As the calendar moves toward the lazy, hazy days of summer, the energy that many companies put into performance management at the start of the year also seems to wane.
Top-performing organizations, however, keep performance management on the front burner throughout the spring and summer by implementing mid-year performance assessments, says Reviewsnap, the leading cloud-based performance management software solution.
“More and more businesses are seeing the limitations of the traditional annual performance review and have supplanted it with a program that embraces multiple cycles of reviews and assessments throughout the year,” says Chris Arringdale, vice president of marketing for Reviewsnap.
“Mid-year assessments are part of a more holistic and continuous approach to performance management that similarly encourages ongoing feedback and continuous reassessment of action plans and goals,” Arringdale says.
Mid-year assessments don’t necessarily need to be the multi-level, looking-back-and-projecting-forward projects that define a standard annual review. In fact, mid-year assessments are more valuable when they are informal and focused more on coaching and determining if employees and their managers are on track with — or need to adjust — the goals and action plans they established in those annual reviews.
Mid-year assessments pegged to July 1 also offer a prime milestone for companies who are on calendar-year compensation cycles. May and early June are the ideal times to start planning for mid-year reviews, a process that is made more efficient and effective using an automated solution, such as Reviewsnap’s performance review software.
More and more companies are also using mid-year assessments to adjust goals that were set in January to adapt to the constantly changing external business environment. Organizations that continue to have freezes on outside hiring are using mid-year assessments to determine whether their remaining employees are still in the right jobs. Similarly, companies that face the possibility of more layoffs use mid-year assessments to prepare the way for tighter evaluation policies.
“On the other hand,” Arringdale says, “as parts of the economy turn around and companies need to battle to keep their top performers, many organizations will use mid-year reviews to talk about promotions or assignments that will keep those valuable employees challenged and motivated.”
About Reviewsnap
In times like these, growth is earned by companies that align their people behind shared goals. If you are working to get everyone on the same page, Reviewsnap is with you. More than performance management software, we offer true partnership through genuine customer service and support. And unlike those other guys who care more about shareholders than customers, we can’t sleep at night unless you can. We are all together now. We are your performance management partner. We are Reviewsnap. Visit us on the Web at www.reviewsnap.com.