Benefits of Performance Appraisal

Organizations utilize performance reviews as a method to comprehend their staff more fully. Managers can use these tests with the help of the Employee’s Assistance Program to discover each employee's strengths and weaknesses in order to best utilize them in the workplace and improve their performance going forward. Performance evaluations are used by organizations to determine which workers can handle more responsibility on the job and which ones need more training. It also helps to evaluate the level of workplace stress that employees might face. Conducting performance reviews on a regular basis can keep staff members interested and driven to work more. Performing a performance evaluation has the following benefits:

• Creates Career Growth

Performance evaluations help people advance their careers, particularly if they hope to advance within the company to a more senior position in the future. By using regular evaluations, employees can create a plan for their professional growth and take care of their mental well-being.

• Improves Performance

Giving feedback encourages workers to perform successfully. Staff members are more likely to work harder when management compliments them. Because they are commonly used to decide how to deliver rewards, performance assessments can help give employees an incentive and reward for their dedication.

• Increases Employee Engagement

Regularly taking part in performance reviews can boost employee engagement and promote their long-term desire to work for a certain organization. When workers can see how their actions affect the company as a whole, they are more likely to perform effectively. Regular performance reviews also show employees how much their boss respects them and is willing to put in the time to provide them with the direction they need to succeed.

• Helps Determining Training

Utilizing performance reviews, businesses can identify which employees require additional training and what subjects should be covered. For instance, if several workers are having trouble meeting a daily quota, an employer can offer a workshop on how to work more productively or think about reducing the quota for workers.

• Clarifies Expectations

During performance reviews, managers may reiterate their standards for employees. People can better understand their everyday tasks at work and what their management requires of them as a result of this.

• Allows for Conversation          

Performance reviews provide managers with a scheduled, predetermined period of time to talk about how each employee is performing overall. This makes it possible for uninterrupted, free-flowing communication. During these meetings, managers can coach employees and offer tips on how to improve their performance. Additionally, during this allotted period, staff members have the option to voice any issues they may have and ask questions.

• Evaluates Goals

Employers can evaluate how well a worker achieved their goals and provide guidance on the kinds of goals to create for the upcoming time frame. It is simpler to keep track of how well individuals are performing and how much they are advancing the organization's broader mission by setting up a framework for continuing goal-setting.

• Provides Documentation

Managers can monitor an employee's performance and progress by keeping a record of their work over a predetermined period of time. Companies can keep the records of every employee in a personal folder for further reference. This assists in letting superiors in upper management know about employees who they might not often interact with.

• Address areas for Improvement

Employers that regularly conduct performance reviews can identify problem areas before they have an impact on the business or can no longer be fixed. Employers frequently offer advice and actions workers might take moving forward. As a result, workers are able to advance and improve constantly.

• Strengthens Team

Managers and staff can coordinate their priorities and discuss them thanks to performance reviews. Regular meetings can foster relationships and improve the manager's demeanor. Peer reviews enable people to learn how much their colleagues value them.

• Refocuses Work

Employees can lose sight of the purpose of their work or the impact of their contributions during the course of a company's daily operations. Employees are reminded of the importance of their work by obtaining feedback on initiatives they have accomplished. Managers can reaffirm the company vision and the objectives that the staff is striving toward during performance reviews.

• Guides Current Projects

Employees may have the opportunity to discuss ongoing projects with management during performance reviews and receive additional instructions on how to carry out their duties at work. These assessments can provide employers with an opportunity to communicate with staff members and assess how they are doing on projects without micromanaging.

Performance Management & Mental Health

Conversations about how we accomplish this are becoming increasingly prevalent since maintaining a supportive employment environment for individuals with mental health difficulties is too crucial to ignore. You have a responsibility under the law to give your workers a safe place to work. Having dialogues becomes even more crucial as a result of this requirement, particularly when deciding how to handle performance management procedures that involve a mental health issue. Every employee may find performance and disciplinary management to be unpleasant, but those who are already experiencing mental health issues may find it to be considerably more so. This is why it's crucial that you handle the situation carefully and adhere to the right steps. In such cases, providing mental health support through the most trusted Online Therapist India could be beneficial.

Employee Assistance Program

First and foremost, you should think about giving your employee access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) if you have if you learn that they are having mental health concerns. This might be a terrific approach to give your employee the support they require and make sure they have access to private Online Counselling and other health services. If you are looking for the best “Psychologist near me” for personal one-to-one Online Counselling, TalktoAngel is the best option for you.

Are mental health issues to blame for the underperformance?

Taking a step back to examine whether the employee's mental condition is the cause of the underperformance may be worthwhile once you're prepared to start a performance management approach. There may be a danger in moving on with performance management if you can show that there may be a plausible link between underperformance and an employee's mental health that include stress, anxiety, and depression. This is because it may be construed as taking unfavorable action against an employee because of a protected characteristic.

You can offer help in a variety of ways if your employee does express worries about their ability to carry out certain responsibilities of their work.

• Give the employee some time off so they can get aid or rest;
• Propose to temporarily change the employees' working hours to reduce their stress;
• Give them a role with "lower obligations" that represents their existing capabilities, and encourage them to ask for support when they need it.

How should you help a worker whose performance is impacted by a medical condition?

There are six general points you should cover as part of your process, even if each case will be different, and should be approached as such:

1. Examine the potential that such a disease may have affected your employee's performance or behavior objectively. You don't need to "create" or "imagine" these worries, but it is advisable to pay attention to any signs that such a state might exist;

2. When such a circumstance is known, halt and get expert guidance  from a doctor or Best Psychologist in India on how to move forward;

3. Do so with a regard to privacy when you start a process where such a scenario is conceivable (but not certainly known). An honest talk that is neither demanding nor threatening to the individual is a wonderful place to start. Instead of attacking the problem head-on, start broad and progressively reduce the emphasis while being careful to demonstrate empathy, have good listening skills, and pay attention to any signs;

4. Be ready to stop the process at any time to rethink your strategy or to let the employee take a break if they become agitated;

5. Explore options in a respectful manner without requesting or anticipating that your employee divulges any information that would be humiliating or compromising. Inform them that your ability to support them and meet their needs will be enhanced if you have a deeper understanding of what they are going through;

6. To better understand how the disease affects an employee's performance, behavior, and/or ability to go through a performance management process, you may ask for medical information (this may be subject to privacy constraints and may need to be approached cautiously and with a view to an agreement, not compliance).

Compassionate leaders in India & Asia pacific Countries have been engaging the best EAP service provider in India, to increase productivity at the workplace, reduce burnout, absenteeism, stress, etc., maintain good work culture, and have better engagement of workers for increasing productivity. Performance Appraisal is an integral part of employment development, and engagement and EAP support it.

Contributed by: Dr (Prof) R K Suri, Clinical Psychologist, Counsellor, & Life Coach & Aditi Bhardwaj, Psychologist