Make use of tools, training for effective appraisals
I wrote this “want ad” in 2001 as part of a two-part series on performance reviews. Eight years later, it’s clear that the performance review process for many managers remains a complex, paper-based system. Current economic conditions have only exacerbated the situation with slashed wage increases, layoffs and employees that face greater stress and heavier workloads.
Fortunately, advances are on the horizon. New online tools are helping many organizations, large and small, deliver more meaningful reviews for employees and save time by eliminating paper and complicated procedures.
A new approach
Managers have long recognized the value of setting goals, creating individual development plans and tracking progress. In this economic climate, it is critical that these important objectives are linked with departmental goals, which in turn are tied to the overall business strategy. The challenge is to integrate the entire process and maintain a dialogue with employees throughout the year.
Web-based solutions can ease the burden on managers while enhancing the functionality and transparency of the performance review process. When these are combined with solid supervisor training, organizations are able to create effective performance management systems that get results.
Putting systems to work
Palmyra-based Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC, an EnPro Industries company, is benefiting from the use of an online performance management system. Its program of choice is from SuccessFactors, a company that offers solutions to streamline performance reviews and competency assessments.
A few years ago, Garlock was using a traditional, paper-based system that established and tracked yearly goals for each employee. As Barbara Egenhofer, vice president of human resources, explains, “Our performance review system was extremely involved. It was a seven-step process with employee and manager assessments and a complicated sign-off system.”
Garlock decided to go in a new direction last year. One of the primary drivers for moving to an online performance management process was to create more visibility or transparency. Employees across the organization now are able to see their manager’s goals and the management goals up through the hierarchy. This helps all employees understand the company’s priorities and how their work affects the organization.
“We wanted a process that was less cumbersome and most importantly provided a mechanism for ongoing feedback and discussion, rather than being a one-time, annual event,” Egenhofer says.
To ease the transition from a paper-based system to the Web-based platform, Garlock provided online and classroom training for the goal-setting phase of the implementation.
Egenhofer sees online performance management systems as the wave of the future. She anticipates that these systems will be as fundamental to doing business as Web sites and human resource information systems.
Online tools
Web-based performance management systems are the trend for large companies like Garlock, but smaller companies also are catching on, thanks to the increasing availability of affordable solutions. One solution, EasyEval, is offered by Astron Solutions LLC, a New York City consulting firm focused on talent management and compensation services.
As Jennifer Loftus, national director for Astron Solutions, explains, EasyEval takes clients’ paper-based appraisal systems and transfers them to a Web-based platform.
“The goal here is to keep things as simple and flexible as possible for our clients,” Loftus says.
The program has several features to reduce the amount of time managers spend writing reviews. A “legal checker” scans management feedback for legal issues, and the program includes a ratings scale. The program also features a “comment helper” designed to help managers overcome writer’s block.
Like Egenhofer at Garlock, Loftus predicts that more companies, both large and small, will move to a Web-based performance appraisal system. Though the current economy has reduced budgets and stalled change, the efficiency inherent in Web-based solutions, as well as the impressive reporting capabilities, will drive companies to adopt the online model.
After all, “the performance review process should be a guide for conversation and a way to focus employee efforts on a company’s goals,” Loftus notes. “It shouldn’t be work in and of itself.”
Manager training still crucial
No matter how automated the review process, managers still face the challenge of a face-to-face performance review discussion. Performance appraisals involve one of the most emotionally charged activities in the workplace: assessing an employee’s contribution and ability. The outcome of these assessments can affect an individual’s self-esteem and subsequent performance
Making certain that managers are well trained in the appraisal process ensures that in-person review meetings are beneficial for employees. It also helps managers avoid thorny legal problems for the company. Managers should understand the importance of giving specific, constructive feedback and realize the negative impact of inaccuracy or lack of feedback.
Timing is everything
There has always been debate about whether companies should complete performance appraisals on employees' individual anniversary dates or on one specific calendar date. From a budgeting standpoint, it is easier to use the fixed calendar date system. This also may foster a more consistent evaluation process because managers are preparing all of their evaluations at once.
Undergoing reviews on a fixed calendar date also allows for a separation between performance review discussions and compensation reviews. For example, a company may do all the reviews in July and then, at the end of year, review employee compensation. This results in managers having a six-month follow-up review after the original review to discuss employees’ progress toward achieving their goals.
As organizations evolve, so must the process for delivering feedback. Web-based solutions help managers to strengthen the performance review process. However, it’s clear that providing training on how to conduct effective appraisals will continue to be a key element in creating performance management systems that get results.
