Category: Performance Management

Employee goals are more than just placeholders with numbers for the employee.

Goals are something that we can work towards, something that motivates us. And tangentially, it also benefits the organization.

In essence, workplace goals grant employees job satisfaction, provide them with a purpose and for an organization, they also grant results and success.

Therefore, it stands to reason that workplace goals are integral to an organization. As a manager, here’s a checklist for you to follow to set goals for your employees.

Employees Goals Should Focus On Personal Improvement

One of the main motives behind creating goals for your employees as a manager should be personal improvement. Employee goals which help them improve and gain new skills become a good goal by default. Personal improvement is a part and parcel of an employee’s development. Employees cannot remain static.

Also Read: 7 Video Conferencing Etiquettes To Follow

Collaborative And Attainable

One of the keys to setting good employee goals is that they should be slightly unreachable. However, managers should not go to the extreme and set completely unreachable goals. If your goals are causing your employees to pull countless all-nighters or are stressing them out, they are completely missing the point. You don’t want your goals to burn out employees. You should aim for motivation.

Employee goals should ensure that employees do not work as individual contributors but rather work with others to ensure the completion of goals. Goals that can be easily met by employees are not challenging them enough or even engaging them. On the other hand, a goal that forces an employee to step out of their comfort zone is a goal that is challenging. And even better if the goal in question forces employees to engage with other employees.

Measurable And Impactful

If we only counted goals in terms of numerical progress, then by that logic, it would be very easy to declare a goal as a failure or success. When it comes to setting employee goals, one thing you should keep in mind is measurability. It’s good if you can measure a goal in terms of numbers and even better if you can measure the impact of the goal. The impact of a goal is always a better indicator of success than the numerical status.

For example, an employee is given a goal where he needs to convince 50 other employees in the office to use a new software. In terms of numbers, if 50 employees have downloaded that software and used it even once, then the goal is a successful one. However, if those 50 employees stopped using the software after a period of time, then has the employee really succeeded at the goal?

Do The Goals Contribute To The Organization Goals?

All goals cannot be tied to team goals and the organization, that is true. However, when setting a goal for an employee, it is important to remember that as much as possible, a goal should contribute towards the overall team and organization goals. If employee goals are not directly contributing to the team’s or the organization’s success, it should at least account for their personal development. If the goal is not even helping the employee improve professionally, then the goal shouldn’t exist in the first place.

Also Read: What To Look For In A 360 Feedback Software?

Employee Goals Should Be Flexible

Ideally, you should be able to modify employee goals in the long run. Because, in the process of achieving a goal, the employee and manager might suddenly find that the objective of the goal needs to change. Or that they might need to add other objectives to the goal.

Employee’s Should Be Included In Setting Their Goals

Harvard Business Review, in their report found that 14% of people who set their goals are 10 times more successful than their counterparts.

Last but not the least, this is one of the most important factors to consider when creating a goal. Does your goal match with what the employee has in mind? If it does, great, you can go ahead and set that goal. If it does not, you’ve got to find a way to meet in the middle with the employee. A goal that is set for an employee without an employee’s input is one that is doomed. If employees are not invested in a goal or even motivated by it, then they will not be able to pursue it.

Consider Its Overall Impact

This is one other thing you need to take into consideration. How does the goal you set for your employee affect you? Does it tie into any personal goals you have? And if it does, how do you measure the goal? How much is the employee contributing towards the goal? These are a few of the questions you should ask when creating goals for employees.

Want to know how Engagedly can make your goal setting process simpler? Request for a demo!

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According to a study by Adobe in 2017, 47% of millennials started looking for a new job after their performance reviews!

Performance reviews might seem like just another task for managers but they are a huge deal for the employees. Whether you love them or hate them, performance reviews are here to stay!

Different organizations follow different practices for their performance reviews. What really matters is the frequency of performance reviews at your organization. If you’re reviewing the performance of your employees annually, then filling out review forms and evaluating performance could seem like a lot of work and there is more scope for making mistakes and ruining performance reviews for your employees.

Here is a list of common mistakes that you could avoid during performance reviews.

Lack Of Planning

It is never acceptable to conduct a performance review meeting with your employees without sending them a prior notification about it. Performance reviews require both the managers and employees to be prepared. Remember that the agenda of the entire process is not just for you to assess their performance but also to analyze on how to improve it.

Also Read: What To Look For In A 360 Feedback Software?

Holding Off The Process

Annual performance reviews are abandoned by many organizations and are ignored by a few others. While annual performance reviews aren’t exactly seen as an accurate way to evaluate performance, you cannot delay or cancel these reviews without replacing it with a different structure for employee feedback. If you feel that annual performance reviews are too much, then replace them with frequent mini-reviews. Cancelling performance reviews, while your employees’ promotions, salaries and OKRs depend on them isn’t very ideal.

Missing Out On Acknowledgements

Lot of managers underestimate the amount of damage this practice can cause to their employees. The purpose of employee performance reviews isn’t just to tell employees how they failed, but also to acknowledge and recognize their accomplishments. As a manager, employees expect you to recognize and reward them for their good work. Utilize this opportunity to identify their areas of strengths and make use of these strengths to improve your organizational productivity.

Also Read: How To Support Mental Health Of Your Remote Team

Judgement Clouded By Recency Bias

This is one of the most common issues of annual performance reviews. Managers tend to review with a recency bias. It is important to be accurate with the evaluation, particularly when performance reviews affect employee compensation. As a manager, it is important for you to do your homework about your employees’ past work and have a clear idea before reviewing their performance, eliminating the scope for any recency bias.

