A performance review is a private meeting between an employee and a manager. In such a scenario, the employee sits down, gets asked a bunch of questions about the past year’s work and how they measure up against goals, they answer, and then hopefully leave with words of wisdom from their boss on how to improve. 

You can get better information sharing, more candid feedback, better alignment on expectations and goals–all while building stronger relationships between management and employees.

The Right Tool

The key is to use a social performance management software to help manage the entire employee lifecycle. These tools allow you to track all sorts of quantitative and qualitative data, whether it’s how many times your employees are on track with their goals or the number of likes they got for that witty workplace update on Facebook. 

What really makes the difference is the way they deliver that information. Tools that are purpose-built for social performance management will provide you, your employees, and your managers with a very clear picture of how everyone is performing on every level–and give you the means to have conversations about it.

Is This Process Perfect? 

No, nothing ever is. But if you follow these three steps below, we think you’ll find that social performance management isn’t all that bad.

1. Start The Conversation Early

To use social tools for performance reviews, your employees need to engage with them before they’re set to meet with you or their manager. So, encourage them throughout the year by talking about how this will help everyone stay aligned on goals and priorities or how it will make sure they get the feedback they need to improve.

2. Have Regular Check-Ins With Employees 

Remember when we said these tools are purpose-built for sharing all sorts of information? Well, what better way to share information than by asking your employees questions about their job and career goals? 

Whether you choose to use the performance review process as an opportunity to discuss goals or do so more regularly throughout the year, having conversations about how your employees are doing helps you build stronger relationships with them.

3. Let it be social

Yes, this is a performance review meeting, but that doesn’t mean there has to be just one monologue. You know what they say about doing business–two heads are better than one, right? 

So why not let your employees share their thoughts with you and each other? At Rally, our intelligence platform allows you to have a conversation around the data that matters most. Through this, you can gain critical insights into who is struggling or succeeding compared to others.

How Social Media Is Shifting Performance Reviews

For some organizations, the old-style performance review is no longer enough. They are looking at different ways to help managers and staff get the most out of their time together. This typically involves using social media tools to enhance the performance review process.

Let’s look at how one organization is breaking away from tradition and turning the traditional model on its head by revamping its performance review process by using social media, collaboration, and gamification.

Changing The Performance Review Process

Performance reviews are not always a pleasant experience for employees, managers, or HR professionals. There are often complaints about being forced to participate in an annual review process when it’s really done on an ad hoc basis. Many organizations have started moving away from doing performance reviews on an annual cycle so that employees and managers can have more frequent conversations about goals and progress. This is a positive move away from the old performance review process, but it keeps managers in control of when employees get to talk to them about their job.

Innovative Performance Review Processes With Social Media

The World Economic Forum has created a new way for organizations to measure global competitiveness by incorporating innovative thinking as one of its twelve indicators. To do that, it has created an online community where people can discuss the issues that are important to them. 

This year, one of those hubs is based in London and is focusing on how social media tools can be used within organizations to enhance the performance review process. Members of this hub have been exploring how social media can be used within the performance review process so that employees and managers can communicate on a more regular basis. They also want to discuss how this will benefit organizations by making them more innovative and competitive.

One of the first things they did was come up with some guiding principles for using social media in performance reviews. The World Economic Forum shared those principles on its website and asked for feedback from the online community to see if they agreed with them. Several of these guiding principles include:

1. No surprises

Employees should always know where they stand with their managers and how their work is being evaluated.

2. Openness 

A performance review process that is completely transparent means that employees don’t have to work overtime to get feedback on their performance. They can get it whenever they need it at no cost to the organization.

3. Targeted interactions

Managers should be able to pinpoint issues or opportunities for improvement so that employees receive personalized feedback rather than generic responses about their performance.

4. Personal Responsibility 

Employees should have more ownership when it comes to goal setting and completing tasks that they are responsible for. This increases their engagement levels in the organization and holds them accountable for their own performance.

5. Not A One-Time Thing

Performance reviews should be done on a regular basis throughout the year so that employees have time to work on improving their performance before the review process begins.

Taking A Collaborative Approach

Employees should be able to collaborate with managers during the review process so that both parties have a say in how employees are doing and how they can improve.

The World Economic Forum also came up with five guidelines for employers who want to use social media tools within the performance review process. Those guidelines include:

1. Providing a platform for employees and managers to have regular, two-way conversations about performance throughout the year.

2. Allowing employees to contribute ideas and feedback so that they can feel empowered when it comes to goal setting and completing tasks assigned by their managers.

3. An emphasis on transparency in the review process so that employees know how they are performing and the best ways to improve.

4. Providing personalized feedback on performance rather than generic responses.

5. Conducting social media reviews at the beginning of each year so that managers can focus on their goals for the organization during strategic planning sessions with their teams, rather than assessing employee performance within a very limited time frame.

While some practices may have been true in the past, they’re not the same today. With the advent of social tools, you don’t have to conduct performance reviews behind closed doors.