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Employee Performance Reviews: Best Practices
Some best practices for conducting employee performance reviews are focusing on an employee's strengths, giving employees feedback on a consistent basis, giving more recognition for employee accomplishments, giving more casual, on-the-spot performance reviews rather than formal reviews, and giving negative feedback in a more constructive way. Some U.S. based companies (including those operating in the areas of marketing, creative, and entertainment) that are employing these best practices are Deloitte, Adobe, Google, and GE. A deep dive of these findings has been provided below:
PRACTICE 1: FOCUS ON AN EMPLOYEE'S STRENGTHS
Why it's a best practice:
- Managers who were given feedback about their strengths improved their profitability by 8.9%.
- Employees who have managers that focus on areas of employee weakness are less likely to be engaged by 26%.
Examples of companies implementing this practice:
- Adobe's performance feedback aims to "recognize strong work."
- Deloitte redesigned their performance management strategy to focus on spending more time helping employees develop and use their strengths through employee evaluation and strength identification.
PRACTICE 2: GIVE EMPLOYEE'S FEEDBACK ON A CONSISTENT BASIS
Why it's a best practice:
- Companies that provide feedback to employees on a regular basis have lower turnover rates than companies that don't, by 14.9%.
- 24% of employees say they would think about quitting their job if they were not being given adequate feedback.
Examples of companies implementing this practice:
- Google: On top of annual performance reviews, Google also gives employees monthly performance check-ins in the form of one-on-one meetings.
- Deloitte gives employees performance feedback once a week.
PRACTICE 3: OFFER A GREATER WEALTH OF RECOGNITION FOR AN EMPLOYEE'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Why it's a best practice:
- 69% of employees said that having more/better recognition for their efforts would motivate them to work harder.
- Employees who don't feel recognized by their employer are almost twice as likely to be looking or interviewing for a new job.
Examples of companies implementing this practice:
- Adobe's ongoing performance feedback system focuses on recognizing an employee's work.
- Adobes incorporates a system where employees can submit their own accomplishments
PRACTICE 4: OFFER ON-THE-SPOT PERFORMANCE REVIEWS RATHER THAN FORMAL REVIEWS
Why it's a best practice:
- Among Generation Y, 80% said they would rather have recognition on-the-spot rather than a formal review.
- 68% of employees say that they feel fulfilled in their jobs when they are given feedback on an ongoing basis.
Examples of companies implementing this practice:
- Adobe uses a system of ongoing discussions, or "check-ins", between managers and employees focused on performance feedback.
- GE uses a multi-channel approach in order to offer ongoing performance feedback. These channels include face-to-face, email, and also through a special app GE has implemented called a performance development (PD) app. Jennifer Beihl, GE's culture and HR learning leader, has noted that continuous feedback is a part of their approach.
PRACTICE 5: DELIVER NEGATIVE FEEDBACK IN A CONSTRUCTIVE WAY
Why it's a best practice:
- 92% of employees said they agree that negative feedback is an effective tool for performance improvement, as long as it is delivered appropriately.
Examples of companies implementing this practice:
- Deloitte provides their employees with what they refer to as 'course correction' and 'coaching'.
- At GE, the expectation is also that managers provide coaching rather than 'critiques'.
RESEARCH STRATEGY
To carry out this research, we began by locating hard data at the cross-section of employee performance reviews and employee retention, motivation, and improvement that spoke to the successful outcomes of these best practices. In doing so, we located a wealth of data that showcased the success of the best practices from the employee perspective, such as whether a certain practice enticed the employees to stay or leave a company, or whether the best practice made the employees feel motivated, etc.
Next, we analyzed various case studies to identify companies that were implementing these best practices. To ensure that the best practices we provided were specific to the marketing, creative, and entertainment industries, we isolated case studies about companies that are operating under these umbrellas, such as Deloitte, Adobe, and Google. Although it was a challenge to locate relevant case studies that fit this criterion, we felt these companies were the closest available match to focus on because Deloitte offers consulting and analytics services, Adobe provides creative and marketing services and solutions, and Google offers a range of entertainment/creative products and services such as YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, Chromecast, and G-Suite, as well as advertising services and products.
Lastly, to keep this research focused on the U.S. market, we focused on companies located in the United States, such as the companies noted above and also GE.