Employee feedback that focuses on improving performance is becoming the new norm among top companies, including Fortune 500 businesses and organizations known for superb talent development.

Instead of assigning ranks, grades and enduring reviews every year, more businesses opt to integrate software systems and HR policies that facilitate productive feedback company-wide. Ongoing communication and coaching limits unnecessary politics and conflict between personnel, creating an environment that motivates personal and organizational growth.

One-Sided Feedback Creates Opposition

The traditional method of performing formal employee feedback involved supervisors, managers, and HR producing ranks and reports based solely on their point of view. In addition to creating severely biased results, companies end up having a limited view of staff performance. Failing to gather impartial stats and the opinions of subordinates creates a one-sided dialogue, which can quickly lead to an ‘us vs. them’ mentality.

Annual performance reviews are increasingly replaced by constructive feedback that engages all stakeholders. Modern CRM software that utilizes cloud computing extends over multiple platforms, making it easy to collect feedback from supervisors about staff and vice versa. Customers may also provide feedback about staff, creating a 360-degree view of team performance.

Healthy competition and employee feedback are vital to organizational growth, as long as competitors focus on performance over politics and ranks. When personnel participate in a fluid feedback process, everyone’s more likely to feel like a valued part of the team instead of a team under siege, especially when communication results in positive change.

Manage Motivation

Motivation takes many forms, from financial incentives to career aspirations. Sometimes, motivation is simply appreciating a job well done. Other circumstances call for employees to be challenged, motivating them to make the most of their talents. When the incentive that motivates achievement revolves around ranks and traditional year end reviews, inspiration is guaranteed to wane.

Instead of motivation through fear of a terrible review compared to peers, you can implement a constructive feedback plan that provides frequent staff support while gathering information on long-term employee trends. For example, sales companies can compare the results of different incentive plans using a CRM database that crunches the numbers to discover motivational insights.

Individual responses to feedback and performance improvement plans can also be tracked, allowing supervisors to learn more about how to inspire their staff. With proper motivation, all employees focus on a common goal instead of putting in just enough effort to survive the annual performance review.

Help Leaders Engage With Staff

The majority of HR professionals are critical of traditional performance reviews, considering them an inefficient driver of staff performance. Forcing your human resources department to perform outdated processes gets in the way of leadership efforts. Time spent filling out paperwork, conducting interviews and performing repetitive tasks is better spent engaging directly with staff.

Implementing progressive feedback and performance improvement plans through modern software streamlines HR functions, combining data collection, analysis and communications into a single system. Feedback derived from stats gives all parties the chance to verify the reports, ensuring that arguments of misinterpretation never take place.

Confidence in the information you gather and the staff improvement methods you implement helps to spread a culture of professional development throughout your company. Motivate, inspire and engage through supportive feedback that drives performance instead of creating an environment of unnecessary office politics or gossip.