However, in conversations with employees, employers and business owners, the performance management process or ‘appraisal’ is one which is often dreaded and can bring feelings of disdain.

There are, of course, ways to make performance reviews a less tedious experience. Face-to-face meetings are helpful, but in an increasingly busy workplace they can take up precious time that could be spent being more productive. As well as that, one-on-one meetings can often be quite stressful and tense, and it’s easy to forget things you want to say, which leads to a less useful session.

There’s also online appraisals. Employees can fill out a questionnaire to explain what they think they’ve done well, what they could improve on and any issues they might have with the work environment. This is advantageous, as people are more likely to speak their mind in an online form rather than in front of their manager. However, this method isn’t very personal, and it’s important to establish a link and trust between employee and employer.

Therefore, why not choose video as a form of performance appraisal?

Taking advantage of video as a way of delivering performance appraisals eliminates the most common problems that both employers and employees have with them.

For instance, an employee may feel like performance reviews within their workplace do not occur frequently enough, or the feedback they receive might not be detailed enough. Using video removes this issue – the videos can be as long or short as you like, and can be filmed as frequently or infrequently as you wish.

Video appraisals have the best of both worlds: they allow respondents time to think carefully about their answers, and they’re also personal in the sense that you’re filming yourself and your reactions. Overall, it makes the process much less formal and daunting for both parties.

Using video is also a less time consuming experience than the traditional method of a face-to-face meeting, and is flexible in the sense that filming a performance appraisal video can be slotted in around a busy schedule. It also means that the entire process does not need to be done all in one go – it could go back and forth between employer and employee by breaking the appraisal into relevant sections and filming short clips, rather than recording and sending the whole process at once.

There are many different ways you can implement video appraisals: employers can set questions and get their workers to film their answers, for one – but in what other ways could you use video to carry out performance appraisals?

Checklists and ratings

One common method of rating an employee’s performance in the workplace is by setting out a list of desired qualities, and rating them on how well suited they are. For instance, an employer might want someone who works well and gets on with others. Throw video into the mix, and your analysis of an employee’s performance becomes more interactive and personal as opposed to just handing them a sheet of paper or sending them an email.

Go through each point and verbally communicate with your worker on which traits they have and which ones they need to improve on – then, have them respond with a video of their own to explain how they’ll work on their weaker areas.

Work standards approach

Setting goals for the next work period is an essential feature of a performance review. With video, employees can explain to the camera their ideas for improving their performance as well as how they intend to achieve those goals. For more communication between employer and employee, managers could set specific tasks and goals in their own video response to tailor their goals to their own expectations and standards.

In a separate appraisal, after a period of time allowing an employer to assess their worker’s performance, you can send feedback to your employee based on how well you think they’ve met the goals they’ve been set.

Critical incidents

This method isn’t as frightening as the name suggests. A critical incident is an action or event which has happened in the workplace, and is focused on exceptional things an employee has done, as well as bad or unacceptable things. The purpose of this method is for the employee to receive feedback and work on how to progress by making any necessary alterations.

When we mix this with video appraisals, there’s a few advantages. First of all, it’s easier than in a face-to-face meeting to discuss any mishaps or failings when you have time to respond and form intelligent responses. It’s also more effective than an online form as it communicates the message clearly and more empathetically, as you can listen to the tone of voice and see reactions through facial expressions and body language.

Employee self-assessment

This method allows employees to think about their own personal performance and identify their strengths and weaknesses, in order to find ways to improve and develop in the workplace. They might also be able to make a list of everything they have accomplished over that year, six months or set period of time.

Carrying out this method via video rather than face-to-face is much more effective as it allows the employee to think carefully, rather than being put on the spot in a meeting.

They might also be able to collate a series of mini clips as they happen – for instance, if they feel they have had a particularly successful work day, they could record the video that evening when they get home and keep it to collate with other clips. This method is sometimes referred to as ‘journaling’, but in this instance, the details are kept via video recordings rather than written down.

Sometimes, people find it challenging to talk about themselves in high regard or face their weaknesses head on. Using video to self-assess takes away this issue of the matter being somewhat disconcerting, making the employee feel more confident and comfortable when discussing their achievements with their manager.

