The Evolution of Employee Reviews to Performance Previews

Performance Reviews

I think Janice Burns, of thehrdirector.com asked the right question: “Will performance reviews still have a place in the new normal?” Receiving the stale, at-best quarterly, often yearly (if any) employee reviews leaves much to be desired. Are you that employer, that manager? How well is that working out for your company and its employee retention? Have you even considered that your lack of feedback could be a driving factor of your employee turnover rate? 

Retaining employees is harder than ever, with most employees believing the grass must be greener on the other side. We live in an age of instant gratification, but most companies are still slow to give feedback or adapt to change. If employees feel underappreciated, underutilized, or underpaid they are less likely to bring that up internally and are more likely to just look for another job where they feel like their wants will be better met. I know I have. 

only 14% of workers feel that they inspire them to perform better

Janice Burns, thehrdirector, April 5 2021

One of the biggest challenges Performance Scoring has undertaken, based on what we observed historically, is the required overhaul of traditional performance reviews. “Many employees feel disengaged with traditional performance review processes and only 14% of workers feel that they inspire them to perform better. Over half of workers want more regular performance check-ins — at least once a month. Real-time feedback, during and after projects, is favored by 94% of employees” (Janice Burns, thehrdirector, April 5 2021). As organizations move to fully remote or hybrid, how we communicate and coach our employees has changed; but that move from traditional in-office work hasn’t changed the reality that most of us as employees want to know how we are performing and how we can improve.

Improvement is what we all want, we want it for ourselves, for those we manage, for the culture we work in. To improve my skills, I need to know where they are lacking. To improve the skills of those I manage I need to have an accurate accounting of my employees’ skills. Ms. Burns goes on to say, “Understanding the current skills in a workforce will help managers and HR leaders know a baseline for any upskilling efforts and also spot skills gaps that will hinder the business strategy.”  

As we all seek additional tools to improve, one of the tools employees are seeking is for their employers to accept and implement a new style of performance engagement, Ms. Burns names these “performance previews.” She goes on to say that performance previews turn “the focus forward, instead of the hindsight approach used in performance reviews. Managers and workers look at the performance needed by the business in the future, and the skills that individuals need to meet expectations. It also considers a worker’s career goals and interests, and in this way, becomes a much more collaborative approach where value is gained on both sides.” 

Outdated employee reviews should no longer be the driving data point on employee performance. 

Sure, you are thinking that is all great in theory but how could I actually implement that kind of focus and shift into our current company. LoopSpire has created a freely accessible web application tool that leverage your unique organizational data, the factors that drive success in your business, the goals that your roles are working to achieve, so you can meet them right in the moment, to coach in those moments and ultimately provide your employees the attention, dedication, and coaching spirit that they desire. 

LoopSpire is leveraged by organizations of all sizes to provide real-time feedback, in the moment coaching, taking a skill–driven approach ensuring you and your employees goals, skills, and wants are aligned with one another and to the organization. Having full knowledge of your employees’ performance will always be important, but the outdated yearly or quarterly employee reviews should no longer be the driving data point on employee performance. 

References:

Burns, Janice. “Will Performance Reviews Still Have a Place in the New Normal?” TheHRDIRECTOR, 5 Apr. 2021, www.thehrdirector.com/features/talent-management/will-performance-reviews-still-place-new-normal/

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