Employee Reviews Not Working for You? 51 Percent of Americans Agree

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass. & DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Globoforce^®, the world’s leading provider of global, strategic employee recognition solutions, today announced industry research showing employee disillusionment with the traditional performance review process. The 2011 Globoforce Workforce Mood Tracker™, a semi-annual survey that provides insights on the current mood of the U.S. worker, discovered that a majority (51 percent) of today’s workforce thinks employee performance reviews are not an accurate appraisal for their work.

“Our survey results show what many in the HR community and business world feel right now: the annual performance review is broken. Providing employees with feedback and recognition only once a year is a huge missed opportunity and simply unfair, given the fact it’s a based on a biased sample”

The Workforce Mood Tracker* found an overall dissatisfaction and disconnect among U.S. employees regarding both the frequency and effectiveness of reviews. Based upon the following findings, it’s clear that companies have substantial motivational issues come performance review time:

Only 25 percent of survey respondents received a performance review more than once a year
A mere 18 percent received semi-annual feedback while 7 percent experienced monthly reviews
An alarming 22 percent reported never having a review at all
Nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of respondents dread their annual review more than anything else

“Our survey results show what many in the HR community and business world feel right now: the annual performance review is broken. Providing employees with feedback and recognition only once a year is a huge missed opportunity and simply unfair, given the fact it’s a based on a biased sample,” said Eric Mosley, CEO of Globoforce. “An ongoing, 365-day performance management solution that accurately measures employees’ year-round performance not only drives engagement, it uncovers the true leaders and influencers across the organization. This type of approach, driven by a strategic recognition program, provides employees with the feedback, appreciation, and direction they need to approach their peak performance level.”

Disenchantment with the performance review process is concerning as negative perceptions amongst employees can affect culture and performance. Following are three keys to unlocking the full potential of employee feedback programs to drive employee engagement:

1. Connect daily performance to company goals and values

The annual employee performance process has long suffered from negative perceptions. Believed by many to be a fruitless corporate exercise lacking substance, employee reviews have the opportunity to make significant impacts within companies. By aligning all types of reviews (recognition and feedback) to specific company goals or values, HR leaders can provide employees with better understanding about the value they deliver to an organization. This approach also drives desired behaviors and performance to be repeated.

2. Give feedback regularly and in the moment

It’s impossible to remember everything an employee achieves over the course of a year unless managers systematically track each activity or project. This creates a perceived superficiality that can encourage employees to disengage. Recognizing and reviewing employees on-the-spot will give them the information they need to align their performance to desired goals and values on a daily – not yearly – basis. In addition, ongoing recognition can help build an annual profile on each employee to give HR departments a more accurate picture of employees’ skills, achievements, and influence.

3. Be honest with yourself and your employees

Employees can only reach maximum performance and productivity if they understand the goals and behaviors desired by a company. This makes regular feedback all the more essential. While annual performance reviews may be required for some companies, there is an opportunity to supplement old processes with new performance management strategies. By enhancing today’s employee feedback cycle with year-round social recognition programs, companies can amplify their knowledge about their workforce and maximize employee performance throughout the year.

For information on how to build a corporate culture based on performance using the power of strategic recognition, visit www.globoforce.com or go to http://www.globoforce.com/bookchapter1/ to download the first chapter of the recently-published book on the subject by authors Eric Mosley and Derek Irvine, Winning with a Culture of Recognition.

*The Globoforce Workforce Mood Tracker study was commissioned by Globoforce and conducted on January 7-8, 2011, by independent market research firm MarketTools, Inc., through an online panel of fully employed persons (age 18 or older) in the United States. There were 631 responses generated for the survey, resulting in a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. To view the full survey results, please visit: http://www.globoforce.com/Feb2011_Mood_Tracker_Results/

About Globoforce

Founded in 1999, Globoforce is the world’s leading provider of strategic employee recognition solutions for enterprise-level companies. Through its easy-to-use, on-demand software, Globoforce helps HR and company leaders recognize and engage employees, transforming how a company’s culture is strategically managed globally. A private corporation, Globoforce is co-headquartered in Southborough, Massachusetts and Dublin, Ireland. To learn more, please visit www.globoforce.com or the Company’s blog at http://globoforce.blogspot.com/.