Using Personal Judgement Instead of Data

Never base your employee performance evaluation on your own personal judgement. Always check for data and numbers from the past. Set goals and objectives for your employees and see how they accomplished them. Setting OKRs for employees helps you assess the performance of your employees based on concrete data.

Also Read: Do These 8 Things To Improve Employee Engagement 

Only Focussing On Performance Appraisals

Most managers forget that performance reviews aren’t just about the appraisals and compensation but also about managing employee performance and discussing about their future plans. So, don’t just focus on the appraisals, but also discuss and decide on how you plan to help your employees improve their performance in the future.

Comparing With Others

One of the most common mistakes that managers do during performance reviews is that they compare different employees to the same job levels and decide their compensation or promotion based on the analysis. Unfortunately, this practice demoralizes employees. And as a result, they will avoid discussing their future performance or career plans with their managers. This can also breed unwanted competition at the workplace.

Also Read: 5 Things To Look For In An OKR Software

Only The Manager Speaks

Performance review is supposed to be a healthy discussion between the managers and employees. Managers usually tend to just ask employees to fill in the performance evaluation forms, get it signed and not bother about giving or receiving feedback. This practice is demoralizing and yields no positive result. If you want your employees to improve themselves and contribute to organizational productivity, encourage your employees to speak up and give feedback.

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you improve performance management? Request for a demo!

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Many organizations around the world today are in the process of completing their year-round performance reviews. Whether you are doing it yearly or half-yearly, so far it has been an indispensable process. But globally many companies have now ditched the annual / half-yearly reviews in favour of feedback-based continuous performance management. 

Also Read: Why These 8 Top Companies Redefined Their Performance Management Systems

Often, these reviews are not fruitful, and it is just a waste of some productive hours for the managers and their employees. Both the manager and employees go in unprepared, and the results are not as expected. A little preparation and these meetings could turn into productive discussion sessions related to strategic planning, goal setting, etc.  

The Importance Of Performance Reviews

We all know the significance performance reviews hold in today’s day and age. Efficient processes not only help understand employee performance but can also measure productivity. Managers share constructive feedback, review goals, identify development opportunities, and help employees to identify their strengths and weaknesses. It also serves as the tool for discussion of salary appraisals, incentives, and promotions. Here are some of the benefits.

Helps Align Goals And Objectives

Performance reviews offer a scope to discuss and align employee goals with the team and the organization’s goals. It gives them a sense of direction and helps them understand how they fit into the bigger picture.

Also Read: 7 Reasons To Set Employee Goals 

Promotes Communication

Performance reviews are a great opportunity to promote a culture of feedback and communication in the workplace. Feedback from managers helps employees know their strengths, weaknesses, blind spots, and gaps. It helps them understand where they are going wrong and what they are doing right. It also helps in employee engagement and enhances employee experience.

Clarity in Job Roles

Often employees are not clear about their job roles and responsibilities and how their work affects employees of the same team or others. Additionally, these meetings act as a great platform for them to understand their job roles better and remove any ambiguity.

Praise, Recognition & Rewards

Employees love being praised, recognized, and rewarded for their work as incentives, bonuses, promotions, or some time-off. Employees feel valued, important, and satisfied when the organization and managers show gratitude. Conversely, if you fail to reward or recognize them, they feel demotivated, disengaged, and ultimately leave your organization for other opportunities.

Also Read: Employee Recognition And Rewards During COVID-19

Personal & Career Development

Performance reviews are a great way to plan for the training, mentoring, and development programs. Identify where your employees see themselves in the next few years and what challenges they would like to tackle. These meetings act as a guide for employees to tread the correct path for their skill development. 

Want to know more about skill development?

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What Is Good Performance?

Although there is no specific yardstick to measure good performance, but we at Engagedly have identified six guidelines to measure someone as a good performer:

• Meets targets on time
• Takes complete ownership of responsibilities
• Completes job duties
• Have the willingness to learn and develop along the way
• Follow the ‘Code of Conduct’ and company policies
• Shows a positive attitude and collaborates with the team

Tips For Managers

As a manager, it is your responsibility to give your employees accurate reviews, which would help them perform better and achieve results. Here are some tips which will help first-time managers or even experienced ones to navigate smoothly in the performance reviews.

Prepare Well On Time

Although a performance review is not more than a half-hour or an hour activity but as a manager you can’t go in unprepared. Schedule the meeting well in advance so that it gives both of you time to prepare for it. Send a meeting invite and block a calendar slot of your direct report. Decide on the key points that you want to focus on and discuss and document them. Review their past performance and achievements. Collect feedback from other stakeholders on their performance and document them to share them with your employee.

Also Read: Top 5 Employee Goals And Objectives For 2021 

Communicate Clearly With Your Employees

Communicate clearly and concisely with your employees during a performance review. Make sure they understand what you want to convey. Avoid responding with one-word answers, such as Good Work, Unsatisfactory Work, Poor Work, or even avoid using phrases such as You did an outstanding job, or You did a terrible job. One word or a phrase won’t help employees to understand their performance any better. It would destroy one of the main motives of the performance reviews. Employees would leave the reviews being unsatisfied and with incomplete information. But as a manager, you don’t need to go overboard with your words but let them know enough, so they are at least in the right direction.

