In recent years, several studies and articles have been written about the performance evaluation process. The latter, generally annual, has a more or less exhaustive framework depending on the organization. Some studies predict the end of this process. I would not go so far as to say that this process should be eliminated, but certainly it needs to be reviewed.

What needs to be reviewed is the meaning and impact of the performance review process.

In fact, from my own experience, and from what I see with my clients, I corroborate that it is often a frustrating exercise for everyone:

• As a manager, it can happen that the process is not adapted to reality, or that it does not allow you to target the real issues.
• As an employee, it’s often a stressful time, pretty much the only feedback that can feel like a verdict impacting salary…

The annual performance review processes certainly need to be reviewed to increase their positive impact on the engagement of the organization’s members.

Here are three tips to increase the performance of your performance review process!

First, allow yourself to go beyond the “process”

Processes have the utility of making the task easier through standardization. This, while very useful, is not inspiring. To generate engagement, you need a meaning, and meaning is inspiring by definition.

What performance review meetings do is create or increase your team’s engagement.

Did you know that one in two people in your organization is disengaged? A disengaged person is not negative, he does not harm, but he does not give the best of himself.

In all this turbulence and need for agility, you need commitment, right? #jedisçajedisrien And an easy way is to give performance feedback… Efficient!

The correlation between performance feedback and engagement is direct.

Most companies conduct annual reviews to provide feedback and evaluate performance. And yet, humans are looking for things like meaning, opportunities to develop, fluid communication, a manager-coach who uses their strengths rather than obsessing over their weaknesses.

Increasingly, work and personal life are interconnected, and they want their work to be part of their identity.

The organization offers you the opportunity for quality time with each person! What an opportunity! So take advantage of the performance review process and your interviews to:

• Recalling the meaning
• Solicit and answer questions
• Trying to get to know the other better
  • His motivations
  • His aspirations
  • Its values
  • Interests outside of work

*even more tips in the Engage and Mobilize training

What this implies here is to train and support your managers to have performance interviews. It can be very intimidating the first time! Or the first times! Or the first time in a new organization!

Check your managers’ needs for the following training:

• Know and understand your organization’s unique process and culture
• provide realignment feedback;
• having difficult conversations;
• provide relevant recognition;
• Develop a leadership coaching style (that increases engagement!).

Second, bring out your rebellious side

• You think your employees don’t need “formal” feedback, imagine you’re wrong and give it a try! I coach executives, vice presidents, directors and confirm that they need feedback. I also see a lot of presidents and boards of directors who completely underestimate the need for the executive to have performance feedback. Go!
• Following the process is good, adapting the process to its reality is better. Follow the organization’s rules and culture and see if how:
  • add questions;
  • do a 360-degree feedback exercise;
  • Conduct an informal mid-year or quarterly review.
  • Ask employees for self-assessments to have a discussion about your different perspectives and adjust expectations.

Be creative and think outside the box a bit!

To go further: change the mindset of your organization and contribute positively to change (for extreme rebels).

Third, relax!

You have a lot of them, you want to do well, especially this process. Don’t put more pressure on yourself than you need to and take one step at a time.

The notion of engagement is linked to inspiration and human connection. Nothing is more engaging than a manager in a human-to-human posture, with a transparent and caring attitude to motivate, tell the truth and help find solutions.

In some organizational environments, the culture is more hierarchical, for others it is more natural to connect from human to human outside of roles.

I invite you to take a step, in harmony with your environment, in the direction of giving feedback frequently, regularly, appropriately.

I’ll go further: to generate real engagement, you don’t need a process, you need to be alert to events and verbalize them:

• “I noticed that you put effort into the quality of the report. Thank you! »
• “I’ve noticed that there have been a few mistakes in the last few weeks, it’s unusual, what’s going on? May I help you? »

“Relaxing” means not putting too much pressure on yourself, relying on your intuition to connect and give relevant feedback at the right time, simply.

Knowing how to give relevant feedback is an essential skill, here is an article full of examples.

Key points to check

1. Have at least one formal performance review initiative per year.
2. Respect, adapt or change the process to ensure it adds value.
3. Train and support managers to have effective and caring interviews.
4. Consider performance feedback as a tool for engagement, on a daily basis.