We’re more than half-way through the year, and I’ve got a scary question for you: Where are you with your annual review? Have you thought about it since you walked through it with your boss just before the holidays? Have you made any progress on the goals you set in January?
August is not the traditional time to think about the annual review. But that makes it the best time to reconsider the practice. What is your companies policy on performance reviews? If you don’t have one, then you have options. If you need to be compliant with your policies, then you have to deal with the best way to handle this important task.
You see, it’s my belief that the standard performance review fails workers and employers. It’s also my belief that there’s another way. Behavior data allows managers to speak in specifics with their workers to drive progress all year long. Intrigued? Read on.
Where the annual review fails
The annual review fails for three reasons.
1. It’s taxing.
If you’ve ever managed anyone, you know how much work goes into a performance review. Each review deserves your full attention — after all, that’s the mechanism that will drive workers’ growth (and, not to mention, pay) throughout the next year. But combing through 12 months of meeting notes to devise each reports’ strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities takes serious time and effort.
There’s another side to consider here: The employee. Performance reviews are a classic trigger for stress and anxiety among workers. The performance review itself, embroiled in nerves and tension, steals the show, taking attention from what’s really demanding: A coming year of hard work and progress.
2. It’s subjective.
Managers are human. That means managers are subjective. One manager may see an employee’s socializing as self-indulgent procrastination, while another may see it as a collaboration-boosting strategy. The difference in opinion could color the tone of a performance review.
Employees are also human and subjective. An employee may interpret a manager’s firm feedback as a nice-to-have goal rather than the key to their promotion.
3. It’s vague.
Performance reviews are often littered with vague feedback and hazy goals. This leaves managers and employees in an unhelpful spot: Employees don’t know how to move forward, and managers don’t know how to assess their progress.
Behavior data does it better
The problems with performance reviews leave a lot of room for improvement. And they’ll motivate some to go back to the drawing board entirely. Here’s my preferred option: Behavior data.
Using scientific tools to unveil the patterns in your employees’ actions, thinking, preferences, and passions, you’ll see how they work and why. You’ll gain the insights you need to propel them toward better performance. And you’ll ascertain where they want to go in the long term.
Let us, at PeopleBest, help you get to your 2022 finish line with a sample or insight of anyone on your team, on us!
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