Are performance reviews still a necessity in the workplace?

Love them or hate them- performance reviews are an integral part of HR practises in firms across the globe. Traditionally, this method was the main way that managers provided employees with feedback and appointed promotions and new responsibilities. 

However, with many new ways to communicate with employees and benchmark performance, are these evaluations on their way out the door for firms or is a simple case of adjusting HR policies? 

Do scheduled appraisals have relevance?

A recent survey conducted by OfficeTeam revealed how often firms conduct employee reviews. The majority (52 per cent) only held reviews once per year. Just 12 per cent conducted a review every quarter and 16 per cent had a flexible system.

However, 25 per cent of employees stated that performance reviews are ineffective in terms of improving performance, compared to 11 per cent of HR managers. Reflecting on these results, Executive Director of OfficeTeam Robert Hosking explained that the effectiveness of this venture depends on the efforts employers make. 

"All performance appraisals are not created equal. Companies need to determine the format and frequency of these assessments that works best for their employees," he said.

Another study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology found that stale performance systems are having a detrimental effect on productivity. 

Over 75 per cent of managers struggle to see performance improvements in their workplace. Conducting an annual performance review often fails to address issues or triumphs in a timely manner when it is most relevant to employees and the workplace.

How can managers provide effective feedback?

An article published in the September 2013 volume of Educational Learning highlighted seven essential elements that must be present in a feedback system in order to see a positive change in performance. These include: actionability, transparency, consistency, timeliness, straight-forward wording, as well as being goal-oriented and continuous.

Firms need to think carefully about how to include each of these elements into their new feedback structures. Rather than complicated systems that alienate an employee with jargon, managers must be able to convey information that is meaningful to the employee. These points should also be revisited in future sessions to track progress and give workers new targets and objectives to meet.

While this can be a difficult process to revise, getting assistance from an HR consultant may be a wise option to build a solid new platform for feedback.