RESEARCH UPDATE ANNA EARL
Performance reviews during COVID–19 A closer look at the evolution of performance reviews during the COVID-19 pandemic reveals a need for more manager training. Anna Earl, from the University of Canterbury, looks at the research.
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mployment New Zealand in 2021 stated that managers need to act fast to deal with performance issues. University of Canterbury students conducted research in the Advanced Human Resource Management course with New Zealand companies on performance appraisals. They found that traditional performance appraisal (PA) policies and practices that merely focus on managing poor productivity and performance of employees do not work during COVID-19. The findings indicate that PAs, policies and practices in organisations need to adapt and progress, to facilitate the emerging trends in employment relations. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way organisations and employees view and manage PAs. Employment conditions have changed to flexible working hours and working from home, making managing teams and
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HUMAN RESOURCES
SUMMER 2021
relationships between managers and employees within organisations more challenging. So, how has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the rules of the game of PAs?
From performance appraisals to performance conversations
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment in New Zealand advises PAs should be around an open discussion about how employees find the role. The consensus from researchers and practitioners is that PAs should, in turn, be performance conversations (PCs). Simon Lind (co-founder and CEO of Prolorus Solutions) echoes this view and adds that PCs should be value driven. Research suggests that encouraging a two-way conversation, with ideas and input from an employee, is essential for relationship building between the manager and employee. This relationship is a vehicle to building trust between them because the employees feel valued. The University of Canterbury found that employees do want PCs and it is the managers who need to be more engaged. Managers often focus on managing their departments and don’t consider themselves as
coaches to their employees and teams because they are time poor. Simon further adds that this is why we see the term ‘performance appraisal’ slowly being dropped out of an organisation and the need for day-to-day, light-touch coaching and conversation. This is more important during COVID-19 because some of these conversations happen online, and keeping engagement with performance conversations is more challenging. Organisations need to invest in coaching the managers on how to have performance conversations.
PCs are going to evolve, and organisations need to understand that managers serve as vehicles to lead people.
Team-based performance conversations
The COVID-19 pandemic and working from home have changed and somewhat challenged the teamwork within the organisation. Research indicates that team-based PCs ensure that diversity in teams (eg, cultures, genders) is respected, which creates a safe space for honest and constructive PCs. Simon Lind states that team-based performance
