A new "whipping boy" is emerging in the workplace....the annual review.
Leaders are talking about it. Leaders want to do something about it, but there is little consensus about how. Organizations are beginning to experiment with new approaches, many of which are in the "try it before you buy it" phase. Much has been recently written about a number of high profile organizations, such as Accenture and General Electric, eliminating the annual performance appraisal process.
Why the sudden reaction? Well, it's probably not sudden. Really this represents a trend over years and has been exacerbated by the influx of Millennials in the workplace, those that want more open and continuing communication and feedback.
According to a piece by NPR "studies show between 60 percent and 90 percent of employees, including managers, dislike the performance evaluation." Reaction from the participating constituencies -
- Managers dislike them - both preparing and/or delivering them.
- Employees often dislike receiving them - either because it is a perfunctory repeat of their self-review or because they receive feedback they have never heard before.
- HR often finds them troubling because problem employees don't receive ongoing feedback which could precede legal problems or the reviews don't serve as adequate documentation for promotions or compensation adjustments.
And then, there is the rating scheme; it never seems fair unless, of course, you're the one receiving the exceptional rating.
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Providing candid, timely and accurate feedback and holding employees accountable are hallmarks of successful organizations.
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So while the annual performance review is under question, what isn't changing is the need for all organizations to meet the fundamental objectives of fostering employee development, recognizing and rewarding noteworthy performance and bolstering the performance of individuals and teams. Providing candid timely and accurate feedback and holding employees accountable are hallmarks of successful organizations.
Most individuals who have had responsibility for managing others understand the drawbacks and imperfections inherent in relying on an annual performance appraisal to support employee development. The reality is that the vast majority of organizations that have a formalized performance feedback process in place have been working for years to incorporate more frequent, regular feedback loops into the process through which their employees receive guidance. The formal elimination of the annual performance appraisal could be a logical extension of this move to higher frequency feedback.
Truth be told, it's not just about your process design - it's about management's ability to provide meaningful feedback to support employee development....and most organizations continue to fall short of this goal. If you are thinking about making similar changes to your feedback process, here are some important questions to ask yourself:
