New research by YouGov commissioned by MHR, a leading UK provider of human capital solutions, reinforces the belief that annual appraisals are outdated by employees, with 54 per cent of employees who have had an appraisal at their current job describing them as “pointless” or “time-consuming”.
Managers and employees alike deem appraisals cumbersome – a traditional and inflexible model contributing to ineffective employee engagement in today’s agile work environment.
Julie Lock, Service Development Director at MHR, says:
“With 52 per cent of employees saying that appraisals are stressful or difficult, is there any real reason to continue with them? Just 14 per cent of respondents said that appraisals provide all the support they need to evaluate their work and plan their career development.
“How often have you been set objectives at the start of the year to look back on them at the end of the year to find they are totally different? 62 per cent of respondents to our research said only some, or none of their previous objectives were still relevant at the point of their appraisal.
“Interestingly, almost a quarter (21 per cent) of employees said they have never had an appraisal at their current job – are those employers already ditching appraisals in favour of something else?”
The research supports the movement of organisations like Adobe and Microsoft who have replaced annual appraisals in support of real-time performance management. The impact of which has been improved morale, a reduction in staff attrition and significant time savings for managers.
Julie adds:
“The fact is today’s workforce need more than just a salary from their job, they need drive and excitement, passion, pride, a career; and they want to engage in a collaborative process with regular and qualitative feedback with their manager.
“Modern appraisals should focus on setting short-term objectives, closely aligning employee targets with business goals in order to make the process beneficial for both the employee and the business.”
MHR has recently launched Talent Check-ins within their industry-leading HR and Payroll product, iTrent. The Check-ins module acts as a framework to allow employees and managers to decide the frequency and format of conversations as and when needed.
Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.
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