Many companies struggle to make employee performance reviews consistent and effective. Business experts advise employers to perform reviews with their employees at least once a month, but less than 10% of home care providers do so. In fact, according to the “2014 Private Duty Benchmarking Study,” nearly 60% of surveyed participants conducted performance reviews with their caregivers once a year, with another 21% conducting them even less frequently, if at all.
In the same 2014 Study, providers also reported that the number one thing that sets their company apart from their competition is the quality of their caregivers. This means that roughly 80% of home care business owners are missing out on a big opportunity to stand out.
The Shortcomings of Annual Performance Reviews
Annual reviews present one main problem: they aren’t frequent enough. It would take a lot of time and effort to keep track of everything that has occurred within the past year with each employee. As a result, annual reviews often turn into reviews of only the last few months because employers don’t remember what happened beyond that. And if employers begin to comment on things that happened long ago, the employee may feel picked on or may wonder why this wasn’t communicated earlier. This makes the review feel more like a yearly rebuke, instead of a review of all labor and efforts given.
Peter Cappelli, the head of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources says, “If you wait a year to tell employees how they are doing, they are almost always surprised and unhappy if the results are not positive. Humans are hard-wired to focus on the negative, so ‘balanced’ feedback always leaves us concentrating on the bad parts.” By creating more frequent reviews, you can eliminate the “negative only” tendency by rewarding positive behavior and kindly, yet quickly correcting negative behavior.
Regular, Frequent Reviews Lead to Happier Caregivers
It is especially important for home care business owners to connect with their caregivers on a regular basis. In this industry, according to the 2014 Study, there is a 53% turnover rate for caregivers. How many of those caregivers are quitting within a year or less of being hired? If you only conduct annual employee performance reviews, you might not be helping new caregivers to feel comfortable, trained or even welcomed into the company. By implementing monthly reviews (or even quarterly, if monthly isn’t doable right now), you’ll not only increase the number of employees you actually see and train, but you’ll also likely see a decrease in caregiver turnover. These reviews give your employees an avenue to voice concerns and provide feedback to you. When their feedback is listened to and respected, they will feel like a more vital part of the company.
If you haven’t been conducting frequent employee performance reviews, begin today. Let your caregivers know the schedule, stick with it and don’t leave anybody out. Frequent reviews will make your caregivers better at their job, and they’ll enjoy it more. When they enjoy their job, they provide outstanding service, and your clients will recommend your company to their friends as a result.
