Although many assumed 2022 would bear a fresh leaf after the COVID-19 pandemic–in reality last year brought us more of the same. And while we look at 2024 with cautious optimism, it’s easy to predict that certain work trends produced by the pandemic will carry on for most of the year.
With more employees working from home than ever before, there is a huge need to adapt to the latest technologies and processes. This has complicated the efforts of organizations looking to recruit and retain top talent, complete performance appraisals, and maintain the overall morale of their employees.
Before we discuss the top performance appraisal trends to watch out for in 2024, let’s look at the performance of different industries during the pandemic.
Industry Outlook
Many organizations suffered financially due to lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Companies like Tesla laid off 75 percent of their on-site staff and Disney halted pay for over 100,000 of their employees.
Not all organizations have faced job losses and salary cuts. Some companies have experienced great business spikes that allowed them to hire new employees and offer promotions. Here are some companies that gained hikes even during the pandemic and are projected to continue doing so this year.
- Amazon provided more than $2.5 billion in bonuses and incentives
- Capgemini provided salary hikes to 70 percent of its staff
- Tesco announced that it will roll out promotions and hikes as scheduled, and all job offers would be honored
- Flipkart announced that there would be no pay cuts and that all job offers would be honored
- Myntra announced that all job offers in their current pipeline will be honored
Impact on Industries
The COVID-19 pandemic kickstarted several trends like working from home and in-house entertainment. While this has led to the fall of many industries, it has also led to the rise of many. This will hugely reflect the appraisals and salary raises across organizations this year.
Become a Data Science & Business Analytics Professional
- 28%Annual Job Growth By 2026
- 11.5 MExpected New Jobs For Data Science By 2026
- $86K - $157KAverage Annual Salary
Post Graduate Program in Data Science
- Post Graduate Data Science certificate and Purdue alumni association membership
- Generative AI and Prompt Engineering: Dedicated course with live sessions
11 monthsPost Graduate Program in AI and Machine Learning
- Program completion certificate from Purdue University and Simplilearn
- Gain exposure to ChatGPT, OpenAI, Dall-E, Midjourney & other prominent tools
11 months
Here's what learners are saying regarding our programs:
Magdalena Szarafin
Manager Group Accounting & Data Analytics, Chemicals
My decision to upskill myself in data science from Simplilearn was a great choice. After completing my course, I was assigned many new projects to work on in my desired field of Data Analytics.
Akili Yang
Personal Financial Consultant, OCBC Bank
The live sessions were quite good; you could ask questions and clear doubts. Also, the self-paced videos can be played conveniently, and any course part can be revisited. The hands-on projects were also perfect for practice; we could use the knowledge we acquired while doing the projects and apply it in real life.
Worst Hit Industries
Tourism
Tourism was definitely one of the hardest hit sectors due to the pandemic. With stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines mandated across the world, the demand for travel industries dropped significantly. Several studies show that leisure air travel will recover to its full potential only by 2024 and corporate air travel by 2026.
Booming Industries
EdTech
The COVID-19 pandemic caused the shift to e-learning in schools and universities as institutions closed down. This has led to the increase in enrollment of various online platforms that facilitate remote learning.
E-Commerce
While people have been using e-commerce for a while now, the pandemic has made this industry grow faster than ever before. Online retailers like Amazon reported massive increases in their sales as people purchased food, clothing, household goods, and more from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
Cybersecurity
As the pandemic normalized working remotely for many organizations, cybersecurity has become an even bigger concern. A study by Gartner Forecast shows that the worldwide spending on cybersecurity is expected to grow by 2.4 percent and become a $123.8 billion industry.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing technologies have enabled people to work from home seamlessly because it provides easy data storage and data access. To adapt to the new normal, traditional companies have also migrated to cloud-based business models. According to a survey by Flexera, 59 percent of organizations have seen 50 percent higher than initially planned usage of cloud based technologies.
We will next look into the change in performance appraisal trends.
Change in Performance Appraisal Trends
Not only has the pandemic changed the way we work, but it has also altered the ways in which we are recognized for our work. Here are some performance appraisal trends to watch out for in 2024:
1. COVID-19 Costs to the Company
If your company carried out many layoffs or salary cuts during the pandemic, the need to understand why this happened is crucial. Did they lose big profile customers? Was the industry heavily impacted by the pandemic more so than others? If the company you work for has an overall decrease in revenue due to the pandemic, the chances of getting an appraisal this year are low.
2. Critical Contribution
If your work has had a greater impact on the company during the pandemic, then you have higher chances of getting an appraisal. For example, if you were among the salespeople who were responsible for keeping up the revenue of the company even during the tough times, you have a stronger case to ask for a salary revision.
3. Remote Working Considerations
Employees working remotely have experienced a number of new challenges both in their mental and professional health. Being away from the office and colleagues have increased the gaps in communication and forced everyone to adapt to new technologies. Companies that measure their employees’ stress levels are set to increase from 16% to 53% by this year.
4. Continuous Feedback Mechanisms
Companies are focusing more on providing in-the-moment feedback, rather than waiting till the end of the year or just during the appraisal season. According to a study by BetterWorks, companies that provided continuous performance management and feedback outperformed their competitors by 24 percent. This is evidence that companies are embracing less formalized performance management and appraisals. With a more agile approach, companies can dynamically set goals, get feedback, and improve productivity.
Getting Ready for Your Appraisals
New skills, new attitudes and new competencies are required to navigate the remote and ever-changing workplace. Traditional performance appraisal reviews are no longer as effective as they once were.
As such, you need to have a number of performance appraisal tips at your disposal and know how to prepare yourself for every possible scenario. The best way to comply with the changing times is to upgrade yourself with new skills and online certifications. This will showcase your level of commitment and personal development and prove your potential to bridge the skill gaps in your organization.