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Posts Tagged ‘Interactive Reviews’

Evaluate or Review?

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
Frequent communication can keep employees happy.

Frequent communication can keep employees happy.

Who enjoys evaluations? In our experience, neither the employee nor the evaluator thinks they’re much fun.  Individuals measure their worth differently; a high score in one area may not mean a thing to Jane, while it means the world to Joe. Your company may place a high value on promptness; while Kate thinks being a minute or two late is no big deal, as long as she is at work every day. 

Traditional evaluations that reduce an employee to a letter or number score may not be working—and you may not even know it. There are many ways to measure success. Maybe it’s time you evaluated your evaluation process!

Employee reviews tend to be more interactive, a word that is thrown around a great deal these days. It’s all about sharing information. Younger employees—the Gen Ys and Millenials—expect to participate in the process, rather than to be told what is happening. They want to feel like part of something important, and to know how they can make a difference.  Embrace this as you consider how best to manage them.

Consider weekly or bi-weekly chats with your employees. You may think, “there’s no time for that!”  But consider how much time you put into annual evaluations, with all the preparation, writing, and presenting time that go along with them. Many employers never get around to the formal evaluations because the process takes too long. Shorter, more frequent reviews could be the solution for your company.

Asking for feedback makes employees feel like important individuals. Focus on their needs and goals, tracking progress and asking how you can be effective in helping them reach theirs.

Reviews are a good time to talk about new responsibilities, too.  With more frequent communication, you’re likely to know better when an employee is ready for you to delegate new projects or tasks, making your job easier.

Don’t forget to take the opportunity to show appreciation for contributions to their team and the company. Tell them what they’re doing right. Then, explain the things that haven’t gone well, with suggestions for improvement. Keep it short and provide examples to follow.

Look at frequent employee reviews as time savers! Your operation can run more smoothly when you guide employees to meet goals, and add responsibilities you know they can handle.  It’s a win-win situation.

 

When hiring new employees, employment background checks will help you attract and retain the best candidates.