It's time to revamp performance reviews for older employees

September 15, 2023 2:57 PM

Performance reviews don't end when an employee reaches a certain age. However, it can be challenging for managers to give constructive feedback to older employees whose priorities are different than they were early on in their careers.

Evaluating employees is a broad pain point for leadership: Gallup reported that 95% of managers are unhappy with their organization's review system, and only one in four companies say their performance review systems are effective, according to Willis Towers Watson. Meanwhile, in a new survey by AARP, 72% of employees between the ages of 40-49 said they were reprioritizing the role their job plays in their overall life, and 70% said they were spending more time thinking about career goals. But what these goals are may look different from those of younger employees, as 77% also said they were taking more time to focus on personal goals and half said they were thinking about relocating in order to be closer to family.

To retain these seasoned workers, managers must gain a better understanding of what they want, and adapt their approach to feedback accordingly, says Aisling Teillard, chief customer officer at compensation management software solution Beqom.

"We have to move away from this judgmental parent-child relationship that was a feature of traditional performance management, where we're telling someone if they're good or bad," she says. "We treat them as the adult they are and say, 'How do you think you've done? Show me where you think you've contributed.' Provide tools for them to get feedback and make an analysis on themselves. By creating those adult relationships, we have much better ways of retaining that older generation talent because at that point in your career you expect to be treated like an adult."

In order to get the most out of reviews and one-on-one meetings with employees, Teillard notes that relationship-building should be an ongoing priority and shares these five additional tips for managers.

Older employees still want to grow at work

Regardless of their career stage, older workers still want to learn new skills and grow, according to AARP's survey, and Teillard sees a growing trend of focusing on these aspects during the review process.

"People are prioritizing growth over evaluation in performance reviews; they're more about trying to find a win-win where you can grow but also that grows our business results," she says. "That new cadence around reviews is really powerful because in the end, it's an innate human need to desire to grow. The older you get, because you're not as accepting as you were when you were young, you come to the world with a really healthy lens — trying to tap into that and not writing people off because they're five years from retirement is great for an organization."

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The 5-to-1 feedback method

Building and sustaining trust with employees is the best way to ensure feedback is not only accepted well, but embraced by older employees, says Teillard. A large part of this is how managers communicate, and she offers this example as one that works well:

"For every five positive feedbacks you give somebody, you build up a lot of trust and you build up a license to give them constructive feedback," she says. "[If I] know you have my back because that trust is already there, if you say on the sixth feedback that something could be done better, I'm more likely to act on it."

Respect the past when asking for change

In order to establish good relationships with their older work population, managers should acknowledge their experience and expertise, Teillard says. Honoring this is especially important as working practices evolve and older employees are dealing with younger managers, and can be made a part of performance reviews as well as ongoing, less formal feedback, she says.

"The first thing you have to do when creating change is recognize and appreciate what's gone before you," she says. "Use the power of feedback to appreciate and recognize a great job that has been done to date, and call it out publicly as well. People buy into people, so having those regular check-ins with your people is important."

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Link performance to pay

Competitive pay is important to 87% of older employees, according to AARP, but research shows three out of four employers struggle to make the connection between job performance and salary. Employers should work to create a definitive methodology around why employees make what they do and be open about this in reviews, says Teillard.

"Performance and compensation are two of the most important conversations you're going to have with your people — they define how they're managed and how they're rewarded," she says. "Employees should understand where their pay comes from and the decisions around why they are on their salary. Particularly with all of the new requirements around transparency on pay, [employers] are leaving themselves vulnerable, and it's such a quick way to get that right."

Keep the challenges coming

Sixty-four percent of older employees feel age discrimination exists within the workplace, and 41% reported experiencing it themselves, according to AARP. In order to avoid this feeling of disconnect, managers can use feedback to ensure all employees, regardless of age, have the opportunity to keep working toward the best version of themselves, says Teillard.

"This is really key for us to think about as managers," she says. "What's really important for you at this point in your career and what are the skills you need for the future? And what kind of next steps could you take to accumulate those skills, and what can I do as a manager to make you be successful?"