The days of the annual traditional appraisal are numbered. At long last many businesses are coming to the realisation that an annual appraisal is no longer worth the paper it’s written on.

In a recent edition of the Harvard Business Review, Deloitte declared that they are fundamentally changing how they review how their employees perform. Their own research states that their 65,000 employees spent 2 million hours completing forms and holding countless meetings to discuss employee performance. The process wasn’t working because these days things move so fast in business that annual goals are too far out. Another part of their research states that much of the performance review ratings were a reflection on the manager conducting the review rather than the employee being appraised. In summary, the existing system was a waste of time, effort and money.

Does this sound all too familiar with your own experiences with performance appraisals in your company? Are your performance appraisals driving employee performance and engagement or are they simply going through the motions?

Research into neuroscience now tells us that as people we are hard-wired to fear and react poorly to being categorised.  Take a look at this short video. It explains how the traditional approach to annual appraisals is flawed in terms how people think and behave.

It’s not only Deloitte who are having a major re-think on how they appraise their employees. Netflix have completely revamped their approach. Microsoft have done away with performance ratings. More companies are now following suit to make their performance reviews slicker and relevant to their business. The myth that the traditional approach to annual reviews adds real value is busted. These days employee appraisals need to be accurate, timely and future-focused. The focus needs to be on the conversation rather than the form completion.

Times are changing and employees’ attitudes to how they expect to be managed are changing too. At Beyond Theory our research, using respected sources such as the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD), Engage for Success and the Harvard Business Review gives us a unique and up to date insight into what makes people and businesses tick. We have access to the latest thinking on employee performance and engagement and how this translates into increased business productivity.

Contact me if you’d like us to review your company’s employee appraisal process to make it fit for purpose. If needed we can then your train team, or train your own people to train others, so that your employee appraisals are both engaging and what your business needs.