Some ideas for performance evaluations as the pandemic continues

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt many facets of employment, including how managers and employees communicate about performance. Like last year, employers are struggling to decide how to assess employee performance when so much of the workforce is nowhere near back to normal. The "annual review" process was under attack in many circles before the pandemic struck, but its shortcomings are now even more evident. What should employers do? Here are a few ideas.

Be ready to adjust goals

Even though workers have had time to adjust to many of the changes brought on by the pandemic, the performance goals planned before and during the pandemic may need to be adjusted. Global analytics firm Gallup published a report in August 2020 advising employers to adjust their goal-setting process.

"Setting and forgetting goals is no longer an option," the report says. "The current disruption and future uncertainty of our business landscape require an agile approach to goal setting."

The report also says managers should have the flexibility to tailor goal setting to the team and the individual as work changes.

Turning to short-term goals is one suggestion. A December 2020 report in CEO Magazine advocates focusing on shorter-term goals that can be realized before a business is forced to shift again because of the coronavirus.