They are upon us again, and many hate them: performance reviews. Every year, it's a thing. For employers, executives and managers, but also for employees. During these conversations, they discuss how the employee has functioned and performed over the past year. There are often consequences attached to this result. Usually this is in the form of a bonus or salary increase, but unfortunately not everyone's salary is always increased.
Appraisals are a part of human resources management in most organizations. However, research shows that 80% of employees think it's time for a different approach. But how do you approach such an interview? I give you 8 tips for the appraisal interview and at the end you will find our free 'appraisal interview questionnaire'.
Tip 1. Make sure the outcome of the performance review is not a big surprise.
Our first tip for the performance review is perhaps one of the most important. Make sure that the appraisal interview is not a surprise. It is important that the result of this conversation does not come as a surprise to the employee. Whether it is positive or negative. It is good if employees know throughout the year whether they are performing well, or not. How can you do this? Giving feedback is a good example. Through software, this is very easy to secure. You can give each other feedback at any time of the day, or ask for feedback yourself . Note: Don't just give each other (constructive) criticism, but also a compliment once in a while. Because that makes everyone happy, doesn't it? By continuously giving each other feedback, the employee knows whether he/she is doing well, and what could be improved. As a result, the appraisal interview will not be a big surprise.
Tip 2. Clearly write down in advance what your assessment is based on. And why this is so important.
Good preparation is half the battle. Know what you want to discuss with this employee. Know how he/she performed over the past year, what he/she did well and what did not. What are the main duties of his/her position? What were the main goals? Were these performed well? Base your assessment on that: keep it factual. Good HR software helps you take stock of this and write it down carefully. That way you can always find it later and include it in subsequent conversations.
Tip 3. Make sure it's not a one-way street.
It is a conversation. A conversation has two transmitters and two receivers. The sender is also receiver and the receiver is also transmitter. When one person is talking continuously, without input from the other, there is no conversation. So enter the conversation. Ask the other person for his/her opinion. How did the other person experience the past year? What could be better according to him/her? What went very well?
Tip 4. Talk more often
Within Treams, we talk to our supervisor once every two weeks. Sometimes this is fifteen minutes, sometimes an hour. We schedule this in our calendar so that these appointments are not forgotten. During these conversations, we discuss how we are doing, how we feel and whether we are on track to achieve our goals. This way, our manager knows what we are doing and can indicate what we can do better, what we need to focus on, and what is going very well.
Tip 5. During the review interview, ask about things you wouldn't otherwise ask about.
How are you doing at home? Can you separate work and home well? Do you have a good relationship with your colleagues? Where do you get your energy from in your spare time? These are all things you don't immediately think of when having an appraisal interview, but they are certainly not unimportant! Show interest in your employees, you will be surprised what that can do to some.
Tip 6. Motivate!
Of course, feedback during the appraisal interview may be critical. Especially if the employee's performance is not up and running. However, it is important that you bring this well. In a constructive way. What can the other person change so that his/her performance improves? It is important to motivate this person to improve. It must therefore be clear what points he/she must improve and why this is important. Link that to the ambitions of the team, for example. What is also important: let it be known that they can always come to you if they need help, for example. After all, employees like to feel heard.
Tip 7. In a different place
Have you already reserved a space for this year's performance reviews? Not yet? Then don't! Sit somewhere else for a change. For example, go out to lunch together or to a cozy coffee shop. This ensures that the conversation is less 'heavy'. And it's always better than 10 conversations a day in that musty meeting room.
Tip 8. Review by others
By others? But who else can judge my employees? Customers, for example! Or colleagues. Actually, it's quite logical. Many managers don't see their employees as often as customers or colleagues see them. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to ask them for feedback . How does the employee in question interact with them? How is the cooperation going? What goes well and what could be better? Based on that information, you can make a better assessment. How do you collect that information? You can do that very easily with a 360-degree feedback tool. With this you can send a questionnaire to colleagues and also to external parties.
Hopefully these tips will help make your performance review a good conversation instead of an obligatory one, too. And remember: By giving each other positive and critical feedback, we can make each other so much better. Want to know more about how to give feedback? Then download our feedback magazine.
Our 'assessment interview questionnaire'
Of course, there's no one size fits all when it comes to the performance review either, and you can't just blindly ask the same questions of every employee. But to help you a bit, we have listed a few questions for you in this questionnaire. If you use this questionnaire as a guide, the conversation will go a lot easier. Just make sure these questions lead to a two-way conversation.
- How are you doing?
- What accomplishments from the past year are you most proud of? Why are you proud of them? What exactly did that do to you and what was the result of that?
- Is there a particular part of your job that you do reluctantly?
- What was the last time the time flew by and then you went home with a big smile? What had you done then? Why did you like that so much?
- If you could choose one task to perform next year, what task would it be and why?
- In which situation do you learn the most and can you develop optimally?
- Do you know where your talent lies? What does your talent add value to the organization? What do you need from me or your other colleagues for that?
- Where would you like to be in 5 years and why? What do you need to achieve this? How will your development contribute to the organization's goals? What will you do to track this development?
Hopefully you can get started with these tips and questionnaire for the assessment interview. I wish you good luck, but most of all, have fun! Toi, toi, toi!