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How to Give Your Performance Review System a Modern Facelift
For many decades, performance reviews have been a necessary evil for both companies and employees. The standard annual performance evaluation comes right around the busiest time of the year and can strike fear into employees. This big formal process is distracting and less genuine than a more personalized approach to employee reviews.
Taking a more modern approach to employee reviews eliminates the stigma attached to the process and can give employers more tangible information than a standard review system. Giving more frequent, informal reviews gives you the opportunity to better guide your employees’ professional growth and development.
Eliminate the informal forms
The more rigid you make your reviews, the less effective they become. Employees will eventually understand how the process works and only do what looks good on a review form instead of what’s best for the company. One general review form can’t encompass each aspect of a job that will come up.
Review forms also promote procrastination. An employee can wait until the last minute, and so long as they reach their quotas for the end-of-the-year review, their supervisors will still praise their work.
Modern review programs give employees the intrinsic motivation to work hard throughout the year. With more consistent reviews, an employee does not have to wait until the end of the year to be rewarded for their great performance. Their review will also be more personalized to their unique initiatives and the feedback will be more useful.
Turn the tables
Performance reviews should not just be focused on the employee’s performance. Turning the tables during a review and allowing employees the opportunity to provide feedback on ways in which the company could better support them in their initiatives is a great way to improve employee satisfaction and productivity. Your employees know their jobs and their departments better than anyone and therefore have the most relevant information you can use to improve company processes.
Focus on progression over output
When you utilize your new modern performance review system, pay close attention to how your team progresses. This gives your employees a chance throughout the year to touch base with their supervisors. They can also give and receive valuable feedback to keep them on track to reach their benchmarks.
Younger employees are also given a better chance to flourish in a more up-to-date review program. By not applying the same form to each employee, employees are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, which gives less experienced employees the chance to be reviewed on their potential instead of their production. This can boost a young worker’s confidence and give them the opportunity to rise through the ranks.
For more managerial advice or to empower your team by hiring a new employee, partner with Halcyon Finance & Accounting Recruitment. We have a pool of deeply talented Toronto wide accounting and finance professionals. Contact us today.
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