A year-end review is a formal conversation with your employees to discuss how they’re performing, their areas for improvement, strengths, and weaknesses. However, conducting year-end reviews for virtual team members can be tricky since you don’t see them personally.
But don’t worry.
With the right strategies, you can easily organize an impactful performance review for your remote team.
In this article, we’ll start by exploring what is a year end review, why you need them, and their challenges. We’ll then cover how you can conduct successful year-end reviews and discuss useful tips for effective employee evaluations.
Start with positive feedback
Whenever you sit down for year-end meetings, always begin with positive remarks about your virtual employee’s work achievements. This reduces tension and helps them relax.
Be clear and specific about suggestions
Ensure that your recommendations aren’t vague. You don’t want the virtual employees feeling at a loss right after the performance review, unsure about what you expect them to do or change.
Use examples to make your point
Whether you’re congratulating employees or offering constructive criticism, use specific examples to illustrate what you’re talking about.
It could be about a particular task they’ve accomplished brilliantly, or it could concern a skill that they need to work on.
Go for the right words
Remember to focus on critical terms like “achievements”, “communication”, “improvement areas”, “peer reviews”, and more during the performance appraisal. It anchors your remote employees and helps them quickly understand and work on your suggestions.
Specify immediate next steps
List down action items your virtual employees can immediately tackle, post your performance review. This gives them a headstart in staying productive over the next year and offers instant benefits from the performance review.
Highlight how you can be of help
Mentioning how you can assist your virtual team is morally uplifting and inspires the virtual team members to take your suggestions seriously.
It affirms that you’re there to help should they face any hassles while implementing recommendations.
Use video conversations
Don’t go for emails or just audio calls when conducting a virtual year-end review.
It’s best to have your performance review conversation face-to-face via a video conferencing tool as you offer feedback. This keeps things personal and humane and allows you to understand in real-time how your virtual employees are responding.
Make your evaluations flexible and empathetic
Understand that things work differently with a virtual team as compared to in-office teams.
Be flexible and accommodate the limitations of a virtual office when carrying out your end of year performance reviews for remote employees. Just try to remain as empathetic as you can.
Follow-up with your employees
Giving recommendations and performance feedback isn’t enough. You must ensure that your virtual team members are putting them into practice.
Remember to regularly check-in with your employees and engage in frequent conversations to see how they’re implementing your suggestions and whether they require assistance.
Leaders conduct a year-end review conversation to help employees understand their individual performance, strengths, and weaknesses. Organizing such reviews can be particularly challenging with virtual teams since you don’t meet remote workers in person.
However, reflecting on why you conduct performance appraisals, gathering comprehensive data, and documenting your findings can go a long way in conducting excellent year-end reviews for your virtual teams.