End of year fail: Is your annual review process killing employee motivation?
Kelly • Jun 04, 2022

For many companies, the summer is annual performance review season. But does it really motivate employees to compress a year of work into a single rating? These reviews can be long and nerve-wracking, often featuring the same difficult and vague questions: "What can you do better next year?”, “How can you achieve more?”, and “How can you add more value?"

Whether it's a small team or an international firm, annual employee reviews are stressful for everyone involved and research shows that they are a terrible way to evaluate and motivate workers. Gallup research found that just 14% of employees strongly agree their performance reviews inspire them to improve. While a Workhuman study discovered that 55% of workers say that annual reviews do not improve their performance. These reviews take valuable time and resources, putting employees under immense pressure, as a whole year of achievements is consolidated into one stressful conversation.

Is it time to create new ways to talk about and monitor employee performance? We believe successful performance evaluation and support should empower employees to stay productive, focused, and excited about what’s next. In this blog, we look at the ways workers and employers can find new ways to inspire great performance.

“Ask what you can do for your company – not what your company can do for you”

Traditional annual performance reviews often put all the pressure on the employee. What have they sacrificed? What have they achieved? How have they gone above and beyond the remit of their role? This can create a stressful – almost adversarial – atmosphere which isn’t conducive to productive conversations or a healthy work-life balance. A new survey, conducted by Travelers found that a third of executives expect workers to answer or participate in work-related calls while driving. A staggering 86% believe that employees should respond to work-related communications at least sometimes outside of office hours. This reflects an outdated idea that performance is a who can ‘jump the highest’ competition rather than a meaningful exploration of how work performance has contributed to role and business success in real terms.

How can employers change their approach to performance reviews?

Big and bulky goals, rare check-ups, lack of communication – they can all lead to poor or misleading annual performance results. This often leaves employees frustrated and demotivated. Instead, shorter, more regular, and more open reviews can help organisations to identify issues and respond quickly to evolving business challenges while giving workers a greater sense of control and purpose. Many companies have already implemented flexible performance models and goal tracking systems – here at Kelly we encourage open discussion as often as needed. Quarterly reviews can be a good place to start, but creating a culture where performance is an ongoing, two-way conversation, based on both employer and employee needs should be the overarching goal. Remember, it’s not just about asking about KPIs and weekly or monthly targets but also about leaving space to understand how an employee is feeling and if there is anything you can do to support them more effectively.

How can employees change their approach to performance reviews?

Remember this Is YOUR performance discussion and not an Interview. Work on being an active participant, advocating for your achievements, and sharing positive feedback. Start writing down all of those small wins that stack up over time and be prepared to shout about them. Preparation is also key. It’s important to understand what you want to get out of a review or performance meeting and have specific questions or suggestions for improved ways of working ready for your reviewer. You should also be prepared to reach out to your boss and supervisor and request regular conversations about how things are going – most employers will respond positively to people that are proactive about great performance.

Work is changing and the annual performance review may soon be a thing of the past. Head over to our LinkedIn page and share your take on the future of performance evaluation.

14 Aug, 2023
Rephrasing the famous song, “Love is in the air”, let’s talk about change is in the air – and everywhere. We grow. We change. Look at your childhood photos. Watch your kid, your nephew, your niece. The change is there, and it’s incredible. Nature is constantly changing. We wait for summer as the time to enjoy outdoor activities and gardening, for a quick visit to the beach, or simply take time to relax and spend time with family, friends and loved ones. We wait for winter (even if we never see snow falling) to decorate the house for the holidays, pack presents for the people we love and unpack our own. The colour of the leaves changes, the weather shifts, and flowers blossom in their time – the landscape is constantly transforming. The world around us is changing. We travel to other countries and learn new things, cultures and languages. We take on new hobbies. We get new skills. After a couple of minor kitchen accidents (sometimes), we can cook delicious dishes and get compliments from family and friends. We transform our bodies at the gym or simply by creating the habit of walking every day. We meet new people, we sometimes fall in love, we build families, we have kids. And if you step back for a second, you realise you might have met your other half by pure accident. But you took a leap of faith into the unknown. We embrace many types of unknown change, except for the one that can change how we live five days a week – to change jobs. “I am too old/too young to change”, “I’m used to this environment; It’s my comfort zone”, “Well, I don’t get any promotion, and what I do doesn’t change the world, but it’s stable”, “I am afraid to ask for more interesting projects. What if my manager fires me?”. We often don’t want to change because that step requires a vision, courage, external support, and a leap of faith into the unknown. Scary? Yes. But also promising. A step into the unknown? Yes. But it can open a new door. Do your inner values marry what you do? Yes, it is essential. There is nothing terrible about staying in your comfort zone. At some stage of your career, staying put can be an excellent decision. But if you feel that you need a change – talk to Kelly. We don’t mind going the extra mile and support your wish to embrace the change. The one which will give meaning to what you do, feel proud, motivated and fulfilled. Ready for changing? We’ll make sure your talent can truly shine.
10 Aug, 2023
You’ve seen these guys before when a circus came to your city or maybe on TV. They walk on a wire at an impressive height, sometimes without insurance, sometimes with a long stick that probes the void right and left. They walk slowly, trying the wire with their toes first, making small steps, their eyes fixed on the small platform where they plan to land soon. They never watch down. They don’t listen to an audience that applauses or gasps in awe. They are concentrated on keeping their balance. To keep balance. Let’s come down from the wire above the arena or stage. Let’s look closer at balance, where it has its roots and the secrets of keeping it. Is it an art? Or is it a skill? Can you learn to keep balance? Or is it an innate skill that only gymnasts, figure skaters, circus artists and ballet dancers are born with? Want to know the secrets of a ballerina that must perform 32 fouettes, a complex ballet movement that requires turning 360 degrees at a high-speed standing on the point of a ballet shoe? First, keeping balance is a skill people must learn for years. In ballet, sport, circus, real life, and… work life. A ballerina is taught to pick one point and to fix her eyes on it when she makes her 32 fouettes, a complex ballet movement that requires turning 360 degrees at high-speed standing on the point of a ballet shoe. She focuses on one thing that keeps her upright. She doesn’t look anywhere else. Gymnasts in some disciplines are constantly trained to feel the bar under their feet. They are prepared to land precisely on the bar after they jump, and the incredible contortions we admire in competitions. But let’s come back to the circus artists we have begun with. Often, they have a long stick in their hands to keep their balance. Is their secret hidden in the stick? And what is the secret? You don’t need to be a ballet dancer, a gymnast, or a circus artist to get the idea of balance. Here are your first two steps in your balance training: 1. Keep your main priorities in mind. And have a clear idea about what is very important for you and where you are ready to compromise. But don’t listen to external opinions that don’t align with your ideals. Forget about the audience’s applause – focus on you. 2. Use some help to stay upright and get to your goals. Imagine your life split on two ends of the helping stick, your job is on one end, and your private life is on another. How comfortable do you feel at your height now with the load on both ends? You need support. We at Kelly pay a lot of attention to balance. The balance between people’s private lives and their jobs. The balance between feeling appreciated and professional goals or between achieving extraordinary results and being inspired. Talk to Kelly today. We are not ballet coaches or sports trainers, but we know much about how important work/life balance is in our lives.
03 Aug, 2023
We often associate certain qualities with individuals who seem to possess a natural talent for creativity. We convince ourselves that painting, singing, or dancing are pursuits reserved for these "real" artists while we remain mere spectators. Creativity? Inspiration? No, it's not about me.
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