The Benefits Of Employee Self-Assessment
Does it improve work quality?
To some, employee self-assessments are a relatively new concept in the world of HR. In the past, organizations used "annual performance reviews" or "performance appraisals" to describe the formal process of reviewing employee performance. Performance appraisals were used to document and evaluate job performance, but they were often characterized by a one-sided review process that was largely conducted by the manager and where the employee had little input.
In the modern workplace, employee self-assessments are a common means of ensuring that the employee has a voice in the performance review process. An employee self-assessment is typically submitted prior to a scheduled performance review, giving managers time to review the employee's self -assessment and discover where their perspectives differ or align on the employee's performance.
With employee self-assessments, annual performance reviews have evolved from a one-way feedback meeting to a two-way conversation that can include reflecting on the employee's past accomplishments, evaluating their mistakes and best opportunities for improvement, and planning their goals for the future, both in their current role and in future roles with the organization. The greatest benefit of this shift is that it boosts employee engagement - the ability to give and receive feedback at work means that employees feel happier and more fulfilled in their roles.
What are the Benefits of Employee Self-Assessment?
Employees are allowed to share their experiences
In the past, performance reviews were one-sided meetings where managers provided all of the ratings and employees just listened to their feedback. Employee self-assessments create a more engaging and productive performance review process by allowing the employee to share their unique perspective on their job role and performance throughout the year.
Another drawback of traditional performance reviews is that they often focus too heavily on outstanding or under-performing employees. Managers can spend most of their time at work managing low-performing team members, and every manager knows who their top performers are. Managers may end of focused on the output of a small number of their staff and miss out on the achievements of other team members. With employee self-assessments, even the most average and under-the-radar gets to tell the manager about their accomplishments for the year and their goals for the next one.
Managers get a unique employee perspective
Managers sometimes forget what it's like to be an individual contributor, and it's good for them to get a refresher on how employees see their role, what they feel their biggest challenges are, what they count as a success, and where they can identify room for improvement. Even a self-assessment question that asks employees to explain their job role can give a manager unique insight into how that employee perceives their place in the organization and how that aligns with their manager's expectations.
Managers will also develop an understanding of how they can support their employees in reaching their personal and professional goals with the company.
Managers get feedback from employees
A good manager understands that their goals are to help their employees succeed and develop in their roles. Employee self-assessments give managers the opportunity to understand how they have supported their employees effectively throughout the year and how they can help them reach their goals. Employee self-assessments can ask questions like:
- List 3 things your manager did this year that helped you reach your goals
- List 3 things your manager did that made your job more difficult
- How can your manager or this organization support you in reaching your goals for the coming year?
- What training do you need from your manager to advance to your desired role?
With these questions, managers can begin to understand the unique needs of each employee and how best to support that person in reaching their professional goals with the organization.
Managers can improve relationships with employees
Employee self-assessments can be a catalyst for improving relationships between managers and their employees. The basis for a strong professional relationship is trust and mutual understanding, so it helps when managers and their staff can be transparent about what their goals are, how they perceive their performance and what they expect from each other.
Many employees feel a sense of anxiety when going into performance reviews because they worry that their boss may see them differently from how they see themselves, but they usually end up relieved that they're on the same page with their boss and can move forward towards common goals in the next year.
Organizations can engage in succession planning
Smart organizations don't just use the annual performance review as a way of documenting results and providing feedback, they use it for long-term talent management and development planning too. Succession planning is one of the hidden benefits of employee self-assessments - it only materializes if you manage the data from performance reviews accurately over time, something typically done with a software performance management system.
Succession planning is an important activity for organizations of all sizes. It helps to ensure that when important people leave, someone with the right skills and experience will be waiting to replace them. Effective succession planning requires organizations to identify candidates that may want to move into a higher role that becomes available and providing the training, resources and education to prepare that person for their future role.
With employee self-assessments, employees are given the chance to plot their future within the company and develop a plan to get there. HR professionals can use this data to coordinate employee training and ensure that a reliable succession plan is in place.
Do Employee Self-Assessments Improve Work Quality?
When managers ask employees to evaluate themselves, they're asking them to exercise a skill that's unique all on its own: self-assessment. The ability to honestly critique your own performance is a valuable asset for any professional and an essential asset for anyone looking to assume a leadership role in your organization. An honest self-assessment shows that the employee is engaged in a realistic review of their performance, that they clearly understand the expectations of their job, and that they can tell when they have succeeded or failed to meet them.
In contrast, when an employee makes a self-assessment that does not align with their manager's views, it could mean that the employee doesn't understand their job role adequately or hasn't aligned their goals with the organization. It's important that managers spend time working on development with these associates - they may not be a good fit for the organization, or they may be having trouble identifying their strengths and competencies that would help them succeed.
Perhaps the greatest value driver of employee self-assessments is the role they play in facilitating greater employee engagement and feedback between employees and managers. A recent Gallup study found that employees who received feedback on their strengths had turnover rates nearly 15% less than for employees that received no feedback of any kind. The study, which focused on the relationship between employee engagement and strengths, discovered that giving employees feedback about their strengths was could be correlated with many kinds of performance increases, including a 12.5% productivity increase for one group that received praise and an 8.9% profitability increase for another. The study concluded that huge gains could be realized if companies emphasize their employee's natural strengths and boosted engagement.
In this way, self-assessment may not directly improve the work of employees, but the process itself boosts employee engagement and creates an opportunity for managers to give employees feedback on their strengths - two factors that are known to increase work performance when applied across teams of people. To realize these and other benefits, more companies should implement employee self-assessments as part of their annual performance review process.
Author Bio
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As the Head of Marketing at ClearCompany, Sara Pollock has spent hundreds of hours interviewing, hiring, onboarding and assessing employees and candidates. She is passionate about sharing the best practices she has learned from both successes and failures in talent acquisition and management.
Connect Sara PollockFollow @ClearCompany Visit www.clearcompany.com |
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