Transforming Performance Reviews With Video-Based Coaching
Let's be honest. Everybody hates performance reviews.
In a survey of Fortune 1000 companies, 66% of respondents reported that they were strongly dissatisfied with the performance evaluations they received in their organizations.
And employees aren't the only ones that think performance reviews suck. Managers also dislike performance reviews.
Further research shows that 95% of managers dislike the performance reviews their companies carry out. What's more, 90% said that their organization's performance reviews didn't yield accurate information.
Is your company still dishing out sub-par, ineffective performance reviews that team members and managers dislike? If so, that's got to change.
Fortunately, by implementing the right strategies and approach, you can start transforming performance reviews right away. Keep reading to find out how to revolutionize your performance review process, and how video can help with this.
Employ a 5/1 Compliments to Criticism Ratio
The first tip for transforming performance reviews is implementing a 5/1 compliments to criticism ratio. In other words, for every negative point of feedback, give employees 5 positive ones.
Traditional workplace performance reviews focus mainly on negative feedback. However, this isn't effective.
Yes, it lets employees know where they're falling short—but it doesn't motivate them to improve.
Positive feedback is just as important as negative feedback because it: a) lets employees know what they are doing right and b) boosts their morale.
Providing ample positive feedback also shows employees they are appreciated and their efforts are recognized. Research shows that 88% of employees find praise from their managers to be very or extremely motivating.
But how can you focus on positive feedback and still let employees know where they can improve?
Positive vs Negative Feedback
Let's play this out with an example.
In a negative feedback dominated review, you might tell an employee that:
They miss deadlines (negative)
They are confrontational (negative)
They don't listen to other's viewpoints (negative)
They are consistently late (negative)
They aren't good at collaboration (negative)
They have good ideas (positive)
If you were the employee receiving this feedback, you'd probably feel discouraged, unappreciated, and unsupported.
Here's an example of how you could shift the tone of this employee review, while still working on problem areas.
To make this a positive feedback dominated review, you could rephrase the points into:
You have good ideas (positive)
You aren't afraid to speak up and say what's on your mind (positive)
You have great focus (positive)
You are self-motivated (positive)
You display great attention to detail (positive)
A few areas where I would like to see improvement would be getting to work on time and meeting deadlines. (negative)
Along with your good ideas please make sure to consider other views and focus on working better as a team. (positive and negative)
Can you see how the tone shifts in this example? Instead of sound accusatory, the positive feedback-dominated review feels constructive, encouraging, and morale-boosting. At the same time, it still zeros in on the areas that need improvement.
From here you can then go on to discussing how the employee can work to improve their time management and people skills.
Here at TeamRocket, we are firm believers in the 5/1 compliments to criticism ratio. This is why our video performance review tool is templated to help each manager choose what team members are doing well and where they can improve.
Emphasize Potential
Besides implementing the 5/1 positive to negative feedback ratio, you should also place focus on potential.
Instead of giving employees the impression they have "failed" and fallen short, shift the dialogue and perspective.
For instance, in the above example, making the employee feel like they have horrible people and time management skills, make them realize that this is an area of untapped potential. In other words, enlarge their vision of what they can accomplish.
If they are already carrying out their role satisfactorily without these skills, imagine how successful they could be if they nailed these areas as well?
Focus on the Future
Another key tip for transforming performance reviews is focusing on the future. The purpose of performance reviews isn't to document shortcomings and finger-point. Instead, its purpose is to help people develop and grow in their careers and organizations. That is the mindset shift from Performance Reviews to Coaching. One is pointing fingers and in the past and the other is uplifting and forward-looking.
Employees can't change what's in the past. But they can use past mistakes to trigger growth and success in the future. Your job as the one in charge of the performance review process is guiding them along this path and encouraging them to realize the best version of themselves.
Create a Supportive, Collaborative Spirit
There is a saying that "People have a habit of becoming what you encourage them to be, not what you nag them to be."
If employees feel accused or browbeaten, this won't foster a spirit of eagerness and pride in their work.
On the other hand, if you create a supportive, collaborative spirit during performance reviews, this will make employees feel like you are on their side.
Instead of the culture being one of fault-finding and fear, it will shift to one of teamwork & coaching & improvement. Once this happens, you can effectively coach employees to hone their strengths, work on weak areas, and evolve.
If you've been conducting remote reviews, it can be difficult to foster collaborative feelings. This is because it can be hard to convey meaning, intention, and emotion if you're not face-to-face. According to reports, 50% of emails and texts are misread.
For instance, positive comments, like "nice job" and "great work" are interrupted as sarcastic 60% of the time.
Presenting your performance reviews via video can help reduce misinterpretation. At the same time, it also allows managers to conduct reviews in their own time, without the need to schedule in-person meetings with employees.
Flip the Script
A great way to create a feeling of collaboration during performance reviews is by turning the table and asking employees to give their feedback. This can be done with Pulse Engagement Survey.
This could be on:
The organization as a whole
How you as a manager can support them
The level of support they feel in their role
If you have set goals with employees, you can also ask them how often they would like you to check in with them on their progress. Nobody likes to be hounded, but creating a buddy system for goal setting can be highly effective.
If you do a performance review video, the recipient will often be better able to answer questions honestly. Not everyone is good with on-the-spot questions, especially when it involves their employers. We give each of your managers a template that lists where the team member is excelling and where they need to improve.
If employees receive a video performance review, this will give them time to think over the questions and formulate their answers. To really receive feedback. It is also a great way to keep the “areas for improvement” top of mind. Just like in Higher-Ed, using video to deliver the message allows everyone to review it over and over again.
Are You Ready to Revolutionize Your Organization’s Performance Reviews?
It's no secret that most performance reviews are painful, ineffective exercises.
But what if you could turn around your organization's culture, into one that is focused on enabling the employee, uplifting the employee, coaching, and continuous improvement? Instead of the verbiage and written beatdown that is done with traditional performance reviews?
What if you could transform them from painful and ineffective, to constructive and positive. If done right, performance reviews can be a powerful driver of both organizational and personal growth & development.
What's more, video-based performance reviews have never been easier, and are loaded with compliance and governance too :)
Our video-based coaching tool ticks all the performance review boxes. Through a simple 3-step process, managers can formulate and create video performance reviews, based on data. From here, employees can view their reviews in their own time and respond via their mobile phones to acknowledge the review and reply.
Request a free demo today to experience the power of a performance review video.