Today we’re talking about co-assessment, a new practice that helps companies and their employees to monitor skills and career development. Co-evaluation is now one of the HR solutions that opens up dialogue between a manager and each member of his or her department. This new experience of corporate relations and co-assessment enables joint reflection on the needs of the manager, as well as those of the employee, particularly in terms of training and career development.
Definition of co-assessment
The interview between an employer and his employee is more often conducted by the manager, who takes stock of :
- the period elapsed ;
- the employee’s strengths and weaknesses ;
- possible career development within the company ;
- the position held by the employee ;
- its ability to upgrade skills.
Co-evaluation completely changes this classic model of the interview, with extensive interaction between the manager and the employee, who work together on both the employee’s results and the company’s needs, leading to a mutual evaluation and a proposal for appropriate training.
Initially introduced in schools and universities within groups of pupils or students, co-evaluation has rapidly spread to companies. Why is this? Because it provides a forum for stakeholders to exchange views and improve relations within the company, with everyone listening to each other.
The aim is therefore to create a special bond at the time of the employee’s appraisal, through an interview that is always conducted fairly, by both the manager and the employee. This meeting and its constructive exchange address, among other things, training solutions adapted to each employee.
The 8 advantages of co-assessment in the workplace
Employee development and skills enhancement are always an advantage for the company. Rather than offering interviews conducted exclusively by the manager, co-evaluation opens up a dialogue between the parties. In this way, it reinforces everyone’s commitment. Co-evaluation is therefore an ingenious solution with many advantages. It takes into account the expectations of both the employee and the company, putting everyone on the same level of discussion.
Let’s take a look at the 8 advantages of co-assessment in the workplace.
1. Improving communication
The annual appraisal interview has evolved considerably in recent years. Where it used to be mainly conducted by the department manager using a rating form, where the employee only had to respond without being able to open up a dialogue, co-assessment allows everyone to express themselves and communicate.
Co-evaluation encourages exchanges and strengthens collaboration between the line manager and the employee. The employee is free to express his or her wishes and expectations on a form filled in beforehand, in which, among other things, he or she can express his or her professional training needs.
2. Co-evaluation and reinforcement of commitment
The employer rightly expects a high level of employee involvement in the company. Co-evaluation, through open dialogue and joint reflection, enables the employee to specify his expectations and the manager to take stock of the commitment he foresees. Everyone is able to express any grievances they may have and thus improve their behaviour and investment in the company.
3. identification of joint needs
Holding a joint assessment interview highlights joint needs. This concerns the employee’s expectations in terms of professional training and those hoped for on the part of the employee: more initiative, regularity in the actions taken, etc. The employee can thus become aware of his impact on the company while understanding his employer’s aspirations. In this way, employees can become aware of their impact on the company while understanding their employer’s aspirations.
4. skills enhancement through co-assessment
All employees hope to develop their skills over the course of their career. While some skills can be acquired internally, others require access to a training programme outside the company. Co-evaluation highlights certain shortcomings, specifies the benefits of training and opens the door to career development in terms of salary and position. A joint selection of training courses enables a win-win process to be put in place for both parties.
5. Establishing a climate of trust
Co-evaluation involves the employee in the interview. It’s up to each party to identify the areas for improvement, those that have been achieved and those that are in the process of being achieved. By sharing their feelings in this way, the parties offer a dialogue based on mutual trust where each, at his or her own level, is valued. This helps to limit the hierarchical differences that are sometimes misperceived by employees and to establish a more egalitarian exchange.
6. encouraging people to take responsibility
Some employees do not dare to take on responsibilities or make proposals for fear of being reprimanded or criticized by their superiors. Co-evaluation makes it possible to clarify the manager’s expectations in terms of positions to be taken and to encourage the employee to propose innovations, improvements or internal adjustments, with the aim of serving the company better.
7. Identifying talent within the company
There’s nothing like getting to know your employee to find out what skills and talents they could bring to the company. The traditional interview tends to focus on the position currently held, without really giving the employee the opportunity to have his say. By opting for co-assessment, the company manager can engage in constructive dialogue and recognise certain talents in the employee that can be put to good use in the company.
8. Transparency and performance improvement
Since co-assessment puts the employee and his or her manager on an equal footing, it allows for greater transparency in the efforts expected or the opportunities given to the employee to improve his or her position at the heart of the company. This can take the form of the presentation of a prospective future position, a pay rise following good results, the offer of professional training with a view to career development, etc. On the other hand, employees can put forward new ideas in relation to the position they hold, talk about their role within the company and how they feel about the quality of life at work.
How can co-evaluation be set up in the company?
There are a number of ways in which co-evaluation can be implemented in a company. It is generally led by the human resources department, which can decide to become involved at different levels:
- by department: administrative, commercial, financial, etc. ;
- by department: accounts, payroll, legal, etc. ;
- per employee, on an individual basis.
The company can also reserve it for annual interviews only, or open it up to more regular meetings in line with the company’s policy or specific issues. Co-evaluation involves 4 stages, such as defining the objectives to be achieved and the evaluation criteria to be used.
Stage 1: defining objectives through co-evaluation
The objectives of co-evaluation can be defined as follows:
- a department’s training needs ;
- objectives to be achieved ;
- the forthcoming arrival of a new tool to check everyone’s skills;
- the presentation of an innovative issue;
- etc.
In this way, they form part of the co-assessment grid or form distributed to the employees and manager before the meeting.
Stage 2: Co-evaluation criteria
The selection of co-assessment criteria makes it possible to ;
- highlight the strengths of each employee ;
- define the skills needed to meet the above objectives;
- adapting and proposing training courses;
- discovering talent ;
- etc.
All this, of course, while giving employees the opportunity to express themselves and managers the chance to listen.
Stage 3: Co-evaluation feedback
Each co-evaluation interview should be the subject of feedback or feedback to highlight any particular needs, problems encountered, improvements proposed by the parties, etc.
Both the employee and the manager receive a summary document so that they fully understand the scope of the discussion and what has been learned from it. It should never be forgotten that if any of the points are repeated, they can always be corrected by implementing specific actions or changes internally.
Stage 4: monitoring the implementation of agreed actions
Co-evaluation generally involves the implementation of actions, professional training or development within the position held. The latter should always be monitored, with the possibility of adjustments during implementation.
Make co-evaluation a common practice in the company
Open dialogue between employees and management is essential if the company culture is to be shared by all. Co-evaluation can therefore be seen as one of the assets of quality of life at work, since it opens the door to exchanges, the sharing of ideas, improvements in day-to-day life and consideration of internal and external needs. It is becoming an increasingly common practice within companies.
Today, thanks to turnkey solutions such as MOS Skills, you can easily integrate your skills repositories and build individual development plans for all your employees, using activities adapted to each person’s level.
What co-assessment makes possible
In conclusion, co-assessment enables recognition:
- strengths and weaknesses of the employee and his/her manager ;
- the company’s strengths and areas for improvement ;
- optimising recruitment needs;
- strengthening exchanges and the corporate culture.
Co-evaluation is now a powerful tool for achieving shared objectives. In this way, everyone can, at their own level, modify and perfect certain behaviours and benefit from them on a day-to-day basis.