As they say, “change is the only thing that remains constant in this world”. This holds good for everything in the world – people, places, governments, our lives. This is even more so today, especially when technology has been affecting our everyday life, be it in the personal or professional world.

The words “like”, “check-in”, “share”, “Google”, “apps”, are part of our normal parlance, thanks to social media and the internet. This is rather a new lifestyle that young people are getting used to. It might be a little hard for old-timers to catch up with, but some things, as they say, are inevitable. You must adapt to change in order to stay in the race and not be left behind.

On that note, here are some points that the HR department of an organization must keep in mind while conducting performance reviews for the technology and social media friendly younger generation.

Throw baselining and normal curve fitment out of the window

Gone are the days when setting and following a baseline or a benchmark work. When the system changes, so should the methods are taken to test the system. Here is a simple example. Let’s say you rewarded a person who walks into the office every day at the right time. You rewarded punctuality because it is important that people are at their workplaces to ensure productivity. But today, there is a facility that allows someone to work from home. In such a case the need to monitor their “punctuality” no longer exists. Here you need a different set of yardsticks to measure performance. Setting a baseline or a benchmark also may not work as all these are based on identifying an average acceptable level of performance based on a few assumptions. Each employee brings a different set of skills to the table and it becomes necessary to evaluate each person differently based on their skill sets. For this, the HR software helps loads. It automates several manual processes and allows customization of performance reviews.

Also Read: Top 3 benefits of a SaaS Leave Management System

Replace traditional appraisal forms with more creative accomplishments and goals

Traditional appraisal forms contained a checklist of attributes and skills that a supervisor may need to review for every employee. This included things such as the attitude of the employee, basic skills, core competency, comparison with peers and so on. This is held at regular intervals. But today, you can get more creative with your performance reviews and set accomplishments and goals and evaluate an employee as the goals are met. You don’t have to really wait for a review period. You can evaluate performance and suggest improvements as the work is being done, thanks to the latest HR software.

Social is here to stay. Temper your reviews and spread the cheer around

The mobile phone is sort of the sixth finger for most of the youngsters today. Be it chatting, tweeting, they take an active part in the social media world. It has become a part of life for them. Why don’t you as an organization, make use of this change to spread smiles? From your company profile, try tagging an employee in your status update and say something like “We congratulate @johndoe for delivering a brilliant presentation today” or something similar. You would have made his/her day. This is because social recognition in today’s connected world is an enormous morale booster. Make social media your trump card and encourage today’s technology-friendly professionals.

Keep these in mind while doing your next performance review – for this change will soon become a necessity. How do you handle the younger workforce in your company? Let us know.