How to implement performance reviews in a company and guide your team's growth

Tracking employee performance to recognize those who stand out and guide those who do not yet deliver what is expected is a fundamental part of good management. That is why companies with strategic maturity run performance reviews on a regular basis.

Even so, it is common for review season to cause anxiety, mainly because, afterward, the manager has to give employees feedback.

When a company knows how to implement performance reviews and makes its objectives and the values behind its review policy clear, the process becomes much easier to run.

The purpose of a review is twofold:

• to understand employees’ performance, skills and knowledge;
• to promote their development and training.

Because reviews are often associated with measuring performance, development can end up in the background. That is why managers should use reviews not only to measure, but also to help employees improve.

In this post, you will see the steps to implement performance reviews and how to use them for the continuous growth of your team. First, watch this video about the types of review (in Portuguese):

How to implement performance reviews in a company

Like any business processopens in a new tab (page in Portuguese), performance reviews follow steps. Before starting them, the company needs to:

• define the objective of the review process;
• consider the organization’s values, goals and expectations;
• align individual goals and expectations with the business’s vision and core values.

Only then does implementation start with good prospects for success. Two precautions are also necessary:

1. Update each employee’s job description. Without it, there can be no precise feedback, because expectations change from one responsibility to another.
2. Review performance expectations. They should be the list of results expected if the main duties of the role are met.

The main difficulty lies in how employees face the moment. Many do not take feedback well, because criticism is not perceived as guidance for improving performance. When the steps are followed carefully, people come to see the importance of the process and its benefits for the company and for their careers.

Steps to implement performance reviews

We selected 6 phases that follow a logical order and help structure the process bit by bit.

1. Show the whole team the importance of performance management

The first point is keeping the team informed. People who do not know the reasons for the review may get the wrong message, as if only they were being watched. And if people do not see that good work is being recognized, the process meets resistance.

That is why a good internal communication planopens in a new tab (page in Portuguese) is needed, one that explains the benefits of the new process and its importance for the employee and for the company.

It must also be clear that the review policy is an instrument for improvement, not for control. Without that perception, there is no way to run reviews successfully.

2. Define objective indicators and metrics

For reviews to be put to good use, the rules must be clear and the metrics objective. When you define the objectives of the process, you create the questions that collect the information needed to reach them.

Employees need indicators that are easy to check, so they can follow their own progress and strive to reach goals.

They also need to know which points they will be assessed on. If they do not know which results or competencies the company looks at, they have no way to improve them.

3. Evaluate and review continuously

A performance review system requires periodic monitoring and review of its guidelines. When you plan reviews, you reassess several types of goals. This way, if the market, products or services or some procedure change, the review criteria follow the change, and results do not suffer bias from outdated parameters.

Evaluation and development are crucial aspects of each review cycle, so role goals and development goals must be assessed and defined. The first review does not solve every problem, so revise the metrics whenever necessary.

One of the most widely used methodologies for continuous evaluation is 360-degree feedback. See how to do it in this video (in Portuguese):

4. Keep the focus on development

There is no way to implement performance reviews without giving proper weight to the training and growth of people and teams. Without that focus, the review loses its meaning.

The eye should be on results, but mainly on development. The return comes in better performance, and results are a consequence of the process.

5. Know how to face resistance

Every change meets resistance. That is natural, and it must be mapped and worked on throughout the review process. Handling these obstacles quickly keeps them from getting in the way of continuous improvement, which is the main goal of performance reviews.

One of the most recurring obstacles is employees’ discomfort when hearing feedback. To overcome it, watch the video below (in Portuguese):

6. Use technology as an ally

Knowing how to use technology is one of the most important points when implementing performance reviews. The right software for each objective saves time and money and delivers better results. Data becomes information that is easy to absorb, and processes can be customized to the company’s needs.

This way, effort stops getting lost in paper forms that no one reads and that do not become useful data on employee performance.

Corporate performance management software can be used to compute, monitor and publish the KPIs of the performance review.

How Stratws supports performance reviews

Stratws, by Siteware, brings together performance reviews, review debriefs, feedback, 1:1s and development plans in the performance and development management solution. The gap identified in the review becomes a development plan with an owner and a deadline, and the competency is assessed again in the next cycle.

This way, the manager follows each person’s progress on the same platform where they follow the area’s goals.

Reviews as a development routine

Implementing performance reviews is a process in steps: communicate the objective, define clear metrics, revise the criteria, keep the focus on development, deal with resistance and use technology in your favor.

When employees understand that the review exists to help them grow, feedback stops being a source of anxiety and starts to guide careers and the company’s results.