Recent research from PwC revealed that two thirds of larger companies are thinking about revamping their appraisals processes. The 2015 Performance Management Research found that businesses are becoming increasingly eager to ditch the once-a-year approach and instead concentrate on developing practices that create a continuous feedback culture.
It’s often suggested that it’s time for appraisals to be scrapped in favour of more business-focused solutions, but it’s unlikely that savvy leaders will be taking them completely off the agenda anytime soon. After all, if you want your staff to achieve great things, you’re going to have to ensure that you’re giving them the right kind of support. Appraisals still have a very important role to play.
But it’s true that it may be time to update your approach, and consider how you can make your performance management systems really work for your business. Read on to find out more about the directions that you might want to take in the future.
How can you harness technology?
Technology is changing the way that we work and the way that we carry out our everyday tasks, so it makes sense to think about how it could be used to provide a slicker solution to facilitate effective performance management. Some leaders will see this as a headache, but once you get past the teething issues, it could prove to be one of the best things that you ever do.
A system that’s accessible on the go could be just what you need to make sure that assessing performance is something that happens on a regular basis, and not just at the end of the year as a last-minute activity. The beauty of turning to technology is that you can create a system that meets all of your needs. Want the ability to hold discussions remotely? Want staff to be able to quickly upload evidence of their achievements? Anything is possible. The prospect of having less paperwork will certainly appeal to many!
How can you provide value for your employees?
One of the main reasons why appraisals are sometimes so passionately disliked by employees is because they fail to see the value that they can offer, not just to the business, but to them as individuals. Performance management mechanisms can be seen as a way of ‘checking up’ on them, and bringing to light the areas in which they aren’t hitting the mark. When you think about it like this, it’s no wonder that you’re struggling to get your staff onboard.
Consider what kind of changes you might be able to make to turn the tables. How can you ensure that the process helps employees to reach their own career goals and get to where they want to be in your business? And importantly, what happens after the discussions have taken place? Your workers are much more likely to feel that the process brings value if they can see that changes are being made accordingly, and that they’re being supported when they have areas in which they might be able to sharpen their skills.
Keep your eye on the bigger picture, but also try delving deeper into the aspects where you can make a real change. Need a little help with getting off to a great start? Get in touch. We’d be happy to discuss how we might be able to assist when it comes to getting your appraisal processes up to speed.