Performance reviews aren’t the highlight of anyone’s calendar, both for managers or the individual’s being reviewed. But they’re a necessary part of business that can have a positive impact on the growth of the business and help people meet their career goals as well.
Performance reviews should involve setting challenging objectives that are achievable and a plan for development to help people move forward with their role. They should also take place regularly throughout the year, which HR software can help remind managers of to ensure they occur at the right stages and for also storing notes from the meetings.
However, there are areas where managers can fall short and leave employees demotivated – here are five errors to keep watch of to ensure that every team member leaves a review feeling positive and encouraged.
IMAGE: PEXELS
Providing Feedback That’s Too Personal
It’s unlikely that throughout your career as a manager, you’ll like every single person you work with – personality clashes are likely at some point and there will always be people that you don’t get along with.
But although some colleagues can be infuriating at times, you can’t allow that to cloud your judgement of their work performance – particularly during an appraisal. While subjective biases can sometimes get in the way, it’s vital that you can take a step back and provide objective feedback based on the individual’s performance at work, not on their personality.
Make sure that you inform them of how they’re doing in terms of their targets and provide them with the same encouragement and feedback that you’d give to any other employee, putting personal views aside.
Making The Appraisal A One-Way Conversation
A successful performance review involves both people, not just the manager. So, try to avoid taking over the conversation by simply talking at the person and get them involved as well. Employees should be able to use their review to provide their own perspective on what they like and don’t like about the way their career is progressing, the work they’re doing and the challenges they face. In listening to this, managers will gain a greater understanding of the strengths and opportunities that their team have, as well as their goals for the future.
Being Too Negative
Sometimes it’s tempting to use a performance review as a platform to highlight all the things that an employee could improve on, but they should also be about what they are doing right as much as what they’re doing wrong.
During an appraisal, find ways to provide more constructive feedback to team members, helping individuals to capitalize on their strengths but also helping them to improve areas where they aren’t performing as well.
Providing Unclear Feedback
Most people have experienced leaving a meeting or review at some point where they weren’t quite sure what the next steps were or what was expected from them. This is a common problem with managers giving appraisals but an easy one to fix.
Before heading into a performance review, make sure that the criticism you’re about to provide is clear and specific, rather than vague, as it will make it easier for employees to act on that feedback. If you have actions you want the individual to take, it’s also important to highlight these in detail so that there is no confusion or likelihood of them repeating the same mistakes.
A Lack Of Action Plan Going Forward
The goal of a successful performance review is for employees to be fired up and excited about their progress and career trajectory, so it’s important that managers provide a clear plan of action and measurable metrics.
A great way to ensure that everyone is on the same page is to schedule a follow-up for an informal chat several weeks or a month after the performance review to ensure that everything is going as planned.
If you are interested in even more business-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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