Be it employees or HR managers, every individual in the company looks forward to performance review time. It is because performance review discussion is a vital career milestone for the whole company, the intent being to acquire the common goals laid out at the outset and also in the future. However, in order to acquire the goals of employees as well as the company, it is always critical to have a two-way dialogue based on honesty, transparency, and growth. For this, HR departments should primarily leave behind the “tutoring” mindset and prioritize participative conversations with employees. Also, employees should be accountable for their actions.
HR managers often avoid performance conversations with employees. However, HRs should take on people-responsibility and try to mold the team using the right methods. Therefore, preparing for the post-appraisal conversation is one of the important steps.
In this article, we will tell you how HR executives can carry out a successful post-appraisal phase. Let’s dive in.
Before The Review Discussion
- Hold a meeting: First and foremost duty of HR managers is to schedule a meeting. HRs need to prepare their frame of mind in a way that they are receptive to open dialogue with the employees. Most importantly, this meeting should be scheduled within a reasonable time frame post-appraisal to make sure the maximum impact due to recency.
- Understand employees: HRs should learn and understand the personal as well as professional details of every employee. They should also review information such as the job description, professional goals, past performance, past feedback, etc. Considering methods including self-evaluation or 360-degrees evaluation can help HRs probe the right questions and guide employees in a personalized way.
- Inform the details of the meeting: Next step is sending the invitation to the employees. Employees must be informed of the place, time and duration of the performance appraisal discussion. HRs should always avoid rescheduling or cancelling such meetings as it will have a negative impact on the employees.
During The Review Discussion
- Create a favourable atmosphere: Most often, employees find themselves anxious before such crucial discussions. Keeping this in mind, HRs should try to create a comfortable atmosphere for them.
- Value their opinions: Encourage employees to share their overall experience and HRs should be attentive to this whole conversation.
- Discuss: HR executives should start the discussion by highlighting the achievements of an employee first. This will not just start the meeting on a positive note but also make employees more receptive to feedback. The next part of the discussion should be mentioning the improvement areas. Besides, HRs should also check whether employees got all the necessary resources to acquire their goals. Give them constructive feedback along with supplementary examples.
- Receive Every Feedback Positively: HRs should ask employees for their feedback, which can not just generate trust but also lead to a smoother working relationship.
- Thank the employee: No matter what the performance appraisal method is, HRs should always end such meetings thanking employees for their hard work and dedication.
After The Review Discussion
- HR managers should always outline the discussed plan of action to enhance performance in the coming appraisal cycle.
- Having every vital detail of the appraisal process is another good practice. It may sound a little time-consuming and tiring but if done, it can reap ample benefits in the long run. All an HR executive needs to do is document the discussion information and outcomes in the performance management system or any tool. This will help an organization to ensure continuity along the way.
- Recheck as well as modify the job description of every employee (if required)
- The fourth step is to reassess and assign resources required, if feasible.
- Last but not least, do not forget to sign off the final review form with every employee and route it to the higher authorities for suggestions and approval.
So, these are the post-appraisal checklist for every HR manager out there.
Hope it helps.
Also Read: 5 COMMON MYTHS OF HR SOFTWARE
