How Often Should You Have Employee Reviews?
How often should you have employee reviews? This is a question every manager has asked themselves at some point. Traditionally, reviews were held annually. Does that hold up now though? What factors contribute to how often you need to hold reviews? Let’s dive into these questions as you consider what will work best for your employees and business.
The Case for More Frequent Reviews
While annual reviews used to be the norm, in many jobs that be too spread out. Today’s workers are more likely to desire feedback and conversation. In fact, being engaged in conversation around work is something that is happening more than ever with platforms like Linkedin. Employees who have career ambitions want to know that they are meeting what is expected of them and even exceeding it. So the question then becomes how often is too often? Annual reviews can cause there to be a plethora of things that need to be addressed all at once. This could feel overwhelming to an employee. Having reviews too frequently can also begin to feel like micromanaging. The answer is, it’s not always cut and dry. Let’s look at what to consider before deciding on how often.
2. Tying reviews to benchmarks
There are different approaches to deciding how often to review employees. Reviews now are often seen as career coaching versus one-way feedback sessions from a boss. One option is tying review times to benchmarks like quarterly bonuses or raises. If your employee is expected to meet a certain quota within a certain time frame (say every 3 months), it can be a good idea to check in to see how things are progressing. At the end of the time you can review with them what went well, areas for improvement, and how you can help. When quotas aren’t met, you can use that time to talk about what happened and how that can be changed in the future. If the quotas are closer together (like in telemarketing or sales), you may want to do a review more often to help employees enact immediate changes.
3. The employee’s performance
If an employee is struggling you may need to increase the number of reviews based on performance. The goal here isn’t to make the employee feel micromanaged, but to help coach them and set them up for success. Find out the areas that are problematic. Give them time to implement the changes. Consider setting them up with a mentor and checking in periodically. Look for improvements. Keep in mind that some changes take time to implement and an employee shouldn’t be bombarded with a list but given opportunities to improve based on clear expectations. High-performing employees also want feedback. If there is nothing that needs immediate change, a quick weekly or monthly check-in can help keep communication open and boost morale. Be sure to ask about their long-term goals and how you can invest in helping them advance within the company. Also, be careful to not show favoritism at any point in the process and give each employee equal opportunities.
4. Adjust Accordingly
If you find that you feel the reviews are happening too infrequently know that it is okay to adjust accordingly. Ask your employees questions and get their feedback on what they need from you. By getting to know team members you will more rightly be able to gauge what the needs of the team are. Be fair and make sure that your door is open for questions so problems can be brought to your attention before a review.
Leading a Team?
Maybe you are new to leadership. You may be reviewing your annual plan and considering adding to your team if your company has experience growth. Maybe a team member recently left and you need to hire someone new. Whatever your HR needs are, we can help you. Our recruiters have a pipeline of candidates waiting for you to choose from and can give you advice on leading the employees you have now. Contact us today or speak to us through our online chat for more information on how we help you make 2023 your most productive year yet!