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 (Factorial)? Faced with such high costs, HR departments have to use a number of stratagems to retain employees, particularly the most talented.
The importance of certain criteria, such as employee empowerment, flexible working hours and salary, is now widely recognised. However, many companies have yet to put career development at the heart of their priorities.
And yet, it is important for employees to feel that they are developing. 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 organisation.
Everything you always wanted to know about this talent review can be found in this article.
Definition of a people review
A people review is a process involving senior management, managers and human resources, used to :
- assess the skills and potential of individual employees ;
- determine the paths to follow to make the most of their potential.
This process, which forms part of the GPEC (Gestion Prévisionnelle des Emplois et des Compétences) approach, is very useful for identifying the best profiles as early as possible and capitalising on them. It also reveals the employees who are having the most difficulty and who need to be supported 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 recruit to meet this requirement? Or do I already have the right talent in-house? ".
💡 Note: the people review considers both hard skills 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 stakeholders in the company, particularly during meetings.
It involves management, because it is management that has the strategic vision to unveil future skills requirements.
The people review also brings together :
- HR, who ensure that the process is carried out properly ;
- 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 approached during exchanges, such as individual interviews, used to gather their aspirations and take stock of their skills.
💡 Please note: unlike mandatory interviews, people reviews do not necessarily involve 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 the business.
Why set up a people review?
The 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 recruitment process every time a need arises.
Speaking of money, let's not forget that an employee "in the wrong job" is counter-productive and not very profitable. On the other hand, if they are involved in tasks that motivate them, they will invest more, to the benefit of overall performance.
Finally, a well-executed people review fosters a corporate culture based on excellence and taking account of employees' wishes. In short, a corporate culture that retains and attracts talent.
Benefits for employees
The people review also has advantages for employees who aspire to progress within the company and take on assignments that are a perfect match for their talents. This work on their real skills helps them to feel that they are valued for what they are, and also helps them to 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 the HR people review
The people review may seem essential, but it is 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 setting up a people review.
The first challenge? Avoiding the bias of the manager's single point of view and achieving maximum objectivity. This means :
- Establish consistent assessment criteria, applied uniformly to all employees;
- make proper use of data, thanks in particular to technology. It's a question of using concrete data and cross-referencing different sources to best assess employees.
The other challenge lies in the strategic alignment of the results of the people review with the company's priorities. For example, if an organisation is focusing on digital transformation, the findings of the talent review should guide decisions towards developing the skills needed to achieve these objectives.
☝️ Finally, as always when it comes to HR assessments, don't forget to turn the results obtained into concrete actions!
How do you conduct an effective people review?
An effective talent review is based on a structured and well thought-out methodology. Here's an example of a people review that works:
- Start by defining the reasons for the people review. To identify key talent? Succession planning? Determine training needs?
- Prepare employee data. Bear in mind that, in order to be objective, these analyses need to be monitored on a regular basis. 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 programmes, 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 tools 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 therefore positioned in the box corresponding to his or her profile.
But to address the main challenge of talent review mentioned above, i.e. aiming for maximum objectivity, nothing beats software.
🛠️ For example, an interview management and GPEC solution such as Skeely centralises all the relevant information, particularly that from the various interviews (annual, professional, follow-up, etc.). This gives you the best possible overview of employees' skills, performance and aspirations. What's more, Skeely can support you in deploying post-analysis strategies, in particular in setting up training plans.
Our 3 final tips for a successful people review
Good methodology, good ethics and good tools: these are the ingredients for cooking up a people review that is as beneficial for the company as it is for the 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 assessing the talent of your employees, we recommend that you use 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 stakeholders is the very definition of talent or high potential. It is therefore important to define a common language so that you know exactly what you are looking for and what criteria to observe.
- Encourage 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 judgement.
Finally, remember that the people review is not just an assessment tool: it represents an opportunity to align individual aspirations and collective ambitions so that we can face the future challenges of the world of work hand in hand 🤝.
Article translated from French