3 Tips for a Successful Performance and Development Reviews
Is it the time of the year when the calendar calls for a Performance and Development Review (PDR)? It is an obvious choice to take stock at the turn of the year. As an HR manager, you can implement new initiatives and help look forward.
Overall, the employee performance review is an annual dialogue between the employee and their manager to evaluate well-being and discuss tasks, development opportunities, and areas of responsibility.
As an HR professional, you can make a significant difference in supporting the manager and the employee. It applies both before and after the performance review conversation.
The performance review is an excellent opportunity to create a plan for the employee’s future within the company, ensuring that both the employee and the manager are aligned on the direction to be taken. But what steps are essential for you as an HR professional when it’s time for the performance review? Here are 3 tips to help you conduct a successful dialogue.
Tip 1: Set the Framework With an Appraisal Questionnaire
If the framework for the employee appraisal is established, it will be easier for the employee to prepare. You can achieve this by creating a questionnaire with questions the employee needs to answer before the appraisal meeting.
A digital questionnaire allows the manager to review the responses. It provides a solid foundation for the dialogue, as both the manager and the employee are prepared for what matters most to the employee.
As you probably know from other questionnaires, open-ended “wh-” questions work best in an employee appraisal questionnaire. For example, you could ask:
- What does it take for you to thrive in a workplace?
- What are your strongest competencies?
- How would you like to develop?
- Where do you see yourself in a year?
With HR-ON Staff, you can create a digital questionnaire using the Engagement Builder tool. All employees can reuse the questionnaire, allowing you to prepare a generic one. It is also possible to customize the questions for each individual if needed.
At the same time, this type of questionnaire is easy for employees to complete at their own pace from their computer, tablet, or smartphone. The manager can then access the responses and add comments afterward.
Tip 2: Automate the Employee Appraisal
Regardless of the size of your workplace, automating the employee appraisal process and repeating it year after year can be very helpful. This way, you don’t have to set up the process from scratch each time – you can simply build upon last year’s process and make adjustments. You can find inspiration for a strategy for the process here.
With HR-ON Staff, you can create a questionnaire and determine when the questionnaire should be sent. Then, the system will automatically send it on the date and time you choose. It allows you to automate the process as much as possible.
In addition, it is also possible to incorporate the scheduling of the employee appraisal meeting between the manager and the employee into a process so that the meeting invitation is sent automatically, without you having to send it manually. This helps save time by automating as much as possible.
The automated process ensures that neither you, the manager, nor the employee risk missing tasks related to the employee development conversation. At the same time, all employee development conversations within your organization will be standardized so everyone has the same starting point for the topics the conversation may cover.
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Tip 3: Summarize Everything With a Shared Conclusion
One of the most critical tasks in an employee development conversation is the summary – or conclusion, if you will – once all the answers in the questionnaire have been reviewed. During the summary, the manager and the employee agree on how the goals will be achieved and who is responsible for each of the various points.
In HR-ON Staff, you can also set the framework for the final part of an employee performance review. You can use the Engagement Builder tool to create the review questionnaire. Additionally, the manager can write comments on the employee’s responses, and both parties can sit together to create a summary at the end of the performance review.
It can then be turned into a document stored in the employee’s profile in HR-ON Staff, making it easily accessible for the manager and the employee at any time.
This way, it is easy to follow up on the topics from the previous performance review and assess the progress of each action.
FAQ: What is an employee development conversation?
What is a good employee development conversation?
An employee development conversation consists of questions related to the employee’s well-being and professional development in the workplace. The manager and the employee discuss this every year.
How often do you have an employee development conversation?
There are no standards for how often an employee development conversation should be held, but it is typically ideal to hold one once a year.
Who typically participates in an employee development conversation?
An employee development conversation involves the employee and their manager. The company’s HR employee may handle all the preparation for the conversation, such as creating questionnaires, scheduling the meeting between the parties, and ensuring that the documents are saved as part of the employee’s record.
What is the difference between an employee development conversation and a well-being conversation?
An Employee Development Conversation is also called a well-being conversation, as a development conversation typically covers questions related to the employee’s well-being in the workplace.
How do you prepare for an employee development conversation?
To prepare as best as possible for an employee development conversation as an employee, you can answer questions in a questionnaire that covers the topics the manager wants to discuss during the discussion. This way, you are prepared for the meeting.
