Creative performance evaluation methods are needed in hybrid workplaces to ensure that all employees are evaluated and developed on their merits, regardless of where they do most of their work. Workplaces that successfully manage hybrid employee evaluations do three things. First, they define performance in terms of customer satisfaction, company values, key activities, and project completion. Second, they include regular goal setting and feedback sessions. Finally, they encourage collaboration and team building by sharing performance appraisal responsibilities across the workforce. With these requirements in mind, any company can create their own system for performance evaluation, helping their employees grow and develop wherever they are located.
One of the biggest challenges in managing a hybrid work environment is finding ways to accurately assess performance. With some employees working most of the time in the office and others working most of their time remotely, it is important that evaluations are not influenced too much by the amount of time a manager sees his employee face-to-face. in-face.
As I write The Whole Human Workplace, I interviewed representatives from more than 40 companies as they faced the challenges of remote and hybrid work related to the pandemic, focusing, in part, on employee evaluations. While there are many examples of how important traditional good management is, I also found that there are new approaches that specifically hybrid night the playing field and allow employees and managers alike to do their best. that job. Here’s what I learned.
Emphasize Culture and Values
It’s important for hybrid workplaces that all employees understand and act according to your organization’s values — regardless of where they work.
One way to establish a common set of values is through your performance appraisal method. For example, the online retailer Zappos evaluates employees on performance and whether they promote the Zappos culture in their daily work. According to founder and former CEO Tony Hsieh, “We fire people if they’re not a good fit for the culture, even if they’re doing their job well.”
Similarly, the performance review program at Johnstone Supply, a New Jersey-based HVAC supply company, puts its values front and center. According to CHRO Chris Geschickter, “When we conduct performance reviews, our values are our guiding criteria. Much of how we conduct performance evaluations is a reflection of our core values, and then evaluate whether an employee’s behavior is consistent with theirs, in terms of customer service, teamwork, etc. For us, performance evaluation is a year-round conversation, with many self-assessments.”
Values-based approaches to evaluations create a common platform for evaluating the performance of employees in different locations while promoting a unified workplace culture. While the inclusion of performance evaluation values is not necessarily new, duplicating efforts for this seems to be particularly strong in hybrid environments.
Keep Tracking the Most Important Metrics
Dallas-based tax services firm, Ryan, LLC, has moved to a Results-Only Work Environment in 2008, allows employees to work from anywhere and at any time. Their transition was a huge success – turnover went down; morale, engagement, customer satisfaction, and financial performance increased.
The key to doing this is a performance appraisal approach that uses a set of agreed performance metrics that are consistently tracked, and can be accessed at any time on a convenient intranet dashboard. Former CHRO, Delta Emerson, explained, “Managers and employees can log on and see their dashboard. It shows their revenue targets and other performance goals, as well as where they stand and how their performance feeds into incentive pay.Finally, we hold managers accountable by tracking the turnover and participation scores of their teams.
It’s important to note that Ryan’s approach — which provides clarity of objectives and continuous performance measurement — translates perfectly to hybrid work environments. Their system is fair and transparent for employees who typically work in the office and those who typically work remotely, and, importantly, creates accountability for managers to engage and retain employees.
Use Technology
With agreement on which employee performance metrics to track, companies can use technology to level the playing field. For example, General Electric uses an app-based system that allows employees to share performance milestones with their teams and managers.
While the company previously prided itself on a formal, competitive annual performance review process, this new approach encourages collaborative conversations. Managers use it to provide constant feedback through performance “touchpoints” to employees. And colleagues use it to provide real feedback on progress and recognition.
This approach focuses employees and managers on continuous growth and development, reinforcing decisions on raises, promotions, and development opportunities that now occur throughout the year. As a result, the app-based system helps level the playing field by ensuring that employees, managers, and co-workers can better “see” each other’s work and provide feedback wherever work is done.
If your workplace has changed, so should your evaluation process
The transition to remote or hybrid environments for many companies is bumpy. What I found in my research though is that traditional good management including regular goal setting, peer feedback, and progress reporting, is still important. The difference is how companies today must apply these principles. And while I’ve seen companies apply it in the various ways I’ve outlined above, they’ve all been successful for three reasons.
First, they define performance in terms of customer satisfaction, company values, key activities, and project completion. Second, they include regular goal setting and feedback sessions. Finally, they encourage collaboration and team building by sharing performance appraisal responsibilities across the workforce.
The lesson, then, is that creative approaches to performance evaluation are not only possible, but necessary in hybrid workplaces. This is the only way to ensure that all employees are evaluated and developed according to their merit, regardless of where they do most of their work.
