What do you think when someone uses the word appraisal? Do you cringe or get excited? With ever-changing workplace
dynamics, performance appraisal has also gone through a paradigm shift in past couple years since the inception of performance management software (PMS). Today’s co-workers and teams co-exist and do great work because of constant
feedback and brainstorming. They do not pat each others back once a year when during appraisals their teammates are
made to give them points or judgments that decides their next years journey into the company. Teams and individual
achievements go hand in hand with present millennial generation.
So in past couple of years what has changed that has made performance reviews less effective and has been replaced by
regular feedbacks?
- First and foremost, years of survey’s and data’s reflected that employees in general do not feel happy with
their appraisals and hence, they do not work on their skills and yield better performance at workplace.
- Appraisals by managers and then by the management can take months as it involves performance checks, feedbacks,
budget and so on. The entire process becomes very time consuming and laborious.
- The yearly goal setting that is given by the management to their managers and then to their teams gets lost
after sometime. It is better that smaller goals are achieved at shorter time than keep an entire year untraced.
When yearly goal settings are made, they usually fall short of what was promised as the employees become laid
back.
- Annual feedbacks do nothing to increase overall productivity of a company.
What we need to do to achieve goals and productivity?
- Take continuous approach to performance management. Continuous approach comprises of short-term goals that suits
today’s changing business needs.
- It connects the dots perfectly i.e. culture, business goals and strategy are well aligned as the task at hand
has early deadlines and the working environment is infused with energy.
- Large goals have been replaced with smart goals. Large goals comprised of a yearlong 12-month plan at the start
of every financial year and most of the times were under achieved, as they were unrealistically set. Smart goals
on the other hand are short-term goals that require teams to sit with each other regularly and consistent
feedbacks are given to mutually achieve those goals. Smart goals increase communication within the team members;
it improves efficiency and brings out more creativity from employees.
- Continuous approach gives required momentum to the objective goal with regular check-ins that helps in improving
employee motivation and productivity.
Now that we have discussed the advantages of regular feedback in the organisation; let’s unfold how performance management software comes into play
and builds the bridge between team members. Performance review software gives feedback in real-time and how much
goal is achieved and what is to be fulfilled are available through graphs or data.
In future business where agile technology will play a big role, collaboration between teams will be the key to
more productivity. The employee will not be evaluated on feedback but the contribution and value he/she
added to the business. The flexible working hours makes performance management software more relevant as
one can access work on the go on their mobile phones, laptops etc. and the team members are well connected even
if they are working hundreds of miles away from each other.