The old performance review no longer works. Many organizations are looking for ways to improve their employee appraisal cycle by turning demotivating appraisal interviews into motivational appraisal and performance interviews. Replacing the traditional assessment interview with continuous coaching with motivational feedback seems like the solution, but how do you do that? The own feedback from employees – and perhaps from customers – is often still the best missing link.
Demotivating appraisal interviews and the urge to improve the appraisal cycle are currently hot topics in professional and national media (see e.g. dit artikel in NRC). It is also the cause of heated discussions in the various HR groups on LinkedIn. At a conference at the end of January at the Vrije Universiteit (VU) about the new remuneration system, this subject was also discussed extensively.
Replace demotivating assessment interview with coaching
The reason is seven years of research plus the new book Het Nieuwe Belonen by Kilian Wawoe, lecturer in HRM at the VU. Conclusion: Employees and managers consider traditional appraisals to be a waste of time and money, demotivating and unfair (because many other factors play a role in the appraisal). And then, according to the research, the appraisal interviews also have no positive effect on the performance of staff. That is why Wawoe – and many others – are calling for the abolition of the 'conviction talk'. The demotivating appraisal interview should be replaced by continuous coaching with motivating feedback for employees.
End of demotivating review cycle
In fact, it is a plea for a better assessment cycle and a more modern way of dealing with staff: more effective, fairer, smoother, with two-way traffic in conversations and more continuous conversations between staff and managers. Because an annual flower on your wedding day doesn't make a good marriage either. That should mean the end of the old, demotivating appraisal cycle and ditto appraisal interviews with demotivating feedback.
Coaching should improve assessment cycle
Coaching should improve the appraisal cycle with motivating feedback for staff. This mainly requires valuable input for the conversations between employee and manager. The continuous measurement of employee satisfaction and employee experiences – or the exployee experience (EX) – at key moments is essential here. It provides valuable input for a motivational assessment cycle with regular conversations and continuous coaching. Nowadays, collecting that feedback is fortunately very easy and accessible with an online feedback platform, such as GrowPromoter.
Leverage customer experience for motivating feedback
And in the same way – accessible, online, continuously with a few short questions at the right time – the experiences and perceptions of customers (the customer experience) to measure. This, too, can directly feed the ‘new style appraisal interviews’ and motivational appraisal cycle during the coaching conversations between staff and managers when that input is relevant. For example, for employees with direct customer contacts.
Link employee satisfaction to performance reviews
Sometimes the feedback from customers has to be translated to the right conversation level of employee and manager. However, that is often a small step once that customer feedback has been collected. For example, customer satisfaction and experience can be linked to employee satisfaction, their performance and the performance interviews. That is the key to motivational appraisal interviews and performance interviews based on your own feedback, with greater satisfaction from employees and customers.
