Holding performance reviews with junior staff members is a great way to assess how well they’re performing in their current positions. As an employer, you want to make sure that your junior staff members are motivated and engaged. Not having performance reviews will make it difficult for them to understand their progress, where they can improve and, ultimately, if they’re doing a good job.
By having employee performance reviews, you will be able to set goals, as well as identify skills gaps that they need to upskill in to help them do their jobs more effectively. In terms of performance review tips for employers, we’ve included some of our own top tips to help you conduct performance reviews with junior staff members.
Why performance reviews are important
Performance reviews are important for both the employer and employee as it provides an insight into how well the employee is performing in their current role. Employers should conduct performance reviews with ACA trainees as part of a six-monthly review, as it's an important requirement for a student becoming a qualified ICAEW Chartered Accountant.
There are many benefits to doing performance reviews with junior staff members. Not only will there be better employee engagement between both management and employees, but it can make it easier for an employee to get promoted from a junior position to a more senior role.
Within the review, the employer can sit down with the junior staff member in a one-to-one meeting. By doing this, you will be able to identify areas where the employee is performing well in, as well as areas where they require improvement. It means that as an employer, you set clear expectations of what is expected from them in their job.
Document them
Employers who operate in fast-paced working environments can find it difficult to keep track of everything junior staff members have done.
Managers can easily overlook milestones that a junior staff member has accomplished. Company management must document this prior to conducting a performance review with them every six months so they have a good picture of the employee they’re reviewing.
As a manager, you are responsible for making sure that company projects are completed on time. You should keep a file of the junior staff member’s performance so that you conduct the performance review with them in a fair and constructive manner.
If you have ACA students, then we have a guide around how to support them with preparing for a six-monthly review. It covers all the topics you need to factor into your students’ monthly review, from practical work experience to professional development ladders, the Ethics Learning Programme and much more.
Make time for one-to-one meetings
Not doing performance reviews can leave your junior staff members feeling as if their career progression has stalled. If you decide to conduct performance reviews with a junior staff member, you should do them so that you can individually review how well they’ve performed over a certain period of time.
You must make time to do one-to-one performance reviews with junior staff members every six months, if you are training ACA students. When you regularly stay in touch with your team, it’ll help you stay on top of stuff within the company, while also rectifying any issues that may arise.
There are many benefits of doing a performance review in a one-to-one meeting format. Not only will it help junior staff members improve their relationships with company management, but enable employees to take accountability of their own performance. Post-performance review, they will be able to use the feedback to help them improve in certain areas of their job.
By doing this, junior staff members who work for you will appreciate that you are trying to look after them while continuing to deliver results for the company you work for.
Share the performance review format with your junior staff members
Before you conduct the performance review with your junior staff members, the employer must share the performance review format with them. Sharing the review format with junior staff members and other colleagues enables them to know how your company will assess employee performance.
Having a clear company performance review format in place so that junior staff members know what they need to do to be classified as a good employee. This will make it easier for employees to know what is required to help them become outstanding members of your company.
Be honest when evaluating an employee’s performance
When you are conducting an employee performance review with a junior staff member, honesty is key.
Don’t be afraid to give positive feedback to your junior staff members as it will motivate them to deliver better results and work for your company. You should make sure that if a junior staff member has underperformed over a certain period of time, it’s worth discussing this with them and putting together an action plan of how they will improve.
By doing this, it’ll enable the junior staff member to work on the goals they’ve been given within the timeframe you’ve set for them.
Set employee goals for the future
Goal setting is an important component of conducting performance reviews. Before you conduct the review, there are a couple of things you need to think about. This includes the expectations you have for the junior staff member in the future, as well as if they’ve made any progress in the position.
As a manager, you should think about how you could help and support your junior staff members to help them achieve their goals. Whether that’s through offering more resources, such as a mentor or enrolling them in training programmes, they can all play a key part in supercharging their career development.
You should make sure that the goals you set for your junior staff members are specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and time-based (SMART). By doing this, it helps them focus on what they need to do to achieve the goals you’ve set for them from the performance review you’ve carried out.
Conclusion
Conducting performance reviews that help junior staff members grow and progress in the profession can have a positive impact on their professional development. We hope these top tips have made it easier for you to carry out performance reviews, not just for junior staff members, but other employees within your company too.
Wondering how as an employer you can attract the best talent to work for you? We have a piece that covers everything you need to know about attracting top talent to your business.