How to Put People at the Center of Performance Reviews

Are you leaving employees dissatisfied and disgruntled after a performance review?

Credit: Author

Performance reviews are hard irrespective of whether you’re giving it or the one receiving it. The majority of employees aren’t motivated by performance reviews. Rather, its effects are quite the opposite — dissatisfaction, confusion and a sense of partiality creep into their heads.

When employees think they’re not fairly evaluated or their manager lacks information on their true value and worth, it affects their performance and productivity. Not being recognized for what they bring to the table hits them hard — they don’t see a point in taking up new challenges and opportunities or going the extra mile.

For most managers, the task to meet quarterly goals while also delivering performance reviews is overwhelming. They don’t work on it till the last minute and then struggle to put it together as the deadline approaches. No doubt the quality of reviews suffers and so do people who have to face it.

Employees who challenge their performance reviews are shut down — they’re punished for speaking up, told to handle criticism well, and focus on improvement. But doing a poor job and not even acknowledging it is a costly mistake — it not only pushes…