The future of the performance appraisal

Using video as a form of delivering a performance appraisal also takes away endless hours of admin for managers, which can often be overwhelming.

This type of approach turns a performance review into more of an ongoing discussion, which has a huge impact on the completion of goals, personal career ambition and growth. It also allows room for the development of a strong, trusting relationship between manager and employee.

With video, performance reviews would no longer be thought of as an unsettling, uninspiring task. Instead, the experience would be insightful, turning the activity from one which is conducted annually, to one which is carried out continually. Where lessons are learned and achievements are recognised in the most simple and effective way.

Watch and Learn is a knowledge sharing app which lets you find the right learning for you from colleagues and experts. Users receive personalised, curated and constantly updated content to improve their on-the-job performance.

Through use of Watch and Learn, video appraisals become ever-easier; workers can share their knowledge faster and practice their communication, pitching and negotiation skills. Learning is much easier when it’s done through practice and experience.

So, if you’re thinking about doing performance appraisals through video, think about downloading Watch and Learn. It’s an easy to use app with many features and benefits for improving your workforce.

Webanywhere provides complete eLearning solutions to clients across the UK and worldwide, including learning management systems (LMS) / virtual learning environments (VLE), business or school websites, and useful apps for education and training.

We have offices in Leeds, West Yorkshire and London, as well as the USA and mainland Europe, serving thousands of clients and over 3 million learners.

If you’d like to learn how Webanywhere could help you implement or improve e-learning within your organisation, please contact us at info@webanywhere.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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But now, with the latest LMS tools, we are looking to a future where end-of-year performance appraisals are just a part of the story. Where looking back over the year is an insightful and valuable experience, made easy by objectives and progress tracking. Where lessons are learned, achievements are recognised and ambitions are solidified. Where context is king and everyone involved can see the benefits of this step in the learning journey. Because it is just that: one step. One of many times learners pause for thought and reflect on their development. Turning performance appraisals from an annual to a continuous activity is made easy with LMS.

Building a culture of continuous performance development – in seven stages

The building blocks

Set up your process effectively based on goals and competencies, so that clear expectations are set for each individual. Not only will this aid focus, but it will provide a sense of achievement through the appraisal process.

• Set and track goals. Every employee should have their own individual learning goals. These should align to the goals of their team, their department, and the organisational goals, in turn. Success should be measured against achievement of both individual and company goals. You can connect high-level company goals to personal goals using Totara Learn’s flexible tiered approach. Performance management based on both personal and business goals is an excellent motivational and engagement tool.
• Build competency-based performance measurement. A competencies-centred approach to performance management provides focus for training and development goals. Competencies take the guesswork out of the necessary skills required for each job role – now and for future career progression. Use your LMS to assign competencies to job roles; you can then build and review individual training plans against these competencies.

The appraisal process

The actual process of carrying out the year-end review should be an organisation-wide effort, with appropriate leadership support. However, it should focus on recognition, achievement and future goals – rather than administrative effort. Refresh yourself on the basics of the appraisal process in this guide from ACAS.

• Gather feedback. Feedback is an essential part of any assessment. Helping to understand where things have gone well, and what could be improved, is a vital part of understanding the progress we are making. Alongside feedback collected during training courses, 360 feedback with Totara Learn allows a range of peers, team members and managers to contribute to the overall performance review.
• Assess skills gaps. Regular training needs analysis should be carried out ahead of training programmes. Focus on addressing any pre-existing skills gaps, as well as identifying new areas based on development goals, during the appraisal. Afterwards, use your LMS to assign relevant course materials to fill these skills gaps.
• Make the appraisal admin easy. There is no need for time-consuming paperwork. There should be a written record of the discussion, but the power is exactly there – in the discussion. Keep your appraisal notes together with individual goals on your LMS. Make the appraisal process easier by creating checklists, assigning forms and defining stages. Totara Learn allows you to monitor progress throughout the performance management process.

Focus on the future

Every step of the performance management process should be forward-looking. Build momentum through ongoing tracking of personal development planning and behaviour change.

