Instead, managers should use this shift toward remote work as an opportunity to rethink how their organization conducts performance reviews, particularly among this set of employees. What’s more, reevaluating and strengthening this process will better position them in the remote-work landscape, which is likely to stay.
Consider Your Goal
It would be best if you first considered the end goal as any endeavor worth pursuing. Performance reviews are a time for managers to sit down with their direct reports to discuss workplace matters. These meetings are generally broad and can serve a variety of purposes.
During performance reviews, employers are usually looking to gauge employees’ success in the workplace. However, your goal should be a bit more specific. For instance, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, your goal may be to reduce burnout rather than single out individuals for promotion. As employees adapt to new working environments, so too should your performance review goals.
Reevaluate Your Metrics
Your primary goal should influence the way you evaluate performance during reviews. The metrics used only a year ago may be unfair to use now. Moreover, those metrics may not even help assess what you need to accomplish your main objective.
In other words, performance reviews are evaluations against a goal. If your goal has changed since the last time you evaluated your performance review program, your metrics should also change. For instance, your current goal may be to see how performance ranks against pre-COVID-19 standards. Alternatively, your goal may be to strengthen collaboration between remote workers. How you measure success in these cases will be entirely different, and the metrics used should reflect that.
Remember Context and Compassion
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone, sometimes in hard-to-see ways. For instance, employees may have taken on extra caretaking responsibilities due to school or nursing home closures. They may also be burdened by a spouse being laid off or sick family members who are financially dependent on them.
These realities are sometimes hidden by employees who must juggle many home and work responsibilities. The employees may fear being viewed as prioritizing other matters over their work, especially if they’re both caretaking and working out of their homes.
Your performance reviews should leave room to discuss these types of matters. Use this time to identify responsibilities and workloads. This has been a challenging time for everyone, and it’s essential to be compassionate when dealing with over-burdened employees.
As applicable, encourage managers to work with employees on ways to accommodate their other responsibilities. This may mean creating a flex schedule, adjusting work hours, or scheduling regular check-ins.
Pick Your Battles Wisely
Performance reviews have historically been used for identifying star performers and reprimanding poor ones. However, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a shift toward working remotely, it’s not always prudent to lay into employees with performance issues.
Determining why an employee’s performance has fluctuated will help you determine what the situation warrants. Directly asking the employee is one of the best methods for getting to the root cause. From there, you can assess the best course of action. Using a heavy hand right away may add to burnout or employee departures rather than address the actual problem.
Look Forward, Not Behind
Remote work is likely here to stay, at least in some capacity. Some of the largest companies in the world have announced plans to allow such arrangements for the foreseeable future. That means your organization should plan for this new landscape right now. For instance, does it make sense to have only one performance review a year in this new environment? Should promotions be tied to metrics, or is another method better? Is the organization’s definition of “success” the same as a year ago?
Pondering these questions will help you evaluate and implement a more meaningful performance review program that can benefit remote and in-person employees alike.
Instead, managers should use this shift toward remote work as an opportunity to rethink how their organization conducts performance reviews, particularly among this set of employees. What’s more, reevaluating and strengthening this process will better position them in the remote-work landscape, which is likely to stay.
Consider Your Goal
It would be best if you first considered the end goal as any endeavor worth pursuing. Performance reviews are a time for managers to sit down with their direct reports to discuss workplace matters. These meetings are generally broad and can serve a variety of purposes.
During performance reviews, employers are usually looking to gauge employees’ success in the workplace. However, your goal should be a bit more specific. For instance, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, your goal may be to reduce burnout rather than single out individuals for promotion. As employees adapt to new working environments, so too should your performance review goals.
Reevaluate Your Metrics
Your primary goal should influence the way you evaluate performance during reviews. The metrics used only a year ago may be unfair to use now. Moreover, those metrics may not even help assess what you need to accomplish your main objective.
In other words, performance reviews are evaluations against a goal. If your goal has changed since the last time you evaluated your performance review program, your metrics should also change. For instance, your current goal may be to see how performance ranks against pre-COVID-19 standards. Alternatively, your goal may be to strengthen collaboration between remote workers. How you measure success in these cases will be entirely different, and the metrics used should reflect that.
Remember Context and Compassion
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone, sometimes in hard-to-see ways. For instance, employees may have taken on extra caretaking responsibilities due to school or nursing home closures. They may also be burdened by a spouse being laid off or sick family members who are financially dependent on them.
These realities are sometimes hidden by employees who must juggle many home and work responsibilities. The employees may fear being viewed as prioritizing other matters over their work, especially if they’re both caretaking and working out of their homes.
Your performance reviews should leave room to discuss these types of matters. Use this time to identify responsibilities and workloads. This has been a challenging time for everyone, and it’s essential to be compassionate when dealing with over-burdened employees.
As applicable, encourage managers to work with employees on ways to accommodate their other responsibilities. This may mean creating a flex schedule, adjusting work hours, or scheduling regular check-ins.
Pick Your Battles Wisely
Performance reviews have historically been used for identifying star performers and reprimanding poor ones. However, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a shift toward working remotely, it’s not always prudent to lay into employees with performance issues.
Determining why an employee’s performance has fluctuated will help you determine what the situation warrants. Directly asking the employee is one of the best methods for getting to the root cause. From there, you can assess the best course of action. Using a heavy hand right away may add to burnout or employee departures rather than address the actual problem.
Look Forward, Not Behind
Remote work is likely here to stay, at least in some capacity. Some of the largest companies in the world have announced plans to allow such arrangements for the foreseeable future. That means your organization should plan for this new landscape right now. For instance, does it make sense to have only one performance review a year in this new environment? Should promotions be tied to metrics, or is another method better? Is the organization’s definition of “success” the same as a year ago?
Pondering these questions will help you evaluate and implement a more meaningful performance review program that can benefit remote and in-person employees alike.
The Last Word
Speak with an InsureGood Advisor for more workplace guidance, including revitalizing how you conduct performance reviews.
