You Want a Performance Review Revolution?
HR Tech is a Real Solution
Phew, last week was pretty wild as I competed in a dance competition to raise money for a local charity. I am happy to be done! I wasn’t sure if I would have time for an article this week, but this one came together nicely. Hope you enjoy it!
Introduction
Love it or hate it (most people hate it1), it is performance review time for many companies. As with open enrollment, the performance review cycle allows HRIS professionals to flex their systems expertise muscles. We can turn Performance Reviews from a check-the-box activity into a development opportunity.
We can do this through our skills in project management, data-driven insights, and system support.
Project Management
The success of the performance review process is rooted in effective project management. We can grow and innovate by planning rather than doing what we have always done.
This starts with:
Defining success:
What is an effective performance review cycle for your organization?
What are the desired outputs from a data perspective (such as manager, employee, and HR insights)?
How do we emphasize employee satisfaction and user experience?
Timeline and milestones – Establish timelines for the review process and concurrent HR activities, such as Open Enrollment, salary planning, and annual reporting. It's crucial to align these timelines for effective resource allocation and timely employee communications. Employee message overload can lead to misunderstandings and overlooked information.
Role clarity – Document who is doing what in the process. Below is a sample RACI matrix you can use as a starting point. Adapt to fit your organization’s size and structure. You might combine some roles for smaller teams, while larger organizations may require more detailed delegation.
Data-Driven Insights
Data is a crucial tool in revealing organizational patterns and needs. Examples include:
Completion reports – Identifying areas that may need support.
Score distributions – Analyzing the spread of performance ratings across the organization. I created an Excel template for this, which you can download here 2.
Feedback trends – Spotting prevalent themes in feedback from managers and peers.
Testing for Success
In any technology solution, thoroughly tested systems ensure reliability and functionality. It is essential to run through test processes when implementing new features or if the vendor has updated their performance module.
Create a testing plan to include the following:
Objectives – Note specific changes that need additional testing.
Testing Team – Include end users if possible.
Test Environment – Ensure access and test data are available.
Test Cases – See the example below.
Testing Schedule
Issue Tracking and Resolution – Download a template here3.
Sample Test Case
Test Case ID: PR-TC-101
Test Case Name: Verify Employee Self-Assessment Submission
Objective: To ensure the employee self-assessment form can be filled out and submitted correctly in the performance review system.
Preconditions:
The performance review system is accessible.
The employee has login credentials.
The self-assessment form is available for the testing period.
Test Steps:
Log in to the performance review system as an employee.
Navigate to the self-assessment section.
Fill in all required fields in the self-assessment form.
Submit the form.
Check for a confirmation message or email acknowledging submission.
Verify in the system if the submission status is updated.
Expected Results:
The employee should be able to log in and access the self-assessment section.
All required fields should be fillable.
The form should be submitted without errors.
A confirmation message or email should be received upon submission.
The system should show the status as submitted.
Actual Results: To be filled during testing.
Status: To be filled during testing (Pass/Fail).
Comments: Any observations or issues encountered.
Into the Future
In our role, we have a unique opportunity to influence the direction of processes like performance reviews in ways that embrace cutting-edge technology with research-based practices. For example, research shows the benefits of continuous improvement cycles, but this must be balanced with your organization's culture.
The integration of Artificial Intelligence in performance reviews is becoming a reality with the accessibility of Generative AI tools like ChatGPT. I would encourage leaders to keep humans at the forefront of writing and delivering performance reviews but see several applications to improve processes, including:
Creating personalized training recommendations based on performance review scores.
Detecting bias or non-inclusive language in review comments.
Providing a guided interface for users to complete their reviews without navigating through multiple menus. Below is a fictional demonstration I created in ChatGPT of what the future could look like for performance reviews with AI assistance:
Final Thoughts
Take some time this year to:
Assess the requirements of your HR team and company leadership for performance.
Explore new functionality offered by your Performance Management vendor.
Build a process that works for the employees and provides valuable data.
Utilizing our HRIS skills and mindsets can transform the performance review process from an administrative burden into an organizational and individual growth tool.
I’m eager to learn about your experiences and approaches to managing the performance review process.
Interesting Stories from the Week
Securing workers’ rights in the AI revolution
“It is necessary to ensure that impactful decisions are still made by a human,” Read the full article here.
Adopting Asynchronous Collaboration in Distributed Software Teams
We’ve all experienced meeting overload, especially in HRIS, when we just want to “get things done.” Technology enables opportunities for asynchronous communication and collaboration in a way that doesn’t interrupt our work. See the article here.
Bersin Systemic HR Initiative
This article presents a great picture of how HR has and can mature to be employee and solution-centered. I’m sure their actual product is costly but there is a lot to learn from the free resources provided. Read the full article here.
HR Tech Career Opportunities
Disclaimer: Unless otherwise specified, I can’t speak to the quality of the job or the company. I am displaying jobs I have found online that seem to have broad appeal regarding job requirements and work location. If you have an HR tech job you would like me to highlight, please email it to me.
People Analytics Customer Lead - One Model - Europe
Senior Director of People Technology & Operations - Discord - Hybrid/San Francisco
HR Data Analyst - GitHub - Remote
More Opportunities to Connect
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/timwhitley1/
Threads https://www.threads.net/@hrtechwiz
X https://twitter.com/hrtechwizard
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/employee-relations/humanity-into-hr/pages/get-rid-of-performance-reviews.aspx
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FD9DeHArwM5JOireoVZAbJBgbvffEQRLNBIZARsU9B8/copy
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16-k63hWNCyZWCahyzHgyKaXn1_X0UR-wivco4dLzGNA/copy