Author: Scott Schulte

HR Admin | By Scott Schulte,

Performance Reviews Are Dying. Should You Bring Them Back to Life?

This just in! People hate performance reviews.

Managers hate how much time they suck up, employees hate the awkward self-evaluations, and everyone hates the annual dump of repressed criticism, praise, and feedback. Throw in the added pressure of compensation adjustments, and you’ve got a regular recipe for despair.

In recent years, performance management backlash has resulted in many businesses deciding to ditch them all together. But is that really the best solution? Does the criticism and feedback just get repressed permanently? How will employees know where to improve? Will anyone ever get a raise?

Performance management processes are getting poor reviews

And the statistics are out there to prove it. According to one study, over half of employers surveyed said they don’t measure improved productivity. But that’s just the beginning.

  • 45% of HR leaders do not think annual performance reviews are an accurate appraisal for an employee’s work.
  • 58% of organizations rated their performance management system as a “C grade or below.”
  • Only 14% of organizations are happy with their performance management system.
  • A mere 8% of companies report that their performance management process drives high levels of value. Nearly 60% said it is not an effective use of time.

Performance reviews either aren’t being done well or aren’t happening at all.

Did We Throw Out the Baby with the Bath Water?

There are some benefits to the traditional performance review. Having a defined process in place encourages the development of standardized practices and objective criteria for rating performance. It also helps with documenting employee performance issues, which may help prevent discrimination and unlawful termination claims.

When done right, performance management can also help build relationships, increase employee engagement, assist with talent development and succession planning, and create staff loyalty and trust.

The best of both worlds

Perhaps formal performance reviews don’t need to disappear. Maybe they just need to change with the times. A new version of the old review that aligns with your company goals and emerging best practices might just be the answer you need.

Here are some key ways you can put a new twist on employee reviews, and make everybody happier in the process.

Scrap the formal, annual review

The ineffectiveness of annual reviews doesn’t just come from the amount of pressure that builds up over the course of 12 months. Or the awkwardness of talking to your boss about performance issues while trying to eat sushi.

If you’re only assessing progress once a year, it’s going to be hard to remember key details for each of your employees. And even if your memory is a steel trap, the feedback you provide is often too little, too late. Employees don’t want critiques about how they handled something six months ago. They want real time feedback and support that can help them do their jobs better and more efficiently.

Tip: Schedule short meetings on a regular basis (quarterly, monthly or even weekly) and focus on and how you can help your employees succeed.

Take notes and summarize

The human memory is a funny thing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. And sometimes two people remember the same event two completely different ways.

Take notes during or right after your meetings, and send them along to summarize what was covered and any specific takeaways. Make sure both of you are in consensus, and that it’s captured in writing.

Once feedback becomes more frequent and notes are being kept on a regular basis, performance review meetings become more of a summary and discussion of feedback the employee has already been given. This conversation can set the tone and trajectory for the time period until the next review.

Give constructive criticism

It should go without saying that the point of performance management should be to review progress and make suggestions for improved performance— not to nitpick or wield power.

Addressing performance issues can be tricky, and requires some finesse. It’s natural for people to get defensive, but these conversations get easier when your employees know you’re primarily interested in helping them move forward and do their best.

Instead of showing up with a laundry list of complaints or demands, ask some open-ended questions so employees can address their own performance successes and concerns. Did you get the results you wanted? How does this work fit in with company goals? Would you have done anything differently? Are there ways management can help make these processes better or more efficient?

Address the elephant in the room

If you’re going through organizational change, a staffing issue, serious morale issues, or some other major challenge, don’t dance around the topic or make people drag information out of you. Be honest and open about what’s happening and how it could affect the company and the team.

The same goes for compensation. Companies who talk about compensation early and often can remove the taboo and the stress involved with bringing it up. Make sure your compensation policies are fair, documented, and consistent.

Schedule reviews in advance

Dropping by for an unexpected performance meeting is more likely to raise heart rates than performance levels.

The last thing you want to do is cause anxiety and draw attention away from the real work of developing your team.

If regularly scheduled meeting times don’t work for your company culture, that’s okay. Just be sure to approach performance meetings in a constructive way. Request a meeting ahead of time and let your employees know what you’d like to discuss.

Make it a two way street

Evaluating employees isn’t just about checking off boxes and letting them know what they did right and wrong.

Of course you’ll want to check in on things like schedules, workloads, projects, processes, and results. But also make it clear that as a manager, your main purpose isn’t just to grade performance. You’re also there to answer questions, listen to ideas, and provide support.

Your employees will never meet their goals if you don’t give them the tools they need to be successful. Make sure you’re holding up your end of the deal.

