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Waltham, MA,
December 19th, 2006
-- Salary.com, Inc., a leading provider of on demand compensation management solutions, today announced results of its 2006 Performance Review Survey. The survey exposed large perception gaps between employers and employees regarding the performance review process, including the fact that only 39 percent of employees believe their company's process leads to improved performance compared to 67 percent of employers.
"The survey results show significant gaps between employers' and employees' views. This indicates the need within many organizations to improve the overall performance review process," said Mark Albrecht, vice president of talent management solutions at Salary.com. "There are many ways to enhance productivity in the workplace and none is more important than administering a review process that is seen as balanced and results in clear goals and performance objectives for each employee."
As many companies and employees are in the midst of performance review season, Salary.com surveyed more than 2,000 employees and 330 HR professionals to assess whether performance reviews lead to improved performance from the perspective of both employers and employees.
"Many of the gaps between employers and employees result from unclear communication and limited transparency regarding how the review process is conducted and its impact on the employee," adds Albrecht. As an example, 82 percent of employers believe they provide clear goals to their employees prior to the formal performance review, while only 46 percent of employees state that their goals have been clearly communicated. In addition, less than half (43 percent) of employees believe their input is included in the review process compared to 83 percent of employers who report that they include the input of their employees.
Another discrepancy is in the apparent frequency of performance-related discussions. Fifty-five percent of employers report that managers conduct formal performance reviews two or more times a year. Only 30 percent of employees cite similar frequency in response to the same question. Regarding more informal discussions about performance, 75 percent of employers say they hold at least quarterly discussions compared to just 27 percent of employees.
To download a copy of the survey results or read tips on improving performance reviews, please visit http://performance.salary.com.
There were many additional interesting results in the survey, including:
- Employees and employers perceive the feasibility of reaching their incentive or bonus objectives differently.
- 99 percent of employers believe that bonus and incentive programs are based on realistic expectations.
- 16 percent of employees believe their incentive or bonus objectives are well beyond their reach.
- Twenty-three percent of employees state that their goals are changed by managers three or more times a year, while only 11 percent of managers believe they change employee goals that frequently.
- A large majority of employers (79 percent) said they provide employees with written job descriptions and employees generally agree (72 percent).
- Employers and employees exhibit some agreement when it comes to the link between pay and performance, but only to a limited extent.
- 89 percent of employers and 82 percent of employees report that performance reviews are at least somewhat linked to their company’s annual pay increases.
- However, 57 percent of employers believe that employees understand the guidelines for pay increases, but only 45 percent of employees say they do.
About the 2006 Performance Review Survey
Salary.com invited a cross-section of employees and business representatives from across the US to participate in this survey. Responses were received from over 2,000 employees and 330 HR professionals, and were proportionally represented across company sizes from less than 50 employees to organizations over 1,000 employees. The responses were reviewed for consistency and accuracy, and valid submissions were aggregated. View survey analysis online at http://performance.salary.com
About Salary.com, Inc.
Salary.com is a leading provider of on-demand compensation management solutions helping businesses and individuals manage pay and performance. Salary.com provides companies of all sizes comprehensive on-demand software applications that are tightly integrated with its own proprietary compensation data sets, thereby automating the essential elements of the compensation management process and significantly improving the effectiveness of its client's compensation spend. For more information, visit www.salary.com.
Contact:
Jared Jost
p: (781)464-7341
press@salary.com
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