We get it. Creating effective performance reports can be challenging, especially when managing large teams and dealing with complex sets of data.
As the volume of workplace data grows, did you know that one out of three HR professionals uses AI to summarize performance review data organization-wide?
That’s why we want to show you a proven process and a step-by-step guide for creating performance management reports quickly and easily, no matter how many employees your company has.
Whether you're using quarterly, annual, or ongoing reviews, we'll show you how to structure your performance management report and what elements to include to meet the expectations of leaders and deliver value to employees.
What is a performance management report?
A performance management report is a tool for tracking and evaluating employee performance. It highlights their strengths and weaknesses and helps you identify areas for improvement. Performance management reports bring together individual goals with organizational objectives in order to promote continuous development and team alignment.
As these performance reports are versatile, you can use them to monitor employee progress, provide constructive feedback, and create development plans. They help managers to identify skill gaps, recognize and reward people with higher performance, and overall motivate the employees.
Here’s what to expect if you implement a good performance management system:
- Increased productivity
- Improved employee engagement
- Increased motivation and accountability
- A culture of continuous improvement and development
- Enhanced employee retention through clear career growth opportunities
- Identified talents for future leadership or specialized roles
Key components of a performance management report
Here are the elements you should include in a performance management report.
Employee performance data
The first step is collecting data from your workforce management software or other sources. Here are the key metrics to pay attention to:
- Key performance indicators (KPIs) – metrics tied to specific job responsibilities
- Goal completion rates – progress toward individual, team, or organizational objectives
- Productivity metrics – output, the number of tasks completed, etc.
- Attendance records – punctuality, time management, and meeting the deadlines
- Sales or revenue contributions – financial outcomes related to employee contribution (if applicable)
Feedback and reviews
If you’re not afraid of potential criticism and want to get unbiased feedback, we suggest using 360-degree reviews. It's a comprehensive performance evaluation method that gathers feedback from multiple sources, including peers, managers, direct reports, and sometimes even clients or external stakeholders.
Effy AI is one of the best performance management software, as it allows you to collect and analyze feedback from multiple sources quickly and easily. Just choose one of our ready-to-use templates and start collecting feedback in a matter of minutes.
You can create open-ended questions, but if you want something quicker, you can use a rating scale where employees indicate how strongly they agree or disagree with specific statements. Check out these Google Form templates for more inspiration.
If you don't have time to analyze numerous reviews, don't worry, we've got you covered. Use our AI-powered feature to generate a feedback summary that highlights everything you need to know about each employee.
For more ideas, check out these 360 feedback examples and 360 feedback for managers.
Development plans
The first two parts of the report focused on evaluating the current state as it is, but the following two parts focus on the future and the things you want to change.
That’s why you should also include personalized development plans and recommendations for training, coaching, and career growth opportunities. Where to find the time to create all those development plans, with all the other things you have to do? We understand the struggle, and that’s why we came prepared.
Our employee experience management software can craft personalized performance development plans based on performance reports and with the help of AI.
Actionable insights
And now – the final step.
By carefully analyzing the data you've collected, you should be in a position to create a strategy for future performance. By doing that, you will be able to prevent setbacks such as unmet targets, missed deadlines, or talent attrition.
For example, you may discover skill gaps that will make you wonder if you need specialized training programs. Or you may discover that your underperforming teams actually lack people, and from there you can make some workforce adjustments.
That’s why our AI summaries provide you with actionable insights and help you create effective action plans. Therefore, Effy AI is much more than a simple performance review tool – it's a comprehensive people management software that can be used for improving productivity, engagement, and strategic growth.
How often should you create performance management reports?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer, as it depends on the purpose of your performance management reports and your resources. However, preparing regular reports will allow you to track progress over time and benchmark your data.
Here are the most popular types of performance reports.
Quarterly reports
You can use quarterly reports, also known as 90-day reviews, to assess the progress of new hires and make sure they're comfortable and are adapting well to their roles.
These reports allow you to address performance issues early on, identify additional training needs, and help new employees integrate into your team.
However, the reason why so many companies use quarterly reports consistently is because they are quick and allow you to have more frequent check-ins and provide timely feedback, unlike annual reviews.
Annual reports
Annual reports are usually longer and more detailed. They are used to evaluate an employee's overall performance, contributions, challenges, and growth over the past year.
They can help you with the goal setting for the following year and identifying opportunities for promotions, development, and salary adjustments.
However, annual reviews are no longer enough in most industries, as companies need more frequent evaluations to be able to keep up with rapid changes in the market and technology.
That’s why performance management tools like Effy AI offer different types of reviews, including those that are quicker and simpler to do.
Ongoing performance reviews
Ongoing performance reviews are continuous evaluations that happen throughout the year instead of being tied to a specific time frame, like quarterly or annual reviews.
They involve regular check-ins, real-time feedback, and continuous goal tracking. These reviews are considered the best as they provide immediate insights into employee performance and allow managers to address issues or recognize achievements as they happen.
An ongoing performance management approach promotes transparency, improves communication, and boosts employee engagement.
Step-by-step performance management reports process
Here's a proven way to create a performance management process that works:
- Define objectives and metrics: Identify clear and strategic goals and figure out what you want to achieve with your reporting process. Then, identify key metrics and indicators to track.
- Data collection: Collect data from employee records, feedback, and performance tracking systems.
- Data analysis: Analyze and interpret collected data to uncover historical trends, patterns, and areas for improvement and growth. You might want to use performance review software to automate the process and get actionable insights.
- Reporting: Organize your findings in a structured and easy-to-understand manner, highlighting the key information.
- Drafting the report: Generate a summary of your findings, and add actionable insights and recommendations for future development. With Effy AI, you can generate summary and personalized development plans within seconds,
- Review and validate: Double-check the data to make sure that it's accurate. You may want to validate it with employee managers.
- Present and distribute: Share performance reports with employees, managers, and executives and discuss the following steps, such as actions that have to be taken and areas that have to be improved.
- Follow-up: Schedule check-ins so that you can track the improvements (or downgrades) over time. At the same time, make sure that the action plans are implemented in the right direction. From there, make adjustments if necessary.
Conclusion
When you create performance management reports, you’re tracking employee progress, aligning individual and organizational goals, and promoting continuous growth.
Regular performance reviews ensure timely feedback, boost engagement, and can help prevent many potential issues.
You now have everything you need to create an effective performance management report and a development plan, but the good news is you don't have to do it manually.
Use Effy AI to access dozens of pre-made templates and run your performance reviews in minutes. Our tool also helps you analyze feedback at scale, create summaries, and generate actionable insights and action plans.