Set Goals And Objectives

A performance review is not only to assess what has happened in the past but also the platform to set goals for the future. Help your employees to set goals and objectives for the next quarter, half-year, or year. The goals should be tough to challenge your employees, but attainable so that we do not demotivate them. Track and review them from time to time to track the progress. It would ensure your employees are on track.

However, writing good employee goals is not that easy. Here’s our guide to help create attainable and smart goals for your employees.

Keep Your Employees Involved

Make sure it is not a one-way conversation, jazz up the conversation with question-answer sessions. Give your employees the opportunity to take part and speak. Half of the performance reviews do not create any impact because they are not interactive enough. Give them feedback, ask them questions and suggestions which will allow them to take part actively in the discussion. 

Design Performance Improvement Plans

Performance reviews are a great opportunity to discuss the performance improvement plans of your employees. It does not indicate that your employee performance was not up to the mark. It is a chance to improve future performance based on the previous one. In the performance review, set OKRs and design a performance improvement plan based on previous performance.

Review Frequently

Sharing timely reviews can greatly impact your employee’s performance. It motivates them and allows them to improve continuously. Moreover, it helps them stay aligned with their goals and objectives. Timely feedback, whether positive or constructive, helps employees perform better and reinforce what they are doing right. It also allows you to appreciate and acknowledge your employees regularly, which makes them feel valued and important.

Also Read: How Continuous Performance Management Help Improve Performance

Document Everything

Human memory has a limited capacity, and it can only store a certain amount of information. If you do not document the ongoing performance review, it might cloud your next one with biases. It will serve as a benchmark for the next performance discussion. Not only this, it will provide evidence-based support for your next discussion and help you decide regarding rewards, promotions, or incentives. A performance review software such as Engagedly can help you store and document historical performance data of your employees.

Want to know how Engagedly can help you manage performance reviews? Then request for a live demo.

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With many organizations still functioning remotely, it is crucial for employees to have clear and well-defined goals to keep them on track and focused. Having clear goals helps them improve their productivity, enhance their decision-making skills, and keep them motivated and engaged.

It is almost the end of the first quarter of 2021, and it is time to set goals for your second quarter. So it is necessary to set them right, and avoid the mistakes made previously. Here are seven common goal setting mistakes to avoid when setting goals for yourself and the team.

Failing to Set SMART Goals

We understand setting SMART goals might sound a little bit cliche, but you simply can’t ignore it. George T Doran introduced SMART goals in 1981, and it has been used by organizations worldwide since then. When employees don’t set SMART goals, they lack direction and fail to understand their goals clearly. SMART goals have five main key focus areas:

– Specific: Goals should have a specific purpose. It becomes easier for employees to understand. If goals aren’t specific, they will fail sooner or later

– Measurable: Goals must be measurable so that employees can track the progress of their goals. It will help them track achievements and define success

– Achievable: Goals cannot be too easy, nor can they be too difficult. Easy goals will not challenge the employee, whereas a difficult one will demotivate them

– Relevant: Goals should be relevant and linked to the overall organization and department goals

– Time-Bound: There needs to be a specific time within which the goal needs to be completed. When goals are time-bound, it drives performance, and employees stay motivated and engaged

Also Read: 5 Reasons Why You Need A Performance Management Software

Excluding The Employees

As per recent research by Gallup, only about half of employees understand their job expectations.

Often managers commit the mistake of excluding the employees from the goal setting process. This results in employees lacking a clear understanding and expectation of their goals. Instead, it should be a collaborative effort between the manager and the employees. Employees, when they are part of their goal setting process, they feel more accountable for it. Additionally, the employees don’t feel the goals as forcefully imposed, which results in job satisfaction and increased productivity.

Non-Aligned Goals

According to a report by McKinsey&Company, 91 % of businesses noticed an improvement in profits when organization goals and key strategies were linked to team performance goals.

Non-aligned goals lack directions. Furthermore, employees fail to understand how they contribute to the bigger picture. For employee goals to be effective, they should be aligned with the team, department, and organizational goals. Employees who understand what role they play in an organizations’ success tend to be more productive and are more engaged at work. When they know how they contribute to the overall picture, they are more focused and motivated, which results in success for the organization.

Goals Are Not Flexible

It is often possible that the objective of a goal itself changes even after an employee starts working towards it. In this case, it is wise to update the goals as per their needs. Static goals often affect the motivation and productivity of the employees. Most organizations commit the mistake of not revisiting their goals or updating them until it is time for employee performance reviews. Having flexible goals makes them relevant and important for the employee and the organization.

Also Read: How To Conduct An Effective 360 Degree Feedback?

Fail To Track Progress

As mentioned above, organizations often fail to revisit the goals until performance reviews. It results in employees failing to understand what they are doing right and need to keep on doing, and what they are doing wrong and need to stop.

When goals are tracked, it helps identify problems as well as their progress. As a manager, help employees identify key milestones and set up a timeline to achieve the same. Review the progress of the goals from time to time and share feedback with your employees. This will help them to stay focused and aligned with the organizational goals.

Ignoring The Small Wins

“People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards.” — Dale Carnegie, Leadership Training Guru, and Author.

Setting clear and well-defined goals is crucial, but it is also necessary to take out time to recognize and reward your employees. When you recognize or reward your employees on small wins, they are motivated to achieve further. But failing to do so often makes employees feel undervalued and unimportant, and they get derailed from their goals. A lack of appreciation decreases their morale and motivation to work. It reduces the engagement and productivity of the employees. On the other hand, even a small announcement on the company website or social media or paying bonuses is enough to make them feel appreciated.

