There are hidden nuggets in your company. Discover them with our people review!
Did you know that recruitment in France costs on average between 5,000 and 8,000 euros (Factorial)? Faced with such high costs, HR departments have to use a number of stratagems to retain employees, especially the most talented ones.
The importance of criteria such as employee empowerment, flexible working hours and salary is now widely recognized. However, many companies have yet to make career development a top priority.
And yet, it's important for employees to feel they're evolving. That's why it's a good idea to set up a people review, to assess their skills and make the most of them, both for their own well-being and that of the organization.
Everything you ever wanted to know about people reviews can be found in this article.
Definition of a people review
People review is a process involving top management, managers and human resources, designed to :
- assess the skills and potential of individual employees ;
- determine the paths to follow to capitalize on their potential.
As part of the GPEC (Gestion Prévisionnelle des Emplois et des Compétences) process, talent spotting is very useful for identifying the best profiles as early as possible and capitalizing on them. It also reveals which employees are in more difficulty and need to be accompanied on the road to success.
☝️ The people review is carried out in correlation with the company's strategic development, particularly in advance of potential recruitment. Why do we do this? Quite simply to answer the question: "Do I really need to hire to meet this requirement? Or do I already have the right talent in-house? ".
💡 Note: the people review considers both hard and soft skills, and also looks at the employee's personal development.
Who is the Talent Review for?
As a procedure, the talent review brings together several operations involving different company stakeholders, particularly during meetings.
It involves management, as the latter holds the strategic vision enabling future skills requirements to be revealed.
The people review also brings together :
- HR, who are responsible for ensuring that the process runs smoothly;
- managers (particularly line managers), who are closest to the teams. They are therefore in a better position to assess employees, but also to pass on their wishes in terms of career development.
Employees, on the other hand, are mainly solicited during exchanges, such as individual interviews, used to gather their aspirations and take stock of their aptitudes.
💡 Please note: unlike mandatory interviews, people reviews do not necessarily concern all employees. In fact, it all depends on the company's strategy. For example, it may focus on :
- promising talents and high potentials, both for their skills and commitment, but also for their ability to pass on ;
- new recruits, to assess the quality of their integration;
- critical positions, where know-how is crucial to the smooth running of activities.
Why set up a people review?
Benefits for the company
As in business, recruiting a new employee is more expensive than retaining one. There is therefore a real economic interest in developing employees' careers, rather than launching a hiring process every time the need arises.
Speaking of money, let's not forget that an employee "in the wrong job" is counter-productive and unprofitable. On the other hand, if they are involved in tasks that galvanize them, they will be more committed, to the benefit of overall performance.
Last but not least, a well-executed people review fosters a corporate culture based on excellence and consideration of employees' wishes. In short, a corporate culture that retains and attracts talent.
Benefits for employees
People reviews also have advantages for employees, who aspire to progress within the company and take on assignments that are a perfect match for their talents. By focusing on their real skills, they not only feel that they are valued, but also avoid boredom at work, which is the cause of many departures.
What's more, this tool paves the way for development opportunities, whether through training, promotion or new responsibilities in line with their ambitions.
The challenges of HR people reviews
The people review may seem essential, but it's no less delicate. And for good reason: it involves the evaluation of people by other people, with the risk of "missing the mark". Management, managers and HR are therefore faced with a number of challenges when implementing it.
The first challenge? Avoiding the bias of the manager's single point of view, and achieving the greatest possible objectivity. This means :
- establish consistent evaluation criteria, applied uniformly to all employees ;
- use data correctly, thanks in particular to technology. It's all about using concrete data and cross-referencing different sources to best assess employees.
The other challenge lies in strategically aligning the results of the people review with the company's priorities. For example, if an organization is focusing on digital transformation, the findings of the talent review should guide decisions towards developing the skills needed to achieve these goals.
☝️ Finally, as always when it comes to HR assessments, don't forget to turn the results obtained into concrete actions!
How to conduct an effective people review?
An effective talent review relies on a well thought-out, structured methodology. Here's an example of a people review that works:
- Start by defining the reasons for the people review. Identify key talent? Succession planning? Determine training needs?
- Prepare employee data. Bear in mind that objective analyses require regular monitoring. In other words, the annual performance review is not enough: managers need to talk to employees more frequently, through one-to-one interviews for example.
- Hold appraisal meetings (the famous reviews) to discuss employees' potential, and also to adjust appraisals thanks to a variety of viewpoints.
- Share the results with employees and translate them into concrete action plans, such as training programs, coaching, internal mobility campaigns, etc.
- Follow up regularly, because the process doesn't end with the communication of results! This will enable you to adjust the strategy if necessary.
People review tools
When we talk about a tool or support for people review, we often think of the 9-box technique.
This people review matrix takes the form of a 3 x 3 box table, with the horizontal axis showing performance (low to high) and the vertical axis showing potential (low to high). Each employee is positioned in the box corresponding to his or her profile.
But to address the main challenge of talent reviews mentioned above, i.e. aiming for maximum objectivity, nothing beats software.
🛠️ For example, an interview management and GPEC solution such as Skeely centralizes all relevant information, particularly that resulting from the various interviews (annual, pro, follow-up, etc.). This gives you the best possible overview of your employees' skills, performance and aspirations. What's more, Skeely supports you in deploying post-analysis strategies, particularly in setting up training plans.
Our final 3 tips for a successful people review
Good methodology, good ethics and good tools: these are the ingredients for a people review that's as beneficial for the company as it is for its employees.
And to make it even tastier, here are 3 important tips:
- Evaluate in different ways: while interviews remain a valuable source of data for estimating your employees' talent, we recommend that you rely on more objective information at the same time. Why not use skills tests, for example?
- Adopt a common language: one of the main difficulties faced by all stakeholders is the very definition of talent or high potential. So it's important to define a common language so that you know exactly what you're looking for, and what criteria to observe.
- Promote transparency: communicate clearly to employees the objectives of the people review and the benefits they will derive from it. By explaining that the process is aimed at their personal and professional development, you avoid the very legitimate fears associated with this form of judgment.
Finally, remember that the people review is not just an assessment tool: it represents an opportunity to align individual aspirations with collective ambitions, so that we can face the future challenges of the working world hand in hand 🤝.
Article translated from French