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Dealing With Bias During 360 Performance Reviews
Everyone has biases—it’s completely normal. However, there are times and situations that require you to be as objective and impartial as possible. As an HR professional, you should understand how to conduct a performance review fairly and impartially. Here are tips and tricks you can employ to keep your biases in check.
1. Use 360 Feedback Assessment Tools
Sometimes managers favour certain employees over others. They may share similar hobbies or just hold an overly positive view of an employee. This is a common bias and is known as the halo effect. The manager’s positive perception of an employee can cloud their judgment, and cause them to overlook how the employee can improve.
This, in turn, affects the objectivity of the employee’s performance review. This is why 360 feedback assessment tools are important in conducting fair performance reviews. These tools allow multiple sources, such as colleagues and managers, to assess an employee’s performance. Instead of relying on one person’s perspective, you’ll get a full picture of an employee’s performance from the reviews of others.
2. Schedule Performance Reviews More Frequently
Annual performance reviews are becoming a thing of the past because new methodologies are permeating company processes. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, about 95 percent of managers say they aren’t happy with their organizations’ performance management processes.
With yearly performance reviews, an employee’s most recent successes (or failures) tend to stay at the forefront of a manager’s mind. This is called recency bias. When the employee’s performance throughout the year is being evaluated, it’s easy for a manager to forget what they accomplished in the first or second quarters of the year. Therefore, they evaluate the employee based on their most recent wins or losses.
In quarterly reviews, you’re assessing the employee’s performance from the last three months. More frequent reviews result in a fairer assessment and lessen the chance of overlooking what the employee accomplished. There are 360 feedback assessment tools that help you organize more frequent and effective performance reviews.
3. Compare the Job Description to Actual Documents and Data
Rather than assuming all of the responsibilities an employee is expected to perform, refer to documents that outline their job description. Gather information that would show how the employee is meeting their outlined duties. For example, you could review sales records and call logs when evaluating employees within the sales department. This way, you rely on actual evidence to show you how well an employee is performing in their role.
4. Eliminate Gender Bias and Double Standards in Reviews
Unfortunately, gender bias is still a problem in the workplace and in turn, within performance reviews. A study by Harvard Business Review showed that women are 1.4 times more likely to receive critical subjective feedback and non-constructive feedback more often than their male colleagues.
Furthermore, the study also proved, managers tended to have double standards when evaluating men and women. In one scenario, a manager recommended that a female employee needed to work on her self-confidence when interacting with clients. Meanwhile, the male employee was suggested to develop his natural ability to work with people.
Review how you speak and deliver evaluations—would you use the same language with the opposite gender? Is your feedback constructive and clear? The takeaway from this study is that managers should try to use gender-neutral language during reviews to avoid gender bias.
It’s Important to Give Everyone a Fair Performance Review
It’s natural to have biases—we’re human after all. However, in a professional situation like a performance review, you must practice fair judgment for every employee. These tips will prompt you to avoid favouritism while carrying out performance reviews. Try out these methods next time you’re conducting employee reviews.
Looking for a 360 feedback software tool that can be tailored to your performance review process?
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