Smart Benefits: Are Annual Reviews Still the Test Practice?

Monday, March 16, 2020

Rob Calise, GoLocalWorcester Business/Health Expert

Rob Calise

It’s no secret that the phrase “annual review time” makes both managers and employees cringe at the thought of writing a year’s worth of feedback in one or two sittings. So are these reviews still a best practice?

According to management research firm CEB, 42% of employees consider annual reviews ineffective, mainly because feedback comes at the end of the year when it has almost no relevance. And 95% of managers are dissatisfied with their company’s performance review process, according to the same study.

While the annual review – a time to give formal and documented feedback – remains important, there’s been a shift lately to more frequent check-ins. This modern approach to performance management allows employers to more frequently coach employees. The benefits?

Meeting more often enables the manager to tailor feedback to specific employee performance and provides the opportunity for pinpointed coaching.
Scheduling individual check-in meetings at set intervals allows for goal setting and tracking progress toward those goals throughout the year.
In today’s tough job market, companies can work more closely with existing employees to improve their performance – a far better option than trying to replace employees.

To implement frequent check-ins, there are a number of options. Managers can use the weekly or biweekly one-on-one method or meet with employees on a monthly or quarterly basis. For new employees, it may work best to have a 30-, 60-, 90-day, six-month, and annual review and then move to a weekly one-on-one to provide more relevant feedback.

Pairing frequent check-ins with annual reviews will give your employees the chance to act on the feedback they receive. That means there will be few, if any, surprises at the annual review since workers will already know where they have fallen short and how they can make changes to hit milestones and goals. And taking a more frequent interest in your employee’s performance can have another impact as well: loyalty.

Rob Calise is the Managing Director, Employee Benefits of The Hilb Group of New England, where he helps clients control the costs of employee benefits by focusing on consumer-driven strategies and on how to best utilize the tax savings tools the government provides. Rob serves as Chairman of the Board of United Benefit Advisors, and is a board member of the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of RI Broker Advisory Board, United HealthCare of New England Broker Advisory Board and Rhode Island Business Healthcare Advisors Council. He is also a member of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), American Health Insurance Association (AHIA) and the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC), as well as various human resource associations. Rob is a graduate of Bryant University with a BS in Finance