Traditional performance management practices are no longer effective for a number of reasons. The business environment is changing every day. To stay competitive and profitable, businesses must learn to navigate through today’s fast-paced and unpredictable work environment. Many companies recognize that performance management is no longer an annual process, and that employees who receive regular feedback deliver greater returns. Companies that want to enhance their performance management practices need to implement performance and development technology that will enable action throughout the year.
Goal Setting
Setting and managing goals (both team and individual) are at the heart of performance management. The traditional goal setting practices fail to engage employees, as organizations need a more collaborative and agile approach to goal management. For better results, businesses should frequently review and revise their goals. There should be a clear alignment between business goals and how much time each employee allocates to a project. Also, it is imperative to ensure that goals are achievable both individually and as a team.
A sophisticated performance management system with our goal management feature supports goal setting– managers and employees can set goals as part of a regular performance management process. Businesses can ensure goal setting is collaborative by including appropriate steps in the performance review process. When managers and employees set regular goals with an automated system, they will be able to view the list of business goals as well as select and link the employee’s goal directly to the company’s overall goal. This system ensures that managers and employees have an easy and effective method to discussing and updating goal progress and status in their regular meetings. This results in higher workforce engagement and better business results.
Discussions play a key role in creating a dynamic workplace that engages managers as well as employees. By promoting a culture of personal development and career progression, employers can increase retention rates, strengthen their commitment to employee learning, and attract the best talent.
Today’s workforce is diverse and multigenerational, having a distinct set of values and behaviors. Irrespective of generations, businesses must find the right methods to drive optimal performances from everyone across the workforce. Employees will have their own expectations, priorities, and communication styles, and your development plans should consider these differences. The key is to identify the differences and have suitable development discussions. Through regular career conversations, employees can share and clarify their goals.
Development Plans
Modern automated system lets you create career and professional development plans as a part of your workforce performance management process. You can link development plans and activities directly to business and individual goals. Online learning catalogue allows managers and employees to select the right activity based on the competency they want to improve, track development plans and progress, and see the impact of training on performance.
360-Degree Feedback
The 360-degree feedback is crucial for getting a broader, more objective perspective on employee performance and areas for development. It includes confidential and anonymous feedback from an employee’s manager, peers, and team leads. The 360-degree reviewis important because, although managers may feel like they have the full picture of an employee’s performance at review time, sometimes their view can be skewed or distorted.
Performance management systems that offers 360-degree reviews is ideal for collecting feedback during a performance review cycle, as part of a project evaluation, or as part of a talent assessment for succession planning. The system allows HR professionals to control all aspects of the review process from a central point – including email notifications, assessment status, and changes to the reporting structure.
Regular Reviews for Project-Based Work
The work environment is constantly changing; employees are assigned to work on different teams, may report to various managers, and achieve different objectives throughout the year. If work is project-based, it involves different people and scheduling, it doesn’t make sense to review employee performance from the perspective of a single manager at the annual review time. Regular reviewsprovide a valuable opportunity to inform managers on how someone is performing throughout the year.
With an automated system, managers have flexibility in how and when each employee’s review will be launched rather than being tied to the end of the year. Modern technology systems enable managers to easily gather performance feedback from team members during or after each engagement, and easily condense it into a summary review. Employees will receive the timely feedback and development they need from managers and team members.
As an employee’s duties become more complex, employers must seek ways to simplify to prevent employees from being overwhelmed and disengaged. This requires a change in how they manage employee performance today. A sophisticated HR software system can redefine and simplify your performance management process. It provides a centralized way to track and collaborate on business and individual goals, exchange real-time feedback, provide training, and discuss career development opportunities on a regular basis.
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