MyStrategicPlan Web-Based Performance Management and Strategic Planning Software
According to Strategic Planning and Performance Management consultant Erica Olsen, employers who only rely on annual reviews to manage employee performance are hurting employee morale and undermining productivity. "What did you think of your last employee review," asks Olsen. "Chances are good that you hated it." The first and most obvious reason, she says, is that once a year is too infrequent.
Most employees go to their jobs five days a week, 52 weeks a year, minus vacations and sick days. In a year, countless changes, unforeseen obstacles and unnoticed accomplishments occur. By the time the average employee sits down with their manager for an annual review, there's too many things already swept under the rug; these things don't fit on a one-page questionnaire or a 30 minute meeting.
For several years now, the annual Gallup employee survey has determined that less than one third of workers are "engaged," or passionate about their jobs, and yet most companies still aren't changing the way that they deal with their workers. Since engaged employees are more profitable, safer and express greater loyalty, any system that can improve engagement is something to pay attention to, and invest in.
The Name of the Game is Performance Management
Says Olsen, if a company wants to cultivate passionate employees, it needs to toss out the traditional annual review and create a plan for an entire performance management system. Performance management systems replace the occasional reviews with an ongoing conversation between supervisors and employees that supports the accomplishment of a company's strategic objectives. Employees thrive on more than just once-a-year judgments; instead, on a daily basis, they need to know important items such as: how their jobs contribute to the company’s future, what success looks like in their position, what their path of growth is, whether they’re on the right course and that their job is more than busy-work.
In order to satisfy those questions, the work of performance management must be an on-going conversation between employees and those who manage them. "Rather than using formal infrequent review sessions, managers who excel in performance management instead take the time to have several small, informal discussions with employees throughout the day, week, month and year," Olsen says. "With these questions covered, reviews don't have to be thrown out all together, but can cover more inspiring higher-level topics like career advancement or personal growth."
Engage Your Employees Regularly with a Trusted System
So where do companies that are fed up with the futility of annual reviews turn to? They must adopt a system they and their employees can trust. First, the system needs to facilitate frequent updates on employee performance so that employees and managers know whether they are on track with the projects or tasks under their responsibility. The system must track measurable, objective results; this encourages employees that they are evaluated on performance, and not opinions. In addition, the system must foster relationships between managers and employees though more frequent conversations about employee performance and career goals.
Performance management software, like www.MyStrategicPlan.com, developed by Olsen's company, M3 Planning, can aid in the performance management process by giving employees one place to log in and update the system of their progress. Managers then only need to check the online system to find out the status of projects and tasks. With an online management system like MyStrategicPlan, employees can see at a glance how their tasks contribute to the goals of their departments or even the overall strategy their company is pursuing. With a process in place for managing performance management, the dreaded annual review can be replaced with a trusted system that increases employee engagement year-round. Now, companies can focus on improving other things, like the horrible coffee in the break room.
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