Performance reviews have undergone significant transformations over the years, adapting to the ever-changing landscape of the modern workplace. Despite these changes, the core objective of performance reviews remains the same: to evaluate employee performance, provide constructive feedback, and set goals for future growth.
But what about distributed teams? This is different from working with in-house employees because managing global teams presents a unique set of challenges. Cultural, linguistic, and geographical differences can make it difficult to conduct performance reviews that are fair, effective, and engaging.
This article provides best practices and practical guidance on how to conduct performance reviews for global teams, ensuring that your organization can unlock the full potential of its diverse workforce.
Read next: How to Write a Performance Review in a Remote Work Environment
Benefits of Working with Global Teams
For companies with global expansion plans, hiring a diverse team with local market expertise can be a game-changer. These employees have a strong understanding of the market, along with the competition, laws, and regulations. Companies can make informed decisions to stay ahead of the competition.
A diverse workforce can provide valuable insights that ensure compliance and minimize risks, giving the company a competitive edge. Local team members also possess a deep understanding of the culture, customs, and values of their respective markets. Companies can easily navigate local sensitivities, build strong relationships with customers, and tailor their strategies to resonate effectively with the target audience.
According to Global Workplace Analytics, companies save an average of $11,315 every year on an employee who works remotely part-time. Remote work eliminates expenses related to physical office spaces, utilities, and supplies, allowing for more leaner operations.
Lastly, companies can also benefit from increased efficiency from working with global teams. Many remote workers get more done during their workdays because there are fewer distractions, fewer commutes, and the freedom to create a unique work environment at home.
Learn more: Global Hiring and Distributed Teams: A Comprehensive Guide
Challenges of Managing Global Teams at Work
Although global teams bring about many benefits, there are a few challenges that you need to consider:
Time zone differences
Team members in different time zones have different working hours, making it challenging to find a common time slot for meetings or collaborations. As a result, urgent matters that require immediate attention might be delayed, leading to slower decision-making and problem solving. Constant switching between different time zones can lead to fatigue and reduced focus, ultimately affecting overall productivity.
Cultural nuances
Because you're working with individuals from different cultural backgrounds, there might be a tendency to misunderstand intentions, communication styles, or behaviors, which can lead to misalignment or conflict if not properly managed. Recognizing and addressing these differences fosters better collaboration and reduces the risk of conflict.
Language barriers
Language differences can hinder effective communication, leading to delays in misunderstandings and delays in information sharing. Team members who are not fluent in the dominant language may struggle to express their ideas or participate in discussions.
Technological difficulties
Technical difficulties can also significantly impact real-time collaboration and productivity when managing distributed teams. A global marketing team using a video conferencing tool may encounter technological difficulties such as poor audio quality, connectivity issues, or software compatibility problems. These issues can disrupt meetings and delay decision-making. Furthermore, these difficulties can increase the risk of data breaches; sensitive information could leak, which puts the team's work at risk.
Building trust and team cohesion
Trust building is important in the workplace as it fosters a positive environment where employees are more engaged, leading to higher quality of work. However, in a remote work setting with limited face-to-face interactions, establishing trust can be challenging. This can impact motivation and teamwork.
Legal and regulatory compliance
Working across different jurisdictions requires companies to navigate varying legal and regulatory frameworks, which can be complex and time-consuming if not properly understood. International HR teams should stay updated on local laws and regulations to ensure compliance and minimize the risk of legal issues.
How to Evaluate Remote Employees During Reviews
1. Offer flexible scheduling
To accommodate global teams and optimize productivity, managers should allow employees to select review times that best fit their schedules. This flexible approach not only reduces scheduling conflicts but also encourages more focused and effective discussions.
By allowing employees to choose when to reflect on their performance, you can foster a more engaged and productive workforce. Utilize scheduling software to help identify overlapping hours for both parties, further enabling fair scheduling across global teams.
Additional reading: The 8 Must-Have Remote Management Tools
2. Customize performance measures as needed
When evaluating global team performance reviews, tailor performance metrics to each employee's role and responsibilities. This ensures reviews are relevant and fair, highlighting individual contributions and aligning with team goals.
3. Ensure all employees have access to clear performance expectations for their roles
When employees clearly understand what’s expected in their roles, they can focus on the right tasks, work more efficiently, and feel confident about their contributions. It also makes performance reviews fairer, as everyone is measured against clear standards.
