For a healthy workplace, employees should have a comfortable yet professional working relationship with the organization. To run the operations smoothly, it is necessary to understand where an employee’s skills, motivations, and drawbacks lie. This makes a reliable performance review software the need of the hour.
Let’s look at a few numbers to better understand this:
- A research by Gallup found that 70% of disparity in employee engagement could be attributed to managers. The more involved the manager, the more engaged the team.
- A research by Zivvia states the following
- 65% employees want more feedback
- With regular feedback, employee turnover can be reduced by 14.9%
- However, as per Forbes, only 14% feel motivated after they receive a review.
If there’s one thing this data makes clear it’s this: the employee needs constructive feedback to perform, and it’s the manager’s job to provide this. A performance review software makes the process easier and minimizes human error.
What Makes a Performance Review Important?
To understand how good an employee is at his/her job, it is of the essence to conduct a performance review.
This helps both a manager and a worker in a number of ways.
For Employees:
- Helps map the career path
- Clarify the scope of their job roles
For Managers:
- Review employee engagement
- Provide feedback
- Ensuring that the work assigned meets the business goals
- Motivating employees
- Rewards for results achieved
- Deciding on a bonus
In both cases, it has a positive impact on the quality of work received. With proper motivation, a Gallup Research study reveals that 85% of employees take more initiative.
However, this might not be as efficient in motivating people as you think.
Need for Performance Review Software
To answer this question, we must go back to this finding by Forbes.
Most companies hold annual- at most, semi-annual- performance reviews. In most cases, these are directly related to salary hikes. An inadequate performance review- one that points out flaws without acknowledging the wins- can be destructive to an employee’s self-esteem.
Now this is not entirely the manager’s fault. An annual review of every member’s performance can be a back-breaking task, and chances of falling short are high.
The key is to take subjectivity out of the equation. You can help standardize the process with a performance review software.
Let us take a look at the 9 box grid performance evaluation tool.
9 Box Grid Performance Evaluation
This is an assessment and evaluation tool that uses 9 key data points to evaluate an employee, his performance, and potential.
What Does It Include?
The nine key parameters of 9 box grid performance evaluation are based on the employee’s:
- Future potential
- Current performance
9 Box Grid Performance Template (reference):
To create a 9 box grid, do the following:
- Identify talent and review their work
- Assess the potential of your employee
- Merge both into a 3×3 grid
Uses
The 9 box grid performance evaluation will help you do the following:
- Succession planning
- Identify talent
- Look into work related issues
- Decision making vis-a-vis:
- Promotion
- Bonus
- Additional job roles
- Talent development
- Re-evaluating work roles
- Identifying gaps in training
- Growing skill set
Pros
Workplaces are switching to 9 box grid performance evaluation due to a few simple benefits:
- Easy to use
- Clear and transparent evaluation system
- Effective workforce planning
- Helps a manager tell the difference between potential and performance
- Accurate Assessment
- Helpful in deciding promotions
- Helps identify skill gap
Cons
While 9 box grid is simple and effective, it can have a few drawbacks:
- Too simplified
- Assessment is subjective
- Biased review
- May ignore employee goals and values
- Tends to place a label on an employee
- Can have unclear reasons
However, this is the age of AI and online tools. Using a software instead of a manual review system eliminates these cons when you go for a 9 box grid performance evaluation.
Why Go for a Performance Review Software?
Earlier methods of performance reviews included a meeting where the different responses were recorded via online forms.
Performance review software has the below edge over online forms:
- Less redundancy
- Feedback can be asked for at any time
- Bias free
- Recording real time data
- Can be integrated with existing systems
- Increases engagement
- Saves time
- Better goal tracking and management
- Easy feedback and review process
A Gallup study shows that employee turnover can be reduced by 14.9% with a proper appraisal and feedback system.
Picking the Right Performance Review Software
To keep up with times, harness the power of automation when it comes to performance review software.
Check the following parameter when you choose a performance review software:
- Scalable (to support business expansion)
- User friendly
- Clear, accurate evaluation methods
- Provides data security
- Easy to customize
- Compatible with existing system
- Budget friendly
- Easy to address issues
- Customer support is available
- User feedback and market reputation
Pick a software that meets your organizational needs. It should be easy to use for both you and your employees.
Way Forward
When you are setting up your office, it is important to keep with demand and get with the times. With a performance review software, you can streamline your employee feedback process.
Additionally, this will make the process fair, transparent, and easier to track. Further, this will boost an employee’s faith in the evaluation process and the company.
Thus, the managers can help create and maintain a positive work environment. It will also motivate employees to do their best.