Additionally, it helps in creating a culture of appreciation throughout the organization.

Also Read: 5 Benefits Of Investing In Employee Recognition Software

Not Using A Goal Setting Software

We all know COVID-19 has changed the way we all work today. Organizations globally have ditched the traditional goal setting process and have invested in a goal setting software. If your organization has not invested in one yet, it is the right time to do so. Goal setting software helps the creation and managing of goals easier for everyone in the organization. In addition to that, it also improves the visibility of the goals and helps to track them easily.

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with setting effective goals? Then request for a live demo.

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2020 has been a year of complex experiences, revelations and learnings. As a result, we have understood that the way the world works can change drastically without warning. Most working people today are facing uncertainties coupled with family needs and probable financial tensity, presenting unprecedented challenges. Our functions and ways of life need to change in tandem. 

A recent research by SHRM shows that ‘work-related concerns have left more than 40 percent of employees feeling burned out.’ In fact, many organizations have even taken the decision to skip performance reviews this year. 

Keeping a tab on these ongoing transitions, we sought to understand how the recent shift in the way we work has affected performance management and people development processes. We curiously asked ourselves the question, “What has changed in performance management and people development during the COVID era?” To have a closer look at the changes and how it affects us, we conducted surveys on performance management and people development processes. 

Want to know what we found? We will get there in a moment. But before that, allow us to give you some details about the survey.

Which industries did we cover? 

The survey covered about 20 different industries. However, our results clustered into 5 key industries: 

• Construction
• Manufacturing
• Healthcare
• Financial
• Telecommunications

These 5 key industries accounted for 50% of responses to the survey. (View survey)

What was the survey about?  

As we have mentioned before in this article, we wanted to gauge how the pandemic has affected performance management. So we asked the leaders to report the degree of change for different performance management processes by reporting whether or not each of the performance management processes was occurring more or less frequently during COVID-19. They responded on a five point scale (1= significantly less frequent and 5 = significantly more frequent).

We focused the questions on these key areas performance management processes:

• Pay for Performance Incentives
• Usage of Performance Ratings
• Focus on OKR/Goal Management Processes
• Frequency of Reviews/Assessments
• Ongoing Check-Ins with Managers/Others

Wait! The survey does not end there. We wanted to be slightly more thorough. So after they reported on the degree of change they experienced during COVID, we asked the leaders two additional questions.

1. Do you anticipate the changes to continue post COVID? (Yes or No)
2. How satisfied they were about the changes to the performance management processes due to COVID? (1 = Very Dissatisfied and 5 = Very Satisfied).

Here is what we found! 

So now that we have a better understanding about the changes in performance management and their impact, we come to the next important step.

Read: Performance Management and Employee Development in the Covid Era

Key takeaways for you:

1. Performance Management process changes from once-a-year reviews to a continuous approach has been an ongoing shift. But it is clear that the impact of COVID to a virtual workforce has been an accelerant in that shift. 
2. Organizations are moving to a more continuous check-in based approach and also towards a Goal/OKR oriented approach to managing performance.
3. Moreover, what we learnt from this survey is that these changes were welcomed by the leaders by and large. 

Then the key question becomes, do these changes stick or is this only a temporal effect?

• It seems (at least from the current responses) that these changes may be permanent in the post COVID workplace. Permanence may be driven due to the fact that these shifts to a more progressive approach were well received and hence, there will be little reason to go back to the ‘Old Way’ of doing things.

Among the other questions, we pondered regarding use of ratings in performance reviews and changes in pay-for-performance models. It appears there was some shift in doing more Ratings-based Reviews and increased Pay for Performance, but the data did not suggest that it was significant enough to make a claim that that shift was more than temporary, possibly due to cost containment efforts. We will need to run another study in a few months to test our hypothesis. So keep a look out for the follow ups on this piece!

Want to view the detailed report? Click here.

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with Performance Management? We have live demo for you.

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Performance Appraisal is one of the most important process in an organization, especially for the employees. But often, employees feel unsatisfied and harbour a bitter feeling towards the managers and the organization once the process is over. It happens because of some of the common mistakes which the managers make in conducting the process.

Here are some tips to help you measure your employee’s performance better.

Halo Effect

When a real time performance management software is not in place to conduct continuous performance evaluations, managers tend to have a clouded judgement because of recency bias. They tend to forget past work and achievements of employees and conduct the performance appraisal based on just their recent work.

A manager should do their background work on knowing about the tasks and achievements of the employee, or have a real time performance management system in place to keep a track of it.

Also Read: Don’t Let Recency Bias Affect Your Performance Discussions

Make It Regular

Often managers commit the mistake of holding their reviews and feedback until it’s time for annual performance appraisal. They fail to realize what impact an instant and continuous feedback process can have on their employees. As a result, the employees are not sure when they are working in the wrong direction or right.

The managers believe that performance appraisal is the right time to provide feedback to their employees. But as performance appraisals happen half-yearly or annually in most companies, it becomes too late to receive feedback for some work which was done at the beginning of the year. Using a real time performance management software would solve the problem easily. Their progress can be easily tracked and reviewed, and it will not be a surprise for them at the time of appraisal.

Absence Of An Action Plan

Often managers and employees leave out one key component from the performance appraisal… discussion about future plans. A manager’s job involves not only assessing the employee at present but also guiding them in achieving personal and career goals of the future. This helps in an easy career transition of an employee. They can easily switch roles, and also change projects as per their plans.

