How to conduct a performance review for employees in your business

Starting a business in Nigeria is not easy, and so is sustaining the business. However, many things must be done to ensure your business keeps up with the market standard. One of them is conducting a performance review for employees in your business. By conducting a performance review for employees, employers can know the capacity of their team.

What is Performance Review for Employees? 

A performance review for employees is a formal statement from an employer to an employee in which the employer evaluates and documents an employee’s work performance, strengths and weaknesses.

Employee performance reviews can be done annually, quarterly, or monthly depending on the organisation. It is also called performance appraisal or performance evaluation for employees.

Why Conduct a Performance Review for Employees?

Some of the objectives of conducting a performance review for employees in your business are:

1. For record keeping

To keep track of employees’ overall performance and record them for future reference for salary increments or promotions. Performance review for employees can help to resolve the need for hiring new employees.

2. To improve employees’ engagement in the job

Engaging employees bring about collaboration which in turn leads to increased performance. Better decisions that favour the organisation are made as workers think more about the company and how they can help it grow. Each time a company conducts a performance review for their employees, they can get feedback.

3. To strengthen the employee-to-employee relationships

Companies conduct a performance review for employees to help strengthen the bond between employees and employers by creating an atmosphere where employees can relate with their employers in a friendly but formal way.

4. To decide when there is a need for training

Companies conduct a performance review for employees to know the level of expertise of their workers in their feed and determine when there is a need for training.

5 Ways to conduct performance review/performance appraisal/ performance evaluation for employees

Employees are entitled to certain benefits in workplaces depending on the organisation and the code of conduct for that organisation. Amongst these benefits has a policy for performance review for employees.

The following points should be considered when conducting a performance review for employees.

1. Be prepared

You cannot conduct a performance review for employees when you are unprepared for it. Therefore, it would help if you were fully prepared before beginning a performance review for employees. Preparation could be in the form of material or financial needs or a promotion to a higher job role. Therefore, preparing adequately before announcing the start or outcome of the review is necessary.

2. Speak to your employees about it

Let everyone know why and when you are conducting a performance review for employees at any point you decide to. This will, in turn, increase employees’ engagement in their work.

Whenever you plan to conduct a performance review for employees, you should have a list of assigned duties or tasks for each employee. This should be well spelled out and also documented for future reference.

For example, as a customer care agent, you are expected to give prompt responses to customers with a smile always on your face, and you must thank each customer whether or not they are satisfied with your service. A record can be kept for this purpose to be later referred to when conducting a performance appraisal for employees.

3. Identify promotion opportunities

Conducting a performance review for employees regularly can help when thinking of someone to fill a new or vacant position in your organisation. Rather than look outward for that new job role, the ideal candidate could be right under your watch. You can only realize this when you conduct a performance appraisal for employees from time to time.

4. Performance Grading

Performance grading is a number or alphabet system where employers can rate the performance of each employee in their job role. It could be lettering (A for Excellent, B for Very Good, C for Good or Average, etc.) or numbering (on a scale of 1-5).

This system is more efficient and reliable as this helps to cover all aspects of employees’ dos and don’ts. It is a system that is easily preventable and can be monitored by senior management team members. It gives no room for biases as employees are graded on certain standards.

5. Performance ranking

After the performance grading has been put in place, performance ranking can be conducted. Some employees could make a tie from the performance grading.

Performance ranking helps further check overall performance to see who is the best fit for the appraisal. For example, employees could be assigned more tasks that may not necessarily be in line with their job function. Failure to do these tasks can lead to an employee’s drop in the appraisal ladder.

Certain parameters can also be used to measure employees’ performance in these newly assigned tasks. These parameters should serve as standards.

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Other ways to conduct a performance review for employees include:

1. Prepare to give feedback to your employees

Inform your employees that they will get feedback on their performance after the process. Do not forget to let them know that the reason for the review is to acknowledge their input and significant role in your organisation.

2. Take time to prepare and finalize results

Do not rush the process. Let employees see how the review is conducted per time and on what level the review process is at each moment of progress.

3. Discuss staff performance since employment

Reviews should be conducted regularly, as said earlier on, either annually, quarterly or monthly. When discussing overall staff performance, it should cover all aspects. Staff performance since employment should also be discussed, so everyone understands where each staff is per time and unanimously agree on whether they are qualified for the grading or ranking system they are given.

4. Give room for staff to find remedies to their problems

From discussions made, staff members can take turns to advise or suggest how to improve themselves as a team better. People will be more likely to find profound solutions to a problem if they have been more involved in the task from the beginning.

5. Agree on the way forward

Part of the discussion should include agreeing on the next step in conducting employee performance reviews. Staff can suggest and adopt a new process for the next phase of the performance appraisal. This will make the process easier for the senior management team since the whole staff of the organisation adopted it. Be open positively, and acknowledge the contribution of every team player. Let them know how important their contribution is to the organisation’s growth.

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Conclusion

Conclusively, there are many other significant ways to conduct employee performance appraisals. It depends on the type of organisation, the plan, and the organisation’s budget or growth and experience.

A company must adopt the performance review for employees that best suits its purpose rather than begin and fall out along the way.  

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About Author

Mercy Rotimi

Rotimi Mercy is a Nigerian writer whose lifestyle centres around her family, teaching children and young adults, reading a book, or surfing the internet. This gave rise to her converting her speaking abilities into writing skills.
She writes on various niches such as; lifestyle, health, and Career.

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