The Importance of a Robust Performance Review Process for Teams of All Sizes
Having a strong performance review process is vital, whether you’re a team of two or two thousand. It shows your employees that you value them, and gives you both clear development goals and ways to measure progress. It also provides a robust process for addressing performance issues, should they come up.
But knowing what that performance review framework should look like for your unique business, and how to start putting it in place, can be overwhelming – and that’s how this Haus of HR client was feeling back in 2024 when they approached us for help.
The Problem
The organisation is a young one and it’s grown fast. They are a marketing agency based in Northamptonshire, offering web design, public relations expertise and social media strategy and management. With 25 employees, the leadership team knew it was time to put a strong performance framework in place: to show staff how valued they are, to offer career paths and development to improve retention, and to give them a way to address any issues should they arise.
They knew it was a vital part of what they wanted to offer as an employer, but they had many concerns about where to start. How often to hold reviews? How often to check in on progress? Who should be involved? What training should be offered? Should performance be tied to pay, perks and rewards – and how? Should they have a policy, and what would it include? How would they demonstrate the importance and value of the process to their staff, and link it to overall company strategy?
All complex questions, with answers that would be unique to them, and it would all take a lot of consideration – but fortunately, Haus of HR were able to take it all off their hands and come back with a whole package of solutions and support, ready to go.
The Solution
We began by speaking in depth to the leadership team about the organisation, its beginnings and what the long-term strategy looks like. We learned about their company ethos, their culture and their leadership style. We learned about all the talent they currently have on staff, and how they want to nurture and retain that talent within the company.
We took all that knowledge away and designed a bespoke performance framework just for them. This was supported by an overarching performance review policy, and easy-to-follow process map, full guidelines about the expectations for everyone involved and templates to complete for each element.
The Reviews
The leadership team were delighted. The policy matched with what they wanted to achieve, and their process would be workable for them as a business. The only thing they lacked now was the full confidence to implement it – and we were able to support them with that, as well.
They requested that we to sit in on the first round of performance review meetings with each member of staff. These sessions explored that person’s development needs, their career aspirations, their general wellbeing and how they feel about working for the business. Development goals were drawn up and agreed with timescales, progress measures and a timetable of regular 1:1 check-in meetings.
This combination of theory plus practical support was exactly what the company needed to get everything in place, and to feel confident that they were doing everything right – for their employees, and for their business as well.
The Next Level
The next steps for this organisation will be to develop their pay review process in line with their newly-established performance framework, and to bring in a new HR software system that will support each aspect of it, from one to one catch ups to performance and pay review outcomes. We are very pleased to be supporting them on these next steps as well, and into the future.
We loved helping these clients. They got it – they already knew how important it is to have a robust performance review process that adds value to the organisation and the individuals. All they needed was the expertise to design what that looked like for them, and the support to get it right first time.
If you’d like to create a performance review framework that supports your business success, and brings out the best in everyone, we’d love to help. Contact Haus of HR today, and we’ll get started.t and retain the best talent. Let’s shape a fair and thriving future for your workforce!