As human resources professionals, one of the most important aspects of our job is supervising the annual employee performance reviews. You can complete these important and necessary reviews at any time of year, however there are certain times of year that tend to work best for employee engagement and staff availability. These are the three months of the year we recommend the most highly for doing the annual reviews:
1. January. In January, your employees are coming back to work refreshed after taking time off for the holidays. Since most of your employees just took time off, they’re less likely to want to take time out of the office during the month of January. A time for great productivity, January motivates many workers to make their own personal goals and reach new heights through their new years resolutions. Leverage this motivation by encouraging goal setting in the workplace as well.
The best time in January for reviews: after the second week, giving your employees time to get back into the swing of things after the holidays and identify goals.
2. June. Halfway through the year, June is the end of the fiscal year for certain companies and a good midway point for employees to self-assess their workplace performance so far. Having six months left to implement goals will motivate workers to put create goals and develop structures at work to put them into place.
The best time in June for reviews: the first half of the month. In the second half of June, schools let out, the weather warms up, and more employees will be out on vacation, making performance reviews more difficult to schedule.
3. December. December may be the start of company festive holiday fun, but it’s also a great opportunity to knock holiday reviews out of the park. At the end of the year, your employees will be in a state of self-reflection, and be ready to set goals for the following year. December is also the most common time for companies to end the fiscal year.
The best time in December for reviews: the earlier in December, the better, as soon your employees will be engaged in company holiday events and taking time off for the holidays. Employees will be more motivated and engaged earlier in the month.
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