“The simple act of paying positive attention to people has a great deal to do with productivity.”
-Tom Peter, American Writer on Business Management Practices
Accolades and shout outs are great, but a formal performance review is vital to an organization to get insights on the accomplishments of their employees, their areas of improvement, and their overall success. To achieve this, there are five standard methods that each company follows to conduct performance reviews.
360-Degree Feedback Method :
The name itself justifies its purpose. Imagine it to be a system where the employee under scrutiny is in the center of a circle, and her circumference (here, environment) encompasses people like her managers, team members, her co-workers, etc. who are familiar with her work culture, behavior, and her performance. The primary data here is the feedback provided by these people.
Management by Objectives :
It aims to evaluate the employee based on his achievements towards the company objectives. It ensures that the employee has an understanding of the company goals and is working towards the success of the organization. This is also known as the Management by Results method. For implementing the MBO method, the company needs to have fixed goals inlined with the SMART process:
S – specific,
M- measurable,
A- achievable,
R- realistic, and
T – time-sensitive.
Software’s like xTimesheet can succor to achieve this goal. Managers can keep a check on the employees’ productivity and performance. So, when employees display excellent results, they get rewarded with a raise or a promotion. On the contrary, if employees have unproductive results, they will receive further training.
Checklist :
Just like a To-do Checklist, a company imposes a behavioral checklist, which entails a list of behaviors that an employee is expected to display in a work environment. A questionnaire is prepared by the organization for the employees where they have to respond to each question with a ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ The evaluation may differ based on the job type.
Rating Scale :
This is a standard metric that is followed by almost all organizations worldwide. It is commonly done on a scale of 1 to 5 or 1 to 10. It evaluates both the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of an employee, like behaviors, competencies, on-time completion of the tasks, attendance, etc. Softwares like xTimesheet cater to tracking some of these traits. The determining behavior at the top of the scale should be arriving to work on time and leaving after the shift is over. xTimesheet has a Modern Time Tracking tool, which aids in clocking employees’ worked hours and can keep a check on their productivity as well as their attendance.
Self- Evaluation :
The name itself informs about the method. The employee has to evaluate her/ his own performance based on specific predetermined criteria and values adhered to it. Employees have to identify their strengths and weaknesses and rate them accordingly.
Self-evaluation should be as follows:
Specific- The employee should provide facts and figures and should not include vague statements. It should give a clear insight into the performance.
Connected to organization goals- The employee should describe how her/his performance has been a value-addition to the companies objectives.
Based on the STAR method- The employee should demonstrate her/his Situations and Tasks, and how he had taken up a course of action to yield the desired results.
Employee’s Aspirations- As much as the self-evaluation seems to focus on the previous work and achievements, it is also an open door for the employee to mention his goals and intentions for the future.