Performance evaluations facilitate a collaborative process and give the employee the opportunity to express their concerns or worries, buuuuuuut many -false- myths have been created about the process, generating a wrong image about it.
And we, who know the benefits of performance reviews and 360 feedback inside out and we are aware that some people being evaluated feel worse than a gremlin at a party at a waterpark, we are going to mention the most widespread myths about evaluations and knock them down one by one. We present the most common prejudices about performance evaluations and help you combat them with facts and arguments (provided by study and experience):
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Evaluating from top to bottom only.
Depending on the grade that we choose, in the same evaluation supervisors, our peers, us as subordinates, internal or external clients can evaluate and be evaluated...the more roles that participate, the more complete will be the evaluation results. However, it is understandable that this myth is so common: back when doing manual assessments took months of work, companies did not have the ability to manage 360 processesº.
On the other hand, during the review or feedback meeting, the employee usually only meets with their manager. So it is important that those evaluated know which roles are involved in the evaluation and that the direct supervisor take into account the global results and not only what they, as a supervisor, evaluated. Doing this allows the employee to get a complete and objective view of their work.
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Only negative results are taken into account (aka fear of retaliation).
Of course not! The results of the evaluations will detail both the areas for improvement and the strengths of each person and both aspects are essential to grow professionally. Bad results must be translated into a great opportunity for improvement. In our hands -and in that of our manager- is knowing how to accept and overcome our weaknesses and take advantage of our strengths.
In addition, in many cases, employees' areas of improvement reflect the weaknesses of the organization itself and it is essential to know them in order to correct them.
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They are useful only in large companies.
Performance appraisal is effective in any organization, regardless of its industry or size. The lack of internal communication is at the root of most problems, in the largest teams and in the smallest ones. Also, what company doesn't want to grow and have a more competitive team? You said it, they all want to improve and grow!
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They are made to say goodbye.
Saying that performance reviews are used for firing is like saying that HR only deals with firing. And by now we all know that this is not true.
With how hard it is to find good employees, do you think someone would look for such a fancy way to get rid of their much-needed equipment?
Those in charge of designing and launching the evaluation will determine the reasons for the evaluation (and that all participants should know). In general terms evaluations are carried out to increase commitment and motivation, detect talent, follow up, draw up action plans...
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This is a tedious process.
Evaluations made with Excel or with less agile systems effectively mean that launching an evaluation may force us to spend a lot of time designing it, responding to it, and obtaining the results. Fortunately HRider was born from the digital transformation and has turned performance evaluations into dynamic, fast and attractive processes for both the evaluators and the administrators of configuring the tool. Can you imagine being able to create an evaluation in a matter of minutes and obtain the reports at the time of closing the process? Well, don't imagine it because it exists!
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They are not objective.
The more subjective samples we have, the more objective we will make the final result we obtain, and we achieve this with Feedback 360 and by promoting a culture of transparency. The more sources we have, the more contrasted the results will be.
In addition, especially in 360 processes, in which several evaluators participate in addition to the Head, and in order to obtain the greatest objectivity, it is advisable not to intervene in the selection of evaluators for each employee and that this set of relationships be random.
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Arouses negative attitudes .
Do you really think that the people in your organization are bad? This is what we would ask an HR Director reluctant to 360 Feedbackº who is afraid that employees will not participate constructively. Stopping launching a performance evaluation or not wanting to start a feedback process because you believe that people are predisposed to meanness towards their colleagues, it's like you stop going out because you're scared that someone will trip you up. Your team wants to grow or, at the very least, wants to stay in their position for as long as possible. Helping your employees to develop their potential will never have negative consequences.
There are no bad people, just bad corporate cultures where dishonest behavior, lack of camaraderie, fear of changing things (even for the better) are tolerated and encouraged. Through a transparent evaluation you will be able to mature as an organization, discover areas for improvement that you will only discover by giving the floor to the staff, however, not giving our employees a speaker it can create a bad environment in the company.
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It's expensive.
Perhaps it is one of the most outdated false myths. Thanks to SaaS (software as a service), now companies of any size and industry have access to powerful and ultra-modern technologies, since they only have to pay for what they use and eliminate high implementation costs that the old business management systems had. Software as a Service has democratized Digital Transformation!
Infinitely more expensive than a cloud program are turnovers, dismissals, substitutions and absenteeism caused by a lack of knowledge of internal talent, a lack of motivation and commitment or a lack of feedback. And precisely all these problems, and more, are avoided thanks to performance evaluation.
These are just a few of the false myths that surface in performance appraisal conversations. All of these prejudices exist because of fear of the unknown among people who are still unsure of the purpose of assessments. How can we solve it? Through education and communication. Before starting the evaluation, we must make sure that each participant knows all the steps of this process clearly: why it is done, how, what roles are involved, deadlines, stages... We must also make sure that the supervisors know how to give feedback effective during the review phase.
Continuous evaluation is one of the most necessary processes in organizations and it is becoming more and more ubiquitous in companies that want to continue advancing and promoting their teams. Its process has undergone a great transformation over the last decades, the approach can be much more friendly, casual, really adapted to the culture of your company and what your employees demand. Don't forget: the new generations (and the not-so-new!) are looking for environments that promote their development.
There is a more agile and dynamic way, as in the case of our software in the cloud that allows you to create an Evaluation at the speed of Flash and obtain reports with just one click :)
We already have enough discussions for our employees to stop making that Munch Scream face every time they hear “evaluation”!
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On our blog you can read some of the many benefits of performance reviews and how rest assured that continuous feedback only has positive effects for our organization, and for ourselves!