Article: The great performance management rethink

Talent Management

The great performance management rethink

The CEB study highlights that 90% of the employees find their performance evaluation process unproductive and painful.
The great performance management rethink

The pandemic has not only transformed the way we live but has also pivoted the way we work. Today remote and hybrid work models have become the norm, providing greater agility and flexibility to deliver quality work within set deadlines. As businesses are reinventing their business models, they are also re-thinking on how employees are evaluated for their performances. They understand that reviews and performance management can no longer occur in silos and there is a need to take an effective cross-functional view to meet individual and collective goals. 

In fact, surveys conducted are reflective of the need for a fundamental change in the way we view employee performances. According to a CEB study, 95% of HR leaders were unhappy with the traditional annual performance review process, and 60% of employees felt that performance reviews did not help improve their performance in any way. This underscores an important fact that companies can no longer rely on reviewing performances once or twice a year, in a generic, one-size-fits-all manner. 

The study also highlighted that 90% of the employees find their performance evaluation process unproductive and painful. 75% also mentioned that they don’t feel valued enough at their workplace. So, the question arises, how can organisations make this process more engaging and smooth sailing?

Leading performance management with a new frontier

In most organisations, managers have continuous one-on-one feedback conversations with their subordinