At Your HR System we are 100% committed to continuous improvement in everything we do. We believe there is always a way to do things better and improve in every aspect of our daily work. Conducting effective and meaningful performance reviews is central to this belief.
We are passionate about changing the negative perception of performance reviews to make it a positive and pain free experience for all involved.
Continuous improvement consists of daily incremental initiatives and innovations to ensure longer term business goals are achieved. It’s about nurturing a strong culture of continuous improvement and high performance via holding open and honest discussions with a focus on deliverable outcomes. Ensuring any areas of concern are proactively identified and used as an opportunity to seek improvement (rather than being seen as a negative).
In an ideal HR world, these types of discussions and improvements would occur each day eliminating the need for formal performance reviews. We know the daily pressure to deliver combined with the varying communication styles of leaders means there is a need to create structured performance review discussions.
There must be a better way to handle performance reviews
The traditional HR approach is to review the past in a critical way by using confusing metrics and questions. Creating a culture of fear and uncertainty for the Team Member participating. Performance reviews can sometimes be used as a weapon by Managers to deal with longstanding concerns they have avoided – which isn’t conducive to an open and positive discussion.
The Manager and Team Member are often required to do reviews by HR which tends to create forced and awkward conversations. Let’s face it, most people would rather visit the dentist than attend a performance review discussion!
The traditional HR concept of a performance review is outdated and too narrow because the focus is so backwards looking and poorly designed. We prefer the concept of performance improvement which has a focus on the past, present and future.
How we approach performance improvement
Your HR System challenges the out-dated paradigm of complicated, paper heavy and top-down performance reviews. It provides an opportunity to refresh, reset and reinvigorate your relationship with your people. We aim to inspire a journey of continuous of self-improvement and higher performance.
Our traffic light system is designed to spark effective performance conversations by ensuring your team are working effectively and in line with their position description and your company values.
Your HR System includes;
- Annual performance reviews
- 6 monthly performance reviews
- 30,60,90 day probationary reviews
- Flexibility to create any review timing to suit your business
We’ve found that Team Members actively engage with our performance review approach and begin to encourage their Manager to hold the review!
Values X Behaviour = Culture
Your HR System provides the structure and automation to ensure performance reviews are done in the right way. We believe that ‘culture eats business strategy for breakfast’ and HR systems must be driving the culture in a positive direction.
We link the company values into the performance review so there can be direct and open conversations about what they mean in real world terms. The values come to life within Your HR System because each review provides direct links to them. This opens up ongoing conversations about preferred behaviours to create alignment and a basis for longer term decisions on who are the right people for the business.
The image below shows that it’s very hard to create real world cultural change and improvement within a business. As a leader, it can feel like pushing a heavy boulder up a hill which then rolls back once the leader is no longer creating momentum. To overcome this, the momentum must shift to the team to drive continuous improvement. In turn, building a positive culture to ensure improvements are sustained in the long term.
Designing and nurturing a culture where people feel valued and supported requires a deep understanding of your team; how they feel and what they need to do their job effectively.
Your HR System provides the practical tools to conduct worthwhile reviews, measure performance, determine engagement levels to gain insights and enable strategic action.
Your HR System has everything you need to build and strengthen a culture of continuous improvement.
The four key steps using the performance improvement review cycle
- Set up performance review including KPIs, key duties and values
The performance review cycle is crucial in creating an ongoing feedback loop with your Team Members. The review is set up within Your HR System which connects into the employee’s position description. The Manager and Team Member will receive an email prompt to start the process using the green, red and amber traffic light system which is very intuitive and easy to follow.
- Conduct performance review discussion and set goals
Once both reviews are drafted the ‘discussion’ stage is ready the Manager and Team Member to meet in person to begin the conversation. We support the Team Member to create an environment where employees feel safe to express their opinions by providing tips, tools and support.
No performance review system in the world can compensate for poor communication from the Manager. We provide practical tips and support for the Manager to handle these conversations effectively. Ideally the Team Member will be talking approximately 80% of the time with the Manager asking questions and clarifying points for the remaining 20% of the time.
Your HR System lays a foundation and structure for a great conversation.
- Track and review deliver of agreed goals
SMART goals are set and agreed by the Manager and Team Member during the review which becomes the agreed development plan. The goals are set in real time during the discussion with automated reminders generated from Your HR System to ensure follow up is achieved. The Manager can also track progress using our colour coded reporting system.
- Review and improve key metrics with PD to align business strategy
Once the discussion is over, the system enables the Manager and Team Member to review the key duties and KPI’s within the position description together to see if they are still relevant and set up the next review.