 

Running into challenges with employee performance, engagement, and retention? At Sonus Benefits, we’ve got ideas to help you address these issues and more. Get in touch with Sonus to find out what working with a true employee benefits consultant feels like.

Employee Benefits | By Scott Schulte,

Employee Wellbeing: It Matters More Than You Think

Health and overall wellbeing impacts your employees in many ways. And because it affects your employees, it also impacts your business.

When staff members are physically, mentally, or financially unstable, they can’t live up to their full potential, both personally and at work. And while you may not notice any immediate changes, over time this will be reflected in your bottom line.

Wellness shmellness

Wellbeing efforts in the workplace seem to bring out extreme opinions. There are those who believe wholeheartedly in wellness initiatives and those who feel these programs don’t do anything but cost money and annoy people.

And while the calculable ROI for employee wellness efforts may be up for debate, the fact that unwell employees cost companies money isn’t.

An unhealthy work environment or team can have deep impacts on many levels of your business. Some of these effects are tangible and measurable, and some are merely observed and felt. Either way, the damage is real:

  • Low staff morale
  • Elevated stress levels
  • Frequent absenteeism
  • Decreased productivity
  • Higher insurance premiums
  • Increased accidents and injuries
  • Difficulty recruiting and retaining talent

Still not convinced?

Take a look at some of the numbers:

  • Research from ComPsych found that nearly half of workers surveyed are suffering from moderate to severe stress:
    • 66% report having difficulty focusing on tasks
    • 21% report errors and/or missed deadlines
    • 15% report trouble getting along with co-workers/superiors
    • 14% explain missed days and lateness as being stress-related
  • According to Gallup studies, healthy workers miss an average of four days per year, while unhealthy workers can be missing from 14 to 42 days per year.

Wellbeing continues to be of interest employers, and rightly so. The case for healthier and less stressed employees is strong.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to come up with effective strategies for improvement. But while finding the right mix of efforts can be challenging, waiting until you have the “perfect” solution to address the issue isn’t a good option.

Moving toward wellbeing

You can take the mystery out of what wellbeing might look like for your employees with one simple idea: Just ask them.

Rather than making assumptions about what your employees need, hold small group discussions to gather information about what your team sees as key to their overall wellbeing. You may find they are concerned about health-related issues, financial issues, or simply struggling with increasing workloads.

Once you have a better understanding of where people would like and accept help, then you can implement solutions with a high likelihood of participation, appreciation, and success.

It might be easier than you think

After doing the research, you may find it isn’t necessary to create a comprehensive or complicated program to increase staff wellbeing, productivity, and morale. Things like offering more flexible work schedules, relaxing your dress code, or rethinking current workflow processes could go a long way toward helping reduce employee stress, a key ingredient to many of life’s ailments.

Focusing on wellbeing can help your employees become physically, mentally, and financially healthy. In other words, exactly the kind of people you want on your team.

At Sonus Benefits, we build cost effective, long-lasting benefits strategies to keep your business and your employees in optimum health. Located in Kirkwood, MO, we help clients throughout the greater St. Louis area identify and manage complex employee benefits challenges. If you would like help managing your employee programs, we may be the insurance consultant and business partner you need.

HR Admin | By Scott Schulte,

Want to Cut Costs? Invest in HR and Compliance Administration

For the vast majority of organizations, HR functions are not a luxury— especially the benefits administration and compliance pieces. Your company depends on HR’s critical role to keep you in compliance and out of legal trouble.

When businesses think about cutting costs, it’s tempting to look at lowering fixed expenses such as rent, electricity, insurance, salaries and employee benefits. Some employers have even decided to trim their HR departments in an effort to save money. But when it comes to reducing expenses, investing in your Human Resources team can yield big returns.

HR handles a huge range of activities relating to employees. From hiring staff, to implementing organizational strategies, to maintaining administration systems for payroll, employee benefits, and compliance tracking, these folks do some pretty heavy lifting.

As a local insurance agency, we’ve seen more than our share of St. Louis area businesses who desperately need help with compliance.

Compliance matters

The stakes are high when you’re dealing with a part of the business that is regulated with potential fines and lawsuits. If you’re not following the rules, punitive fines, fees and litigation can literally bring down your business.

Compliance penalties for not keeping up with new regulations can be severe, including fines and criminal penalties.

  • SPD violations can be $110 per day, per instance and up to $500,000 and/or include imprisonment for willful violation.
  • The IRS penalty for late filing of a 5500-series return is $25 per day, up to a maximum of $15,000.
  • The DOL penalty for late filing can run up to $1,100 per day, with no maximum.
  • COBRA penalties can be complex and mounting, starting at $100 per day for tax penalties + $110 per day through ERISA, + actual benefit missed and legal fees.