Provide detailed job scope that outlines key responsibilities, tasks, and performance expectations. Use SMART goals to track progress, ensuring they are clear and achievable. Regularly update job descriptions and share any changes so employees always know what’s expected.
4. Focus on the results rather than work processes
This means prioritizing the achievement of specific goals and outcomes over the steps taken to get there. In other words, focus on what needs to be accomplished rather than how it's done.
Providing team members with the flexibility to choose how they achieve their goals empowers them to work in ways that suit their strengths and personal circumstances while ensuring that organizational objectives are met.
5. Encourage open communication with regular feedback
Feedback in the workplace is directly linked to performance outcomes. 96% of employees believe regular feedback is beneficial for their performance. Companies that provide regular feedback also see a 14.9% reduction in turnover rates.
Thinking of improving your global team performance reviews? Work on establishing regular feedback mechanisms such as quarterly reviews and pulse surveys. Ensure that the feedback given is actionable and timely, providing employees with clear guidance on areas for improvement. To enhance your communications, hold frequent meetings or virtual conferences to discuss progress, goals, and expectations.
Download Omni’s Total Performance Review Kit now!
6. Recognize and celebrate accomplishments on a regular basis
Recognizing and celebrating accomplishments regularly helps motivate employees and boosts team morale. Managers should take time to acknowledge both big and small achievements, whether through team shout-outs, rewards, or informal recognition.
7. Collaborate with employees to create development plans
Instead of just evaluating performance, managers should work with employees to create personal development plans. These plans should outline career goals, skills to develop, and actions to take. By collaborating with employees on their growth, managers can ensure that each team member feels supported and has a clear path to advance in their career.
8. Calibrate performance within and across department
The purpose of a performance calibration is to ensure fairness and consistency in evaluations across the organization. Team leaders and managers should regularly compare performance reviews within their team and other teams to make sure both assessments are aligned.
Based on the calibration process, managers may adjust individual performance ratings to ensure consistency across teams and departments. This helps eliminate biases and ensure that employees are evaluated fairly.
9. Integrate modern HR software
Using modern performance review software makes the global team performance review process smoother and more efficient. HR software can help track goals, collect feedback, and manage performance data. It also helps managers organize reviews, keep records, and ensure that evaluations are consistent and fair across the team.
Global Team Performance Reviews Best Practices
Help managers understand the cultural makeup of their team
Global teams comprise members from diverse backgrounds. Managers must be sensitive to these cultural differences to avoid misinterpreting behaviors or performance. Providing coaching for managers on cultural sensitivity is crucial to ensuring fair and effective global team performance reviews.
Use clear and direct communication
Clear communication is another best practice for conducting global team performance reviews. Simple, concise language should be used to avoid confusion, particularly for non-native speakers. Avoiding jargon, idioms, or technical terms is also crucial. Additionally, providing written summaries of verbal feedback ensures clarity and consistency in global team performance reviews.
Additional resources: The Complete Performance Review Email Templates
Encourage employee feedback
For effective global team performance reviews, managers should encourage employees to share their perspectives on their roles, team dynamics, and leadership. Employee feedback fosters a collaborative and inclusive environment. To adapt to diverse cultures, consider using anonymous surveys or structured feedback sessions during global team performance reviews.
Set and measure OKRs
OKRs stands for Objective and Key Results, which is a framework for setting measurable goals and tracking progress. Managers should work with their global teams to define both short-term and long-term objectives, ensuring that goals are realistic and achievable across different cultural and operational contexts. Key results should be measurable, quantifiable, and transparent to track progress effectively.
Create Effective Global Team Performance Reviews with Omni
Performance reviews shouldn’t be daunting; when done correctly, they can be a powerful tool for boosting employee engagement, even for your global team. By conducting effective global team performance reviews, you provide valuable learning opportunities that align individual progress with business goals. By employing a well-structured framework and effective review strategies, employees are empowered to reach their full potential, fostering both personal and professional growth. With the right approach, global team performance reviews can transform into a catalyst for increased satisfaction, driving motivation and long-term success for both employees and the organization.
Omni’s customizable performance review feature allows managers to design performance review templates to apply to various employee performance assessments, track employee submissions, and derive critical insights to drive business decisions all on one centralized platform. Pre-set performance review templates further guide teams on how to write a performance review.
Our automated system helps managers schedule reviews, track submissions, and send reminders to ensure a complete review cycle without the administrative burden.
Join the 83% of Omni customers who have unlocked new, actionable insights after using our performance management module, and start your free trial today!
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