Also Read: Understanding Employee Wellbeing In 2021

Not Recognizing Achievements

In a recent survey conducted by Bureau of Labor Statistics, they found that 25% of employees leave organization due to lack of recognition.

If your organization is not practicing a continuous feedback approach to recognize your employees, then performance appraisals are just the perfect time to do so. Instead of focusing too much on negatives and criticisms, appreciate your employees for their accomplishments and strengths. This type of constructive feedback will not only improve their productivity at work, but will also improve their engagement.

Using Engagedly’s Real Time Performance Management Software you can publicly praise your employees and also award points for accomplishments. The praises and rewards will be visible to everyone in the organization.

Delaying The Process

Many organizations tend to postpone or altogether cancel the performance appraisal process. They are not the only yardstick to measure employee performance, but employee promotions and salaries surely depend on it. To delay or postpone them creates a bad impression of the manager or the organization on the employees. Employees might feel that they are not given enough importance, and all the organization cares about is work. If managers are not getting an ample amount of time to conduct a yearly performance review, they can opt for continuous feedback or quarterly reviews.

Failing To Set SMART Goals

As a manager, performance appraisal is the correct time to set SMART goals for your employees based on past goals and objectives. Give them an outline of what is expected from them in the next performance cycle. The acronym SMART stands for:

• Specific–Goals should not be vague, or else they are bound to fail soon
• Measurable–An ideal goal should be measurable so that the progress and completion can be tracked. Measurable goals help us define its success
• Achievable–Any goal should be achievable; they shouldn’t be too difficult or easy
• Relevant–Goals should be relevant
• Timely–Goals should specify the time during which it is to be completed

An ideal example of a SMART goal for an IT project would be to complete 60% UI/UX (Specific, Measurable, and Achievable) designing of the website in two months (Relevant and Timely). The goal should not be rigid and should be flexible to changes.

Also Read: Here’s How To Set Effective Goals For Your Employees

No Follow Up

A perfect performance appraisal, SMART goals, timely rewards, and recognition; all of these would be of no use if there is no follow up from your end. Check with your employees from time to time if the project is on track and development plans are met and milestones achieved. If there is no proper follow-up, employees often fall through the gap and lose their motivation, which ultimately affects productivity.

Implement real time performance management software at your organization to conduct your performance appraisal with ease. It will not only help you to track your employee’s progress and goals easily, but also provide continuous feedback to them, which will keep them engaged and motivated at their work.

Want to know how Engagedly can help you manage your employee’s performance better? Then request for a live demo.

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COVID-19 has completely changed the way organizations work today. With most of the workforce still working from home and processes gone virtual, it is crucial to have an effective performance management process in place. While paper-based or traditional performance management processes would have been feasible if the workplace was not remote or organizations were small. But considering the current scenario, organizations need to invest in performance management software to manage their employees.

In this article, we will highlight how having performance management software can benefit your organization in this era of remote working. Here are the reasons.

Effective Goal Setting And Management

A recent study by Gallup indicates that about 50% of employees do not know what is expected of them at their workplace.

Performance Management Software or PMS allows organizations to set well-defined goals for their employees. It helps employees to align their individual SMART goals to the company’s vision, mission, and goals. They offer better visibility of goals and help everyone understand how their efforts contribute to the higher-level goals. Moreover, it allows managers to track and measure progress and provide feedback on goals whenever required. It not only makes the process of goal setting simpler but also makes it easy to track and manage them.

Also Read: What To Look For In A Goal Setting Software

Real-Time Feedback

Feedback, whether positive or critical, is crucial for employee development. Additionally, it is also responsible for driving employee engagement and retention. But feedback can only have an impact when it is on time. Having performance management software helps feedback to be instant and real time. Managers can share their feedback whenever they want, irrespective of different time-zones and geographies. It helps in facilitating two-way communication between the employees and their managers, improves collaboration, and thus helps in building a strong team.

Multirater Assessment

Multirater assessment or 360 degree feedback is one of the most popular modules in Performance Management Software. In this process, employees receive anonymous feedback from people with whom they have a working relationship. These participants include peers, direct reports, managers, customers, and even vendors. Employees receive a comprehensive perspective of their performance and behavior. It helps them bridge the perception gap that exists between self-evaluation and what others think about them. Moreover, it helps them understand their potential blind spots and gaps. Since feedback is from multiple sources, it is less affected by bias and is more acceptable to everyone.

Also Read: The Importance Of  360 Degree Feedback For Healthcare

Celebrating Small Wins

Most performance management software has an in-built employee recognition and rewards module. It helps managers and leaders to celebrate the small wins of their employees. It is human nature to love appreciation and praise for their hard work. So when employees receive appreciation or rewards, they feel motivated and engaged. It increases job satisfaction and happiness at work.

Engagedly’s Real Time Performance Management Software comes with a public praise option, where employees can praise each other.Managers and other leaders also have the option to award points for the accomplishments of their employees.

Analytics

Performance Management Software collects data over time and provides a detailed analysis of employee’s performance. With the help of detailed charts and graphs, managers get a clear idea about the performance trends of the employees. It not only helps employees to assess their own performance but also acts as a guide when deciding on skills and developmental needs. Moreover, the analytics report of the performance management software makes the quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly review process more productive and saves time.

Also Read: 5 Simple Ways To Build A High Performance Team

Are you looking out for a performance management software for your organization? Then request a live demo.

