular reviews (whether monthly or quarterly) structured in a format where you and the employee can speak to and collectively plan out strategies for optimizing work is a basic way a company can understand and improve the employee experience which then bleeds into the overall employer brand. Both parties need to walk away with actionable initiatives that both will hold each other accountable to. This transforms the review into a meeting with a purpose beyond performance.
- Not a year we will eagerly rush to review, at what point was it “business as usual”? One thing did remain and always will: employees, and how you interact with them has a direct impact on who you are as an employer.