From the person in charge of event planning to the person directing development projects, every member of your nonprofit team plays an important role in achieving your purpose and meeting the needs of your beneficiaries.
One way to make sure your staff are on the same page with company objectives is to conduct performance reviews on a regular basis. In addition to evaluating past work, a performance review is a great time to offer suggestions for improvement, go over career objectives, and motivate employees to keep up the good work.
Your nonprofit needs an efficient and clearly defined performance management system since tracking progress and performance is an integral aspect of HRM. This brief tutorial will show you four strategies that have proven effective in improving performance reviews.
Why a 360-Degree Performance Evaluation System Is Beneficial
First, let’s take a look at the 360-degree performance review model, which is the foundation of the tips that follow.
Organizations are encouraged to undertake more thorough performance reviews using the 360-degree review concept, which involves gathering feedback on an employee’s work from several sources. Peers, supervisors, and even external stakeholders could fall under this category, depending on the situation.
There are several advantages to this method that NGOs and their staff can enjoy, such as:
Receiving feedback from various sources helps employees have a better grasp of how their daily activities, behavior, and efforts impact others around them. This, in turn, increases their self-awareness. This might serve as a source of inspiration for people to excel in their positions.
Better team dynamics: Workers will care more about the success of their coworkers when they are expected to provide comments on their performance. A more supportive, communicative, and collaborative culture within teams may emerge from this.
More fair assessments: The potential for bias in a single evaluation can be reduced by using multiple sources of input and assessments. Because of this, performance reviews are able to be more neutral and unbiased.
Better data for decision-making: Your nonprofit will have a better grasp of staff performance for tasks like succession planning and promotions.
Asking employees for input and suggestions during performance review season is a natural next step when you adopt a 360-degree performance review methodology. Workers can use this chance to bring to your attention the importance of new tech, express their delight at the positive impact of your employee appreciation program, and much more besides.
Our best advice for more constructive performance assessments is about to be revealed.
1. Give explicit notification and directions.
Managers and employees alike may feel some anxiety during performance reviews. To ensure that everyone has enough time to prepare, try to provide as much notice as possible in advance.
In addition to providing advance notification, upper management or the HR department should brief managers and direct reports on the specifics of the performance evaluation procedure. It is expected that these specifics address:
Goals and objectives, as established during the previous performance review season, should be clearly communicated to all employees so that they can fully grasp the purpose of performance evaluations. In addition, inform your team members of the tasks they should accomplish in advance, such as completing a self-evaluation and offering comments on the work of their colleagues, or, in the case of managers, compiling paperwork for salary reviews.
Date ranges: When exactly will the performance review’s many components take place? Please include due dates for all evaluations, as well as for performance review meetings and any corresponding pay adjustments.
Materials: How can you help managers and staff with the materials they need for effective performance reviews? Standardized assessment tools and up-to-date, precise job descriptions are two examples.
Gather managers for a meeting in the weeks preceding performance reviews so they can ask questions and go over process expectations.
Seek the advice of experienced human resources consultants if your company lacks a structured method for conducting performance reviews. These experts can assist you in developing thorough and equitable review procedures, whether you are starting from scratch or just want to enhance your present methods. Investigate your choices by looking at the HR consulting firms suggested by RealHR Solutions.
2. Collect comments on how you performed.
Collecting input on each employee’s performance can begin after you’ve laid out the ground rules for performance reviews. In addition to the employee’s self-evaluation, you should also collect input from those they interact with on the job or who are impacted by their regular responsibilities.
Here’s a sample of the kind of people you might ask for this kind of feedback if you were to collect it for the volunteer coordinator at your organization:
The organization’s overall impact and the strength of the volunteer program can be assessed by the executive director, who can also provide input on the coordinator’s work in this area.
Manager or head of the department: Gives a glimpse into the volunteer coordinator’s alignment with the organization’s purpose and strategic goals, as well as whether they have accomplished the recently agreed-upon objectives.
Colleagues in the same department: Am able to describe the day-to-day dynamics of working with your volunteer coordinator and offer advice on areas such as effective communication and teamwork.
Interdepartmental colleagues: Are able to review the volunteer coordinator’s communication skills and the degree to which the volunteer program complements and enhances their job.
Volunteers: Have the opportunity to provide their thoughts on the program coordinator’s recruitment, management, and support practices, as well as suggestions for how the program should be enhanced for further engagement.
Outside parties: They may share their experiences working with your volunteer coordinator to organize activities like community service days and corporate volunteer days, as well as their thoughts on the coordinator’s effectiveness in doing so.
Members of the board: Can talk about the volunteer coordinator’s performance in terms of getting people to help the organization achieve its goals.
For every employee, you’ll have a somewhat different set of contacts to ask for their thoughts. Most importantly, talk to people who have regular contact with the employee; they will be able to provide you with constructive criticism that will assist them and your company grow in that area.
3. Schedule meetings to discuss performance.
Make sure that when it’s time to conduct performance review meetings, all of your managers are ready to adhere to the same protocol:
Take a look at the performance evaluation form. Managers should create a single document outlining all of the comments and key issues regarding the employee’s performance so that performance reviews can stay on topic.
Give constructive criticism as well as encouraging words. Managers owe it to their staff to share with them the “wins” and “challenges” (i.e., opportunities for growth) that they encountered throughout the performance period. Motivating the employee to remain with your firm and perform at their best in the new performance period can be achieved by providing a balanced mix of praise and suggestions for advancement.
Discuss the new performance period’s objectives and aims. Managers and employees should work together to establish fresh objectives and benchmarks for the upcoming performance review. The employee should be able to realistically and accomplish these. Also, now is an excellent moment to review goals for professional development. An example of a question a manager could ask is whether an employee would be interested in taking on more leadership responsibilities.
Make it possible for the worker to inquire. During a performance evaluation, managers should always provide workers an opportunity to ask questions. As a result, individuals can ask their supervisors questions about the feedback they’ve gotten, learn more about their career path inside the company, and discuss any other broad issues.
Arrange a separate meeting to discuss any changes to employees’ compensation, such as raises, bonuses, or other forms of compensation. Performance review sessions should continue to center on professional development and achievement of goals rather than monetary compensation, according to this best practice.
4. Integrate ongoing feedback into your regular tasks.
The ethos of performance management should remain with your organization all year round, not just during the formal performance review season. Consistently providing staff with constructive criticism is a great method to achieve this goal.
This can be achieved through more casual performance check-ins, employee reward programs, or one-on-one meetings with managers. Your staff will be able to stay focused on their performance goals and find ways to improve their job performance thanks to these chances.
So, let’s pretend a major donations officer has decided to focus on strengthening ties with four potential donors. They will have a better chance of succeeding if you check in with them on a frequent basis to see how they’re doing and provide comments on what they can do better.
Keep in mind that performance evaluations and ongoing feedback should still be utilized in tandem as a performance management strategy. There should be no abandonment of performance evaluations notwithstanding the incorporation of continuous feedback since they are vital, regulated checkpoints between managers and employees.
The human resources department of a nonprofit organization cannot function without performance management and, more especially, performance evaluations. You and your staff can make more progress toward your goal if you use the aforementioned suggestions to improve your company’s performance evaluation process.
