Why the classic evaluation interview is outdated.
The new working year has started. The moment that many organizations conduct a (semi-)annual evaluation interview. A conversation in which ‘the company’ gives feedback to the employee about their performance in the past year.
From Evaluation to Evolution
Today, one of the main reasons why people leave their job/employer is a lack of perspective. A lack of personal development or opportunities to do so. That is a missed opportunity since in a conversation where you expose pain points you can also name the individual’s plus points and consequently you can give him/her clear objectives.
In other words, you use feedback about past situations to shape the future. You use the conversation to reflect on the evolution of the individual and thus shape the mutual future. Where does the employee want to go to and what are his expectations towards the employer to get there?
From Yearly to Continuously
You can ask yourself: how relevant is it to get feedback on one or more situations from a year ago? At the pace at which we work and live today, a year is like an eternity. That is why we are increasingly seeing companies exchange their annual evaluation system for a permanent feedback system. After all, technology makes it possible to install this in your organization in a simple way (eg Huapii from SD Worx).
Another evolution is the fact that millennials, who are gradually taking over the labor market, have a great need for feedback. Unlike previous generations, they do not want to be managed, but they want an open communication culture. This also has an impact on the way in which you facilitate feedback as an organization.
asian businesswoman talking to smiling african american colleague near laptop with blank screen From Top-down to Reverse
The old way of thinking in HR is also a top-down one. The manager evaluates the people that he/she manages. But in a generation (millennials) that was brought up much more participative by the parents, hierarchy (also in the workplace) takes on a completely different perspective. That is why we are moving more towards a reverse evaluation.
A conversation where the employee evaluates the manager and vice versa. A peer review in which all parties can express what they expect from each other and the needs they have in order to achieve performance.
What’s in this for you?
As mentioned above, everything starts with insight into your employees and their career drivers. In this way you can use these insights to steer their evolution, to give them feedback on this on a continuous basis and to let them indicate what they need from you to achieve results.
MyCareerCompanion exposes those career drivers for you.