Given how different work has been over the last few months during COVID-19, you may be wondering whether to cancel your regularly-scheduled performance evaluations. Some employees have been furloughed, others have been working from home (some while also caring for their children), some have needed to take time off for COVID-related reasons, while others have been working long, hard hours on the front lines. There’s already a lot of stress and anxiety, and evaluations could potentially just add to that. With the variety of experiences you and your employees may be having, how should you think about performance evaluations? Should you even do them? If you do conduct them, how do you go about it in a way that’s fair and motivating?
Should performance evaluations still be done?
Yes. Your employees are expecting them and may have been working toward them. They deserve formal feedback about their performance before and during these crazy months. Skipping performance reviews sends the message that these months don’t matter. That all the hard work and stress were for nothing. That message is incredibly demotivating and the opposite of the one you want to send.
Plus, with how different everything is, we have an opportunity to observe characteristics like resilience, creativity, and perseverance in ways like never before. You and your employees have probably figured out some really creative ways to get the job done. These are challenges we’re all experiencing for the first time, so it’s not about being perfect – it’s about doing your best and adjusting course as needed. Performance reviews are an opportunity to formally recognize your employees for all they’ve done to keep your company moving forward.
How to conduct performance evaluations during a pandemic.
Now that you’ve decided to continue with performance evaluations this year, how do you make sure they’re fair and effective? Here are 10 tips to help you complete and deliver evaluations that recognize achievements and motivate productivity. The good news is that some of these tips are applicable all the time for conducting effective performance reviews, so you’ll be that much more prepared for the future as well.
Make sure they’re not a surprise. The annual evaluation shouldn’t be a surprise because your employees should be receiving regular feedback from you. This feedback can happen formally or informally, but employees should always know where they stand. This eases the anxiety employees sometimes feel about evaluations. The evaluation should just be a recap of things you’ve already discussed.
Talk face-to-face. Evaluations are typically done in-person, but that may not be the best idea right now. The next best option is a videoconference. This helps the evaluation meeting to feel more relational and will allow for nonverbal communication, which can be especially helpful if you’ll be delivering any negative feedback.
Ensure goals are still applicable and fair. The goals you set pre-pandemic may no longer be applicable, so revise them as needed to ensure they’re fair to your employees. Make sure the workload expectations have been realistic as many employees have dealt with challenging circumstances. For goals that were halted during the pandemic, consider prorating achievements rather than deleting the goals altogether. This allows you to recognize the work your employees had done thus far.
Involve employees in their feedback. Ask your employees for their own self-evaluation of their performance. Employees sometimes dislike self-evaluations because they think managers are asking them to do all the work, so avoid asking your employees to fill out the entire evaluation. Ask them for (1) a list of their key accomplishments and main areas for improvement and (2) feedback on their goal achievements. This helps remind you of any accomplishments you may have forgotten and gives you an idea of whether you both have the same ideas for areas of improvement.
Don’t penalize employees who were furloughed or on leave. Prorate goals as needed to ensure employees aren’t penalized for time away from work.
Reward the right things. This pandemic has given us unique insight into what’s truly important, and the evaluation is a great opportunity to make sure you’re rewarding the qualities that really matter. Qualities such as flexibility, creativity, and perseverance have been instrumental in getting us through this pandemic and will serve organizations well in the future. This is a good opportunity to take a look at your productivity metrics to make sure they’re encouraging the right behaviors also.
Take personal lives into account. Yes, you read that right! For so long, there’s been a push to keep personal lives at the door and treat every employee the same no matter what. While there are a lot of good reasons for this advice, it can make managers’ lives really difficult when you know your employees are going through difficult experiences, like so many are right now. It’s okay to get personal! You can manage with fairness better when you know your employees’ needs and are willing to adjust to individual circumstances. Consistently have this approach with each and every employee, and you’ll be able to guard against favoritism concerns. Your empathy will help you gain the trust of your employees.
Reward accomplishments rather than amount of time working. In many company cultures, long hours at work are praised and rewarded for demonstrating strong work ethic. A lot of research has been done on the negative effects of overwork and stress, yet, we continue rewarding and promoting those who work at all hours and check emails while on vacation. COVID-19 has given us a new perspective. Many people I know have a newfound appreciation for work-life balance and want to intentionally continue that going forward. Working parents are experiencing unique challenges as schools are closed and childcare options aren’t available (or parents may be worried about sending their kids to childcare). Working mothers and single parents may find their circumstances particularly difficult. Research is showing that working mothers are experiencing such stress and strain that it could push many out of the workplace.
Certainly, if you have employees in healthcare or other jobs on the front lines of this pandemic who have worked long hours, recognize them. Their sacrifices to take care of us should be appreciated and rewarded. I’m talking about the need overall to move from emphasizing long work hours as the only sign of dedication and work ethic. If we decide (and I hope we do) that we value our employees’ wellbeing, then we must change what we reward. Instead of focusing on the number of hours logged, assess employees’ ability to prioritize their tasks and accomplish work that is most important to the company’s success. Recognize employees for their dedication to accomplishing business objectives while also prioritizing their wellbeing and other responsibilities they may have.
Explain any impact on pay increases or bonuses. Evaluations are often tied to annual pay increases or bonuses. Depending on your company’s financial situation right now, you may not be able to provide your typical pay increases or bonuses. Be prepared to share as much information as you can about this. If you know things will be different, share that. If you’re not sure yet, say that it’s being reviewed. Performance reviews are important regardless, but your employees may assume that, with evaluations happening, pay increases and bonuses will be too. So, you want to be transparent.
Ask what they need in the coming weeks. As you end the meeting, briefly discuss upcoming projects and initiatives to give your employees a sense of what’s coming up. Ask your employees what they need from you in order to accomplish their responsibilities. Things don’t seem to be going back to “normal” anytime soon, so continue to provide direction and flexibility. This allows you to end the meeting on a positive note demonstrating your support, and it gives you an opportunity to practice your individualized approach to management.
It’s vital that employees continue to receive feedback about their performance. Challenging times reveal a lot about qualities, so you’re in the midst of a unique opportunity to observe your employees’ skills and competencies. Following these 10 tips will help you deliver performance evaluations that are effective, fair, and motivating to your employees.
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