Planning an Effective Performance Evaluation for Your Employees

The workplace dynamic has changed significantly in the last decade. Today, employees expect their employers to be equally as in-tune with their needs as the employee is expected to be with the company’s needs. Modern workers crave direction, feedback, and opportunities for growth. In fact, the LinkedIn Talent Blog reports that 69% of employees would make more of an effort at work if they felt recognized and appreciated. To further underscore the need for feedback, consider that 24% of employees consider leaving jobs that do not provide helpful feedback on their performance. Evidence shows that companies offering and implementing regular and constructive performance evaluations experience 14.9% less turnover than companies who don’t. So, how can your company improve its employee performance review process and make it more beneficial for employees? These tips can ensure that your employees are aware of their own performance as you discover company-wide LMS training needs.

Prepare Sufficiently for Each Interview

The most productive and successful performance appraisal will come after thoughtful preparation. Failing to prepare for an evaluation meeting may create the impression that you don’t value your employees. Before meeting with an employee, write down a list of talking points. Think of the individual’s strengths and weaknesses, recent successes, and areas for improvement. Back them up with examples and numbers to illustrate your points. This will provide your employees with useful feedback to act upon throughout the coming months. Addressing these points and taking notes throughout the meeting establishes a clear direction for improvement and a measuring yardstick for the next employee evaluation.

Give Your Feedback in Plain English

Most employees see through hollow sentiments and don’t find vague, generalized feedback to be helpful, so speak to your employees conversationally. In order to build trust, provide your feedback in a specific, actionable way so the person feels empowered rather than demotivated or defensive. Think of some highly unique praise (rather than generic comments of encouragement) to deliver along with your constructive feedback so the individual feels noticed and appreciated.

Have an Open Discussion About Goals

Regardless of how you prefer to hold a performance appraisal, it should always be structured around goals. Setting expectations is critical to helping your workers know what you expect of them, and shared goals will help them know whether or not they’re hitting the mark. During your one-on-one meetings, ask your employees what they would like to accomplish during their time with the company. Then, work with the individual to turn these desires into measurable goals that you can assess over the next quarter or year. (This will also provide LMS training opportunities.) When it’s time to revisit these goals in the next evaluation, allow the individual to self-assess. They will likely be more critical of themselves than you will, so you can discuss the extent to which you agree with their assessment and offer praises. You can use this assessment to determine eligibility for raises, bonuses, growth opportunities, and determine which LMS courses would be helpful to them in the future.

Thank the Employee for Their Contributions

One of the most important aspects of an employee performance evaluation is gratitude. Employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention skyrockets when your workers feel appreciated, according to a study by Harvard Medical School. Not all employee evaluation comments are positive, but it’s important to express your thanks at the end of a meeting to not only leave the individual feeling positive and hopeful but also to:

Establish a relationship of mutual trust
Boost the employee’s self-confidence
Build a work culture of respect and support
Motivate employees to continue doing good work

Implement These Tips to Drive Employee Performance

As you implement these tips in your employee reviews, you will be able to easily identify the kinds of LMS courses your employees need, based on the strengths and weaknesses discovered during evaluations. Discover how LearningZen’s clients have benefited from our software and find out how your business can empower employees in a similar way.

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