Performance reviews are always a contentious topic. There are mixed opinions about the ‘best’ way to conduct them, and often the discussion centres the debate around face to face or electronic. But which one is better?
Our view is that you need to use a combination of both.
Face to face performance assessments generate a conversation – it means the discussion can be two way dialogue giving the employee a better chance of understanding the feedback as they have the opportunity to ask questions about their performance. It is also much easier and more effective to convey your message verbally rather than in writing. We all know how much we learn through body language, so face-to-face discussion means it is also much easier to read others’ intentions, emotions and psychological state.
Electronic performance feedback is definitely quicker, and is more practical to use when you have to give quantitative feedback where data is a key component. However, the downfall of electronic feedback used in isolation is that you can’t read how the other person interprets something, or how they are psychologically when they’re processing feedback which can sometimes be a pitfall if something is read out of tone or misinterpreted.
With our recommended approach, the employee completes a performance assessment electronically which enables them time to reflect on their performance and considered their own evaluation, and this is then sent to the Manager for review so they can digest the employee’s perspective. The conversation takes place next in a scheduled meeting where the performance feedback can be discussed together.
Our performance assessment framework can be tailored to any job, so give us a call to get yours underway.
Tags: performance review