4 Strategies to Elevate Employee Morale through Performance Evaluation Software

For many managers (and their employees), managing employee performance and boosting morale are mutually exclusive concepts. But what if the opposite were the case? What if proper performance management is actually one of the best ways to improve employee morale? If you're not convinced, you may not be familiar with how performance management software can be your not-so-secret ace up your sleeve when it comes to improving employee morale.

Let's take a closer look.

1. It Reduces Stress - Really? Yes Really!

Staff interviews can have a bad reputation among employees because of how they have been conducted in the past. Not many employees like having a quarterly or annual performance review hanging over their head for months with little or no communication between them. It can create stress in everyday life and make them feel unprepared for the employee interview itself.

That is why it is so important to have an ongoing communication model. Instead of waiting for months to raise issues or discuss personal goals an employee may have, these things are addressed in real time. The stress level does not build up in the same way as before, and both the manager and the employee can focus on what is important.

Performance Management and 360 degree feedback software can help your team move to a continuous communication model and maximize your employees' potential.

2. It Increase Commitment

If employees are not engaged, the organization suffers from top to bottom. Disengaged employees waste potential and are less loyal to the company. So how can you increase engagement with performance management software?

In a recent survey among the millennial generation, 51 percent of those questioned expressed that they want frequent and continuous feedback. This goes hand in hand with the implementation of an ongoing communication model, as mentioned earlier. When properly implemented, a formal appraisal process has been shown to increase employee performance by 25 percent and engagement by 35 percent. In addition, 43 percent of the most engaged employees are those who receive feedback at least once a week.

However, it is important to note that engaged employees want more than a paycheck - they want to feel valued. Take the time to listen to their ideas and empower them to achieve the goals they have set (except those coming directly from management).

3. It Makes Compensation a Rewarding Experience

Dashboards built into a performance management tool can help managers effectively communicate performance results and provide suggestions for development and improvement to each employee. However, it is not only the managers who benefit from this. Employees can use the dashboard to gain insight into how their performance is valued. And as we already know, the feeling of being valued has great importance for employees' commitment.

4. It Helps You Say Thank You In a Better Way

Employee morale is linked to a number of different things, as can be seen from the topics we have considered so far. And while each area has its own merits, employee appreciation (an often overlooked part of performance management) is perhaps the most important of them all.

Why is it like that? Because 69 percent of employees say they would work harder if their efforts were recognized more often!

Recognition is also an important part of the work to improve employee morale. This means that if you take the right steps to ensure that your employees know they are valued, it is likely that stress levels will decrease, engagement will increase and salary negotiations will be less tense.

It is not a new idea to use praise and recognition to boost employee morale, but it is nevertheless an area that many companies underestimate. A simple "thank you" can sometimes be more important than a monetary bonus for an employee. That's what makes gratitude so effective.

In summary, leveraging performance evaluation software is not just a management tool; it's a catalyst for elevating employee morale. By reducing stress, fostering continuous communication, linking performance to compensation, and recognizing efforts, IceHrm empowers organizations to create a workplace where morale and performance thrive hand in hand.