• Create a personal development plan. The output from an appraisal should include a detailed forward-looking development plan. Use your LMS to create a personal learning plan, linking goals with competencies and associated courses. Totara Learn allows you to map and assign competencies, connecting courses to competencies to automatically populate learning plans. Individuals and managers should then together monitor and review these development goals throughout the year. Managers can regularly track their team’s performance using the LMS reporting functionality.
• Embed continuous development behaviours. Performance management is a process – not a one-off activity. This requires cultural and behavioural change: managers need to be held to account to ensure they are leading by example. They should set up monthly development discussions, based on goals instead of tactical objectives. Notes should be kept of monthly meetings within the LMS so that the annual discussion is a natural conclusion to the year. Organisations should also use their eLearning authoring tools to create regular challenges to embed reflective behaviour: for example, a quick challenge using the LMS social platform to acknowledge what you achieved this month. This will encourage momentum and a continued focus on goals.

Nobody wants to be surprised in a performance review. If this is the first time an issue is being addressed, it’s too late: engagement and performance will already be negatively impacted. Similarly, we don’t like to feel that we are wasting our time. For managers, the admin surrounding end-of-year appraisals can be overwhelming. For the individual, they can feel lost in the process. To counter all of these possible negatives, an approach where performance review is an ongoing discussion has a huge impact on successful completion of goals, engagement and personal career ambition and growth.

It’s not going too far to say that a regular monthly development discussion has benefits for wellbeing; a manager that demonstrates they care for an individual builds a strong and meaningful relationship. All of this is made easier by accessing the right learning tools at your fingertips. A detailed step-by-step guide to getting the best out of your performance management process through Totara Learn can be found here. Don’t get left in the dark past, where appraisals were a blight on the end of the year. Bring your employees into a process of continuous review, support and autonomy around their own development.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Every year the non-profit organisation Towards Maturity releases their industry benchmark report on the world of Learning and Development in the UK, and this year’s findings make for some fascinating reading, particularly if you’re looking into updating or upgrading your system. Here are our top 5 findings from the report:

1. The Expectations are High

91% of Learning and Development Directors expect to improve their company’s productivity and engagement through their systems and plans. 88% expect to see improved business-responsiveness. These are the key, powerful areas that L&D is funded to improve, and are essentially how these departments justify their budget and resources. The fact that directors are assured they can deliver on these promises is a sign that we clearly have the self-belief within the industry that such improvements are attainable.

2. But we aren’t meeting those expectations yet

Of the 91% of directors who said they would deliver improved productivity and engagement, only 41% are actually doing anything about it. That’s a painfully high failure rate, with over half not being able to improve in the area that matters most to the business’s bottom line. When it comes to business-responsiveness the stats get worse, with only 24% achieving an improvement. We clearly believe that L&D can advance business, but achieving the results has proven to be trickier than simply knowing we can do it. Future L&D projects will need to focus around delivering results, rather than aspiring to them.

3. Those mastering L&D are reaping huge rewards

Looking through the report, you can see a drastic shift in how those considered to be in the top 10% are gaining so much more from their systems compared to the bottom quartile. A few stats show that the top L&D departments are:

• 3x more likely to say they are improving efficiency within their business.

• 5x more likely to state they’re improving employee-engagement and business responsiveness.

• 8x more likely to positively impact learning culture.

It’s plain to see that those ranked highly by Towards Maturity are gaining much from their plans, and should be aspired to by other L&D directors.

4. Some types of elearning are everywhere, but others need more support

90% of business use elearning content in their training which, while a great showing for L&D directors embracing technology, shows some lack of a full commitment to owning their elearning – only 79% are using an LMS. Having content is no match for a full system, and without backing it up with tracking, the weight of elearning’s strength is being lost. With other, more specialist features such as gamification and virtual simulation sitting at 31% adoption, there’s a rift between the things elearning can deliver and those willing to dedicate the resources to getting them in place.

5. The Self-Directed Learner has arrived.

One of the the best aspects of elearning is how individuals can take responsibility for their own learning and lead the way on their personal development. The modern worker is happy to embrace this philosophy too, with 88% wanting to learn at their own pace. Backed up with the finding that 87% know what learning they need to do, and you have a workforce awaiting empowerment – they just need to be told where the learning they need is in order to get it done.

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