How to perform effective employee reviews: What HR should know

With the end of the year quickly approaching, human resources teams are preparing for one of their largest responsibilities: employee reviews. Many businesses prefer to hold these evaluations either before or after the new year as a way to encourage workers to start off the next 12 months on the right foot. Since team managers and employees all take these assessments very seriously, it is important for HR leaders to make sure these reviews are run properly. Let's take a look at how HR teams can make employee evaluations a success:

Embrace workforce analytics
HR leaders must be adept in utilizing employee information to create informed analyses of workers. In fact, 90 percent of CEOs expect their HR teams to be proficient in workplace analytics, especially as a means of interpreting data and making sure the company has the right mix of talent, according to a CareerBuilder study. This practice can be whittled down to one goal: putting the people with the right skills in the correct line of work, The Harvard Business Review stated. By paying attention to tools like engagement and satisfaction surveys, HR employees can improve the productivity and capability of their workers.

"HR leaders can ask workers to share personal objectives."

Schedule a follow-up
Any performance review should include a discussion of goals for employees in the forthcoming year. HR leaders can ask workers to share personal objectives while also adding targets the overall company would like people to meet. Although talk of these aims is helpful, there should also be a follow through aspect to end-of-year meetings, according to Forbes. HR teams should send out a summary of the items reviewed during the evaluation, along with deadlines for some of the goals. In addition, a monthly or quarterly check-in session will ensure workers are on track and able to ask questions, if necessary.

Focus on two-way communication
While performance reviews are a way for company leaders and HR teams to share worker feedback, these sessions are also a time for employees to do the same for their employers. HR Morning recommended leaders are able to ask the same amount of questions as statements they make. Workers should feel comfortable using these discussions to bring up any issues they've been having, as well as suggestions for how HR leaders can improve certain troublesome situations. This two-way communication opens the door for employees to ask how their employer is planning to improve over the upcoming year, just as HR teams inquire the same of workers.

End-of-year performance reviews are an important time for both HR leaders and workers to share their feedback in an open and honest manner. In addition to following up with employees, HR teams should embrace workforce analytics to develop tangible evidence of office productivity and issues.

Triton HR offers HR consulting services, paired with years of experience, to assist companies in implementing helpful technology and building a program around the employee review process.