Re-designing your performance management process isn’t a quick, one-step change which you can implement overnight.
But that’s not to say it’s not important. Having the right practices in place can impact upon so many aspects of your organization. From employee engagement to turnover rates, to simply creating a company culture which your employees feel is open and communicative, having an effective performance management system in place can make all the difference.
Research from Deloitte found that in 2014, 68% of HR respondents rated performance management as important or very important. A more recent survey found that 75% responded in the same way: it’s clear that performance management is a hot topic on the rise and now widely acknowledged as something that needs to be given more attention.
And something is wrong with the way things are being done in many organizations. Research tells us that only 3/10 workers thought that their organizations’ performance management system actually helped improve performance. For something which takes up a lot of time and energy, it’s simply not seen by many as something worth doing. People don’t feel it makes a difference when done in terms of a yearly or even quarterly review, and therefore often aren’t willing to engage with the process.
Things are changing though. Of those asked in a 2015 Global Human Capital Trend survey, 89% had recently or were intending to change their performance management process within the next 2 months.
We share with you which practices to implement to ensure that you’re getting the most from your performance management process.
1. Keep it simple
With performance management already sometimes being wrongly overlooked, trying to introduce overly complicated changes is not going to encourage people to engage with the process. Using mRedesiging The Performance Management Process: 5 Strategies And Best Practicesobile technology such as Impraise can keep things simple, allow people to give and review feedback at their own pace, integrating seamlessly with people’s workflow and removing unnecessarily complicated or distracting processes.
2. Have a Purpose
Decide what you want your performance management process to achieve. Are you wanting to focus on increasing communication amongst managers and their teams? Fix specific issues that keep arising? Or simply ditch your annual performance review in favour of something more useful which everyone happily engages with? Whatever your reasons for redesigning your process, let your team have some input, have a clear idea what your purpose is, and communicate it with the team before, and during implementation, and beyond; keep the conversation going.
3. Ditch the top-down only feedback
Gone are the days when manager’s reviews were all that were considered valuable. 360-degree feedback is a key part in re-designing the review process. It allows for way more perspective to be gained, giving people an all-round view rather than just that of their manager or supervisor. This not only means that more perspectives are gained, but also that people can gain a more relevant view, as those they’re working with closely each day are likely to have different insights. Ditching just manager-employee feedback and heading for a more all-round approach means managers can also gain valuable insights into their leadership skills.
4. Introducing upward feedback
360-feedback isn’t just team members being able to give each other feedback, it means they’re also going to be giving it to their superiors. An opportunity to provide this kind of upward feedback to managers allows for things that wouldn’t perhaps usually be challenged or improved upon. Introducing upward feedback is a great practice allows for a more open company culture, and one where team-members feel they can be honest with their managers. It also means that managers have the necessary resources to improve and gain insight to improve themselves that they otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to.
5. Set Regular and Useful Goals
Goal-setting is highly important. It keeps employees on track, motivated, and aligned with company-wide aims, helping team members be really aware of how they contribute to the organization’s success. Performance management should be about more than what’s gone well over the last period. It is also important to focus on future achievements and give your team something to strive towards to keep them engaged, motivated and actively working towards the success of the company.
So, now you’re ready to revamp your performance management process. From more efficient, engaging reviews, to introducing the 360 and giving everyone a chance to get great feedback, to setting great goals which help your company succeed, the benefits are endless.