More and more large companies are turning their backs on the annual appraisal in pursuit of a different approach to managing performance.
Accenture, Deloitte, Microsoft and Google are just a few household names often sited as key examples.
Of course, this doesn’t mean these employers are any less interested in their staff performance. Far from it.
But they have recognised the traditional annual approach is very unwieldy, hugely time-consuming, and largely ineffective.
The problem with sitting down just once per year is that by the time you are ready to carry out a review, many aspects of your employee’s performance have long been forgotten, and no longer seem relevant.
Tackling problems needs to be done quickly not waiting until several months down the line. Whilst celebrating success clearly needs to be done in the here and now to make it effective.
Many of these large companies have turned to a project based approach. At the end of each project all of the team reflect on the project and their performance. The process is deliberately designed so there are some short, quick answer questions rather than reams of self-reflection that never sees the light of day.
To make managing performance effective, feedback needs to be quick and relevant. You need to give your people the chance to reflect on their own performance and identify what their next steps are.
You still need to make sure there is a proper process to follow. You need to capture the conversations that take place and ensure any agreed actions are followed up.
You also need to be clear about next steps – don’t just leave it to your employees. It is your responsibility to ensure your management team are giving the appropriate support and guidance to make sure all of your employees become the very best they can be.
To implement effective performance management in your business, please contact us on 01256 328 428.