Should You Automate Your Performance Appraisal Process

Thanks to advances in technology, we've been able to expedite many HR processes. These tools give us the power to facilitate, ameliorate, and automate a number of critical HR functions.

But how do you automate those functions that depend on human interactions ��� functions like performance appraisals?

For as long as there have been performance appraisals, the process has relied on direct interactions between managers and employees. Truthfully, however, the human element of performance reviews may actually make performance reviews��worse in some ways.

It's a bold statement, I know, but let's look at the evidence before you dismiss it:

Automation Can Improve Feedback

Staying aligned with��organizational and personal goals isn't an easy feat. Performance reviews help us do this ��� but even then, it can be difficult for managers and employees to juggle all the goals and deliverables that go into performance reviews.

An��automated performance appraisal��process,��on the other hand, not only helps managers maintain accurate records of overall employee performance, but also ensures that employees clearly understand the content of their feedback.

Marchena Chendeka, project manager at��Sky Strategic Marketing, said it best in her blog post, "How HR Automation Improves Performance Management":��"Automated employee performance management tools make it easier for supervisors to give their employees feedback in a variety of ways. They make performance evaluations faster and easier for managers to complete. As a result, organizations will typically see participation rates with evaluations rise dramatically."

Better Employee Alignment

With a standardized performance appraisal process, it's easier to position employee work ��� their day-to-day activities �����in a way that contributes to overall business objectives and strategies.

It can be difficult for employees��to see understand their��places in the grand scheme of the business. They cannot truly adopt the company's mission if they don't feel the connection between it and their own work. And, sadly, only��42 percent of employees��know their company's vision, mission, and overall cultural values.

You��have the power to remedy this within your team. If you adopt��an automated performance appraisal process, you��can more easily show your employees the��direct connection that exists between their��work and the progression of��the company toward it's goals. That means employees will feel more aligned with the company's mission, meaning they'll do more to further that mission.

Automation Isn't Disruption

The old manual way of��evaluating employee performance prevents appraisals from being truly objective. After all, how many of us can ever be totally objective? When a human being is making the calls, there will always be subjectivity involved.

In this light, automation isn't a disruption of the review process ��� it's an improvement to the��antiquated, clunky form of performance review that employers have��been relying on for too long.

In fact, when you look at the numbers,��nearly three-quarters (70 percent) of employers��have reviewed and updated their performance management systems recently ��� or, at the very least, they are��evaluating their systems'��effectiveness. These employers understand the benefits technology can bring��to their outdated and non-objective processes.

Nor Is Automation a Numbers Game

Just because you're looking at an automated performance appraisal process, that doesn't mean you're adopting a stack ranking system. Performance review technology is more than just a calculator �����it is��an integral part of performance management. So, while automation can streamline your review process, it doesn't reduce employees to numbers.

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In today's world, technology touches every aspect of business, and performance management is no exception. Employers are turning to automated performance appraisals as a way to ease the pressure on managers and give their employees better evaluative systems.

You have the evidence. So, do you want to help your employees meet their full potential?

A version of this article originally appeared on the Reviewsnap blog.

Chris Arringdale is the cofounder and president of Reviewsnap.