Keeping up with these responsibilities is daunting, but the “I didn’t know!” defense isn’t going to help if you end up on the wrong side of the rules.

It’s your job to know your organizational responsibilities and operate within that space. If you don’t have the team, resources, and processes in place to manage it all, things can go wrong. Sometimes very wrong.

Dangers include:

  • Fines for non-compliance
  • Litigation and attorney fees
  • Lack of confidence in leadership
  • Damage to the organizational brand
  • Exposure to increased Workers’ Comp fees
  • Inefficiencies due to lack of training and procedures

Investing in your HR team and processes will help keep you in the safe zone. Start by breaking your efforts down to the basic level to uncover your most pressing needs. Then review your current HR and compliance administration practices as a leadership team.

Discussing the importance of these issues allows for strategic-level input to address issues that may arise. Once you have an understanding of your greatest concerns, you can seek out the right solutions.

Is your employee benefits broker also a compliance consultant? A good broker will bring you policy options. A great broker will be willing (and excited!) to help you work through any HR and compliance challenges you may be facing.

If your current agent isn’t focused on finding creative business solutions, do yourself a huge favor and find someone who is.

 

Struggling with benefits administration and compliance? At Sonus, we’ve got tools to make it easier. We help businesses all throughout the Midwest identify organizational challenges and put customized solutions in place. From tailored benefit programs to human resource management services, we’ve got you covered.

 

Employee Benefits | By Scott Schulte,

Ask Not What You Can Do for Your Broker

Your broker shouldn’t be showing up once a year asking you to look at a spreadsheet, choose a policy, and sign on the dotted line. If that’s what’s happening, you may need to re-think your corporate employee benefits and HR strategies. And who you choose to help you achieve them.

As the cost of healthcare continues to skyrocket, so too, does the cost of providing an employee benefits package that will:

  • Make your current employees feel appreciate
  • Entice top-notch new additions to join your team
  • Help you maintain a happy, healthy, and productive workforce
  • Help you maintain a happy, healthy, and productive workforce

Here in St. Louis, we know many businesses are struggling to do this as premiums continue to rise.

So, what next?

When renewal time rolls around, smart leaders will take advantage of the opportunity to re-evaluate insurance programs, business expenses, and processes to see where it makes sense to make changes and potentially cut costs.

And while it may be tempting to focus on employee benefits as the primary source of escalating employee expenses, it’s not necessarily the biggest offender— or the first place you want to make cuts.

Yes, a good insurance agent can probably save you some money on your employee benefits plan. But a great benefits consultant can help you formulate strategies to solve your most pressing HR issues and drive your business to be the best it can be.

Do a quick reflection

  • What operational difficulties are you facing?
  • What operational difficulties are you facing?
  • What financial rabbit holes do you have?
  • What HR problems are you trying to find answers for?
  • How concerned are you about employee turnover?
  • Workplace stress?
  • A toxic employee or environment?
  • Compliance regulations and potential fines?

Any one item from this list can bring about a level of operational and financial inefficiency, not to mention stress, that can cause serious problems in your organization. Pair a few of them together and you’ve got major problems. An insurance agent who simply “sells you a product” is not contributing to helping you solve these problems. And chances are you could use some help with something on this list. At the very least, you could use a new perspective and opinion on your programs.

A solutions-focused insurance agent might be just the person you need to help answer your toughest questions and solve your most perplexing problems.

The best benefits brokers adamantly believe that providing employee benefits means more than just grabbing the cheapest policy and checking it off the “must do” list. These inspired consultants know that a comprehensive benefits program is part of a larger strategy to help enhance many areas of your business, including:

  • Employee Engagement
  • Employee Communication
  • Performance Management
  • Employee Wellbeing
  • Benefits Administration and Compliance

When employees are happy and healthy, teams run more smoothly. Smooth-running organizations with positive cultures are able to attract and retain the top-tier talent they need to take them to the next level.

Should you work with a trusted broker to manage the price of your insurance products? Of course! That’s a given. But we’re promoting a strategy that also considers the bigger picture.

You could probably use some additional help getting a better ROI from your benefits spend. It’s time to expect more.

Tired of working with insurance salespeople who only think one year at a time? Wonder what it would be like to have a broker who looks beyond your annual policy? At Sonus, we’ll provide a corporate employee benefits strategy to help you achieve your long-term your vision. Get in touch to find out how.

Compliance | By Scott Schulte,

WEBINAR: Affordable Care Act Update – What’s New with the ACA – 6/14