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In 2020, when everyone is working remotely, the importance of setting effective goals cannot be undermined. Having clear and well-defined goals help employees to be engaged and stay focused at work. It motivates them, helps prioritize work, and enhances decision-making skills.

If you are setting or planning goals for yourself, then it might seem quite easy to manage. But as a manager, if you are setting goals for your team, then it is not an easy task to make them effective.

Here are some tips by which you can set effective goals for your employees.

Set SMART Goals

The concept of SMART goals was first introduced by George T. Doran in 1981 and has been in use ever since. SMART goals help employees understand their goals better, which improves their chances of success. It focuses on five key areas:

– Specific: Goals should be clear and specific. It becomes easier for employees to understand what is to be achieved. If goals aren’t specific, they will fail sooner or later

– Measurable: Goals must be measurable so that employees can track the progress of their goals easily. It will help them track achievements and define success

– Achievable: Goals cannot be too easy, nor can they be too difficult. Easy goals will not challenge the employee, whereas a difficult one will demotivate them

– Relevant: Goals should be relevant and linked to the overall organization and department goals

– Time-Bound: Goals need to be carried out within a specific time period. When goals are time-bound it drives performance, and employees stay motivated and engaged

Also Read: Why Healthcare Administrators Should Set SMART Goals

Include Your Employees

As per recent research by Gallup, only about half of employees understand their job expectations.

The goal setting process should be a collaborative effort between a manager and an employee. Encourage employees to identify their own job-related short-term and long-term goals. Once the employees have identified their goals, managers should guide them to align it with the business objectives. When employees set their own goals, they feel more accountable for the results. In addition to this, the goals do not feel imposed, and they tend to be more productive and engaged at work.

Also Read: The Essential Guide To Employee Productivity In A Hybrid Setup

Align The Goals

According to a report by McKinsey&Company, 91 % of businesses noticed an improvement in profits when organization goals and key strategies were linked to team performance goals.

For employee goals to be effective, they should be aligned with the team, department, and organizational goals. Employees who understand what role they play in an organizations’ success tend to be more productive and are more engaged at work. When they know how they contribute to the overall picture, they are more focused and motivated, which results in success for the organization.

Make Them Adaptive

Goals should be flexible so that they can be updated with the changing priorities of the organization. Most organizations commit the mistake of not revisiting their goals or updating them until it is the time for employee performance reviews. Having flexible goals makes them relevant and important for the employee and the organization.

Also Read: Employee Engagement Software To Help Enhance Productivity

Track The Progress

Once the goals have been set, the next step is to create a plan to track and monitor the progress of the goals. When goals are tracked, it helps identify problems as well as the progress of the goals. As a manager, help employees identify key milestones and set up a timeline to achieve the same. Review the progress of the goals from time to time and share feedback with your employees. This will help them to stay focused and aligned with the organizational goals.

Reward The Achievers

“People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards.” — Dale Carnegie, Leadership Training Guru, and Author.

When employees receive recognition and rewards for their work or completed goals, it shows that their work is being valued and appreciated. Rewards and recognition can be in the form of certificates, simple acknowledgments, bonuses, or even announcing it over the organization’s social media. It reflects organization values and helps in building a culture of appreciation throughout the organization. It also works as an encouragement for others to work hard.

Also Read: Employee Rewards & Recognition During COVID-19

Use A Goal Setting Software

We all know COVID-19 has changed the way we all work today. Many organizations globally have ditched the traditional goal setting process and have invested in a goal setting software to set and manage the goals of their employees. If your organization has not invested in one yet, it is the right time to do so. Goal setting software helps to create and manage goals easily for everyone in the organization. In addition to that, it also improves the visibility of the goals and helps to track them easily.https://engagedly.com/request-demo/

2020 has forced the world into utilizing its virtual platforms, for the reasons we are all aware of. So in this era, having useful tools in place that will help enhance the virtual working experience, is a must-have. Choosing Engagedly is just the beginning to creating a positive work environment and increasing workplace productivity. Employee goals are one of the most significant driving factors for employee productivity. You cannot achieve something without clearly defining what to do and without keeping track of your progress from time to time.

Also read: High Performing Teams In Healthcare

Engagedly’s Goals feature helps you do the same without any hassle or confusion.

Get started with Engagedly’s goal setting feature with these five simple steps!

Step 1: Create a goal

While setting employee goals are never easy, creating them on Engagedly is. All you need to do is go to ‘My Goals’ from Engagedly’s goals module and click on ‘+New Goal’. Goals differ from person to person and from one department to the other. Write your goal and add notes about it. After creating a goal, you can also change its ownership if needed in future. Click here for further details.

Step 2: Pick the type for Check-in

The best part about setting employee goals through Engagedly is, depending on the type of goal, you can select the type of check-in that you want to do for your goal. Quantity check-in allows you to add whole numbers as your goals and check-in to them. Percentage check-in allows you to add key-results to it and check-in to your goals percentage-wise.

Step 3: Add Key results

Key results are generally used if you want to break down a broader goal into smaller, understandable and measurable units. You can only add key results to a goal if you select percentage check-in.

For example:

Achieve $100 in sales can be broken down using the following key results.

 KR 1: Get $20 from existing customers.

 KR 2: Get $80 from new customers.

Also read: Why Do You Need A Performance Appraisal Software?

Step 4: Select and add contributors

While there are projects that you might be handling on your own, there will also be projects where you need to collaborate with other stakeholders. Once you create a goal, just click on ‘Add contributors’ and add the names of the users that you want to add as contributors. Now, you and your contributors can collectively work towards meeting the goal that you have created.

Step 5: Align them with organization’s goals

Now that you have successfully created a goal for yourself and/or with contributors, you can start working on accomplishing it. But Engagedly also gives you a chance to see how your goals can contribute to organizational success. You can align your goals to the company/department goals.

Once the goal is created, click ‘align’ and select the company goal or department goal that you want to align with. With this step, you are all set. Yes, it’s as easy as that.

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with Employee Goal Setting? Then request for a live demo.

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“Talent is one of the last frontiers for differentiation. Any company can have a patent or produce a product. The difference is the quality of that product comes with the value of the talent you have.”–Elaine Orler, President and Founder of the Talent Function Group . Continue reading “6 Reasons To Invest In A Performance Appraisal Software”

That time is long gone when you could’ve asked this question! Today’s corporate world, 80% of which is functioning virtually, has long since embraced performance appraisal software and have understood the significance of having one in place. In fact, since the pandemic hit, you’ll know that there’s a steady change taking place with respect to employee performance management and employee engagement. The performance review process is, not so quietly, being replaced by employee performance appraisal software.

This is not a death knell for the performance review process as such. But it signals that nobody has patience for the old ways of carrying out a performance review process anymore. To be honest, the process has long been due for a change.

When did it all begin?

The concept of the performance management began the in early 1900’s. Several sources have mentioned several different names so it is hard to pinpoint who exactly came up with the idea. But one thing all the sources agreed upon was the fact that performance management seems to have come into being sometimes during the early 1900’s. But it wasn’t until the 1950’s that the concept of performance management really picked up. Employers began to understand that in order for employees to perform well or to be motivated to perform well, they needed encouragement and motivation.

Since then, performance review cycled through many different iterations, including Jack Welch’s rank and yank system at General Electric and Google’s prolific use of goals and objectives to motivate employees.

Also read: Why do you need a Real Time Performance Management Software

In present times however, there are a lot of conflicting ideas about what constitutes performance management. Many companies which were once pioneers in the performance review process, such as General Electric, Enron, IBM, Motorola etc have either done away with the processes that brought them recognition or have themselves dissolved. The current trend is of course to get the review process off papers and take it online. In the past few years, so many software applications have appeared on the market. Is it any better than the traditional performance process? Definitely!

Here are three ways in which employee performance appraisal software can improve the performance review process and drive employee engagement:

Ease of Use

The problem with traditional performance reviews is that so many of them heavily rely on paper. It becomes a cumbersome task to take all of that paper and consolidate it into a review. With software on the other hand, all you need to do is input your review, most performance review software applications will even collate all your performance reviews into one handy document.

Realtime and Continuous Feedback

Performance review applications make it easier for employees and managers to give continuous feedback. Feedback works best when it is given and received at regular intervals and is real-time.

Continuous feedback isn’t something that is just reserved for a certain breed of employees. Constructive feedback is for everyone. It can help struggling employees improve, it can help good employees become better and it might even help struggling employees figure out they are suited for different job roles.

Also read: 6 Reasons To Invest In A Performance Appraisal Software

Options for further Add-Ons

Most employee performance appraisal software applications come with a whole host of features that help aid the performance review process. Engagedly for instance, also has the OKR module which allows you to add and monitor goals and objectives for employees, 360 multirater feedback module, a continuous feedback model, all of which can be utilized during the performance review so that managers have a broad and comprehensive overview of how their employees are doing. Additionally, these features also make tracking an employee’s performance a lot easier.

Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with seamless Performance Evaluation? Then request for a live demo.

Request A Demo

Yes, it’s quite an effective way to enhance employee engagement. Since our inception, humans of Engagedly have been very vocal about recognition being an important part of the workplace.

Want to engage employees? Reward and recognize them.

Want to motivate employees to work better? Recognize them.

The right kind of recognition can work like magic. That’s why, we have a feature in the Engagedly app that deals solely with recognition. It’s called ‘Praise’ and it helps peers and managers recognize employees publicly, with everyone else in the organization. In an article by Software Advice, they mention

Companies are getting extremely tired of boring, unproductive performance reviews. A platform like Engagedly can make them great again,” said Brian Westfall of Software Advice, a company that researches and hosts reviews of human resources software. “The ability to praise others in real-time not only engages and rewards employees for participating, but it also provides valuable, up-to-date information for managers to do a more ongoing, comprehensive performance appraisal.

Also read: Know What Features To Look For In A 360 Feedback Software

While we have talked about employee engagement and performance reviews on various occasions, this article brings up a slightly different angle – social recognition to go along with performance reviews. Social recognition is uniquely positioned in that, while it is more informal and prompt than annual reviews, it’s also more comprehensive than 360 degree feedback.

Annual performance reviews often suffer from certain setbacks. When you only rely upon a manager’s memory, the review becomes a one-sided, one-dimensional affair. And this is not something you can blame a manager for. For reviews to work a 100%, all managers would be required to possess phenomenal memories, which is a really improbable qualification.

Picture Credit: Software Advice

Early adopters of social employee recognition software report “measurable impacts on employee engagement, as well as correlations with improved business performance,” according to Gartner’s Predicts 2016 for HCM Applications.

If it’s not already in place, social recognition can be a great addition to your organization. There are 3 things you need to keep in mind though, when you are implementing it:

Reduce the hierarchy

Flatter structures are more suitable for such a process as we are recommending to you. According to Gartner’s research, social recognition thrives in companies where “command-and-control hierarchies give way to more network-style organizations.” Break down the walls between upper and lower levels of the company and implement channels to promote company-wide discussion and interaction.

Customize your rewards system

If you plan on handing out generic kudos like “Great job”, you will not be utilizing the R&R module efficiently. This kind of recognition needs no effort, and managers aren’t going to have useful feedback to learn from either. Institute rules that only reward meaningful recognition, and consider consolidating all of your rewards programs into one.

Consider it as an augmentation

If you are thinking social recognition can be a stand alone facility for your organization, that can’t be so. That and continuous peer-to-peer praise can save your performance review process, but you still need a solid performance management system bedrock to build on. If you don’t have one, or find your current system lacking, check out our performance review software page as well as our rewards and recognition section for better understanding and clarity.

Also read: Now More Than Ever: The Need For Staff Appreciation

Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with seamless Performance Evaluation? Then request for a live demo.

Request A Demo

Let’s face it! Employee performance evaluation is one of the most important aspects in any working sector. From the time of on-boarding, employees work intending to score positively in the upcoming reviews, while the managers keep tracking and sharing feedback for the same reason. We are saying this as a norm because many organizations have discarded their traditional paper-based performance reviews and annual reviews for a digital solution – employee performance review software.

Through a performance review software, you can keep track of the performances of your healthcare professionals more accurately. You can clearly communicate your performance expectations with them and stay connected with everyone.

Also read: OKR Examples For Your Finance Team To Balance Growth, Cost And Efficiency

There are many performance review software available online for you to choose from. Depending on your organization’s requirement, select a software that best suits you. But before that, don’t forget to go through this list of must-haves for a performance review software:

Easy to Use

Though we mention this point in almost every article of ours, we stand by this maxim in this article too. Given today’s healthcare scenario, your healthcare professionals have little time to explore and learn how to use a software. The performance review process should be easy to understand and implement in an organization.

Through a systematic approach, your healthcare organization can manage medical activities effectively and promote improvement in your service quality. Today most performance review software out there have multiple fascinating features, but they can be very confusing. A software should follow a process to execute a specific action. A performance review software should have a concrete procedure to carry out performance evaluation, without affecting other activities in the organization. A simple user interface and a clear procedure is a must-have!

Also Read: 10 Best Tools For Setting And Tracking Goals

Customizable Templates for Reviews

While many software offer sample review templates for different departments, they are not usually customizable. Performance review templates make the performance evaluation process more organized and help you follow a specific standard for evaluating each team. A customizable review template allows you to change the contents of the review template based on changing work practices and industry trends. Makes it a necessary feature for the healthcare industry.

Continuous Performance Evaluation

To be effective and yield results for your business, performance management must be a year-round process with no end.

– Teala Wilson, CHRL from HRPA, talent management consultant at Saba Software

The days of onetime annual performance reviews are long gone. It is important to continue it at regular intervals throughout the year, especially now that the healthcare professionals need to be more engaged and motivated than ever. Choose a performance review software that supports performance evaluation anytime throughout the year. This helps you keep track of employee performance efficiently and perceive their personal development.

Ability to Self-Evaluate

While everyone else around you gets a chance to evaluate you, it’s necessary for you to get the chance to evaluate your own performance as well. It’s very important to assess yourself accurately. Self-evaluation gives you a chance to improve yourself and contribute to organizational productivity. You cannot do it without having a proper system to measure your performance. A performance review software must allow you to assess yourself accurately by allowing you to create your individual goals, check-in frequently and use these as reference to measure your own performance.

Aligning Goals and Objectives

When evaluating the performance of a healthcare professional, you need all the details of their performance over a particular period of time to maintain an accurate review. Not many software gives this option but associating individual/organizational goals and objectives with their performance review can help improve the quality of the review. So pick a performance review software that allows you to associate employee goals and their progress with the review for reference.

Also read: Virtual Onboarding: A New Reality

Predetermined Competencies

When you evaluate the performance of a healthcare professional, it is important to list out the necessary performance review competencies beforehand.

Example:

Competency: Analytical Thinking in Healthcare

Representative Behaviors:

• Approaches a healthcare case by defining its core issue; determine its significance; collect data; use tools to disclose meaningful patterns in the data; make inferences about the meaning of the data; then use logic and intuition to arrive at conclusions or decisions
• Approaches a complex case by breaking it down into its component parts and considers each part in detail
• Carefully weighs the priority of things to be done

In some software, there are competencies that are already listed for you to choose from and some software allow you to create performance review competencies yourself. Having an option to choose/ create competencies gives you an opportunity to add more to a performance review.

We would love to know your thoughts on this matter. Feel free to drop in your comments below!

Engagedly is offering a suite of products part of its Remote Work Toolkit free to any organisation, until Sept 30th, 2020. 

The Coronavirus has affected the way we work today and for months to come. Unprecedented events require unprecedented measures. We at Engagedly believe it is our responsibility as socially conscious corporate citizens to help equip organisations with additional tools and resources during this time of crisis.

Do you want to know how Engagedly can help you with seamless Performance Evaluation? Then request for a live demo.

Request A Demo

With so many businesses starting to function remotely, it has now more than ever become important to use a proper goal setting system for small businesses. This is where we introduce OKRs to you.

Continue reading “Using OKRs In Startups To Measure Success”