Performance and productivity
boosted by regular reviews

October 16 2002 - Nearly 4 in 5 (79%) of businesses who use performance assessment say that regular employee performance reviews benefit overall business performance, and almost as many (76%) feel that they improve employee productivity, according to a survey just released by The New York Times Job Market.

250 hiring managers and 200 job seekers in the New York metropolitan area were interviewed on the telephone by Beta Research Corporation, on behalf of The New York Times Job Market.(Job seekers are defined as those who are currently looking or plan to look for a new job in the next six months). Just over two thirds (67%) of hiring managers surveyed said their companies currently conduct performance reviews with even more (74%) saying they planned to do so next year (74%). Respondents from organizations that do not conduct performance reviews at present, or do not plan to in the, coming year cited the small size of their company (47%) and limited resources (24%) as the main reasons.

88% of the managers felt regular performance reviews were very important with 75% believing them to be very accurate in assessing employee performance. Intriguingly. 57% felt that regular performance reviews had a significant effect on employee morale. Hiring managers gave the following reasons why they thought it very important to conduct performance reviews:
 

Identify areas for employee improvement Improve employee productivity Recognize outstanding employee performance Set employee expectations Establish goals for bonuses and salary increases Evaluate potential terminations

82% 76% 73% 70% 58% 54%

85% of hiring managers thought that performance reviews were taken very seriously by their organization but job seekers did not necessarily feel that managers were sufficiently awaren of their employees' accomplishments. Whereas almost three quarters (74%) believed their companies to be very very aware of employees' accomplishments, fewer than half (49%) of job seekers agreed. This mismatch of perceptions may explain why disputes arise. Many managers (59%) and job seekers (65%) said that disputes over the outcome of performance reviews rarely or never occurred. But when they do, 31% of hiring managers and 23% of job seekers highlighted different views over job performance as the most common reason.