Are Performance Appraisals Giving You a Hard Time?

Day after day, week after week, you struggle to manage the performance of your team members. Even when it comes to employees who do a good job, it is difficult to manage the company's demands and what the employees need to hear. It is not only the bad news that must be conveyed, but also the good news often has conditions. Fortunately, you are not alone in fighting for better performance and more effective staff meetings. Several organizations are striving to improve the employee interview and change the employees' view of the increasingly inflamed topic.

Regulations can get in the way

There are natural barriers in the company that tend to stand in the way of effective employee interviews. The organization may be too involved in the process, or it may stand too far away. The delicate balance between the company's standards, the managers' expectations and the communication with the employees is currently unstable.

It's a common lament among those disillusioned with performance management processes: Why can't managers give employees honest feedback? While conventional wisdom tells us that managers often have an inherent reluctance to provide feedback to employees, a new paper suggests that the manager's ability is only part of the problem.

Instead of letting these formal barriers stand in the way of a successful performance review, open up regular conversations about employee performance. Train the managers to communicate effectively, so that they not only act as mentors or motivators, but also as more objective interlocutors in such situations.

Outdated performance evaluation

The workforce has changed, so why hasn't the mentality around employee interviews? It's true that most people don't like the anticipation before the interview and often feel like they've wasted their time... but interviews don't have to be that way... Part of the problem with the disdain for interviews is the aging systems.

In fact, 67% of organizations planning to purchase performance management software, either for the first time or to replace existing solutions, are doing so in part because their current systems are becoming obsolete in an increasingly dynamic workforce. As performance management is increasingly considered critical to the success of a modern organization, there is a great need to replace the old systems because they no longer support next-generation practices. Like most other companies working towards a new system, you should change your performance management to something that has access to the preferences of your employees and managers.

Dissatisfied employees ... and managers

The clash between regulations, an outdated system and what managers want (and should) say has led to employees and their superiors being frustrated that employee interviews have become a general standard in the company. The misinterpretation of not only the purpose of, but also the method of a constructive performance evaluation has led to managers refusing to carry out such evaluations on behalf of the organization. This leads to the employees not getting the quality rating they should get, and they become dissatisfied with the waste of time and energy that the employee interviews seem to be.

Too often the process of employee interviews becomes more important than the actual outcome. What do the employees want to get out of the employee interviews? What employees primarily want to know is what career path they are on - what they have to look forward to in terms of growth and development at work.

You should reintroduce the outdated employee interview process. Find a system that works well for you and your team, based on what kind of manager feedback they find most valuable.

You've spent a lot of time figuring out how to handle employee interviews, but you're not the only one who struggles with giving helpful and constructive criticism. By changing the mentality around employee interviews and effective communication, you and your team can find a solution for employee interviews that really makes a difference to the quality of work.

In the quest for effective performance appraisals, overcoming regulatory hurdles, updating outdated systems, and fostering open communication can revolutionize the employee interview process.

IceHrm offers a comprehensive Performance Appraisal Software to streamline and enhance this crucial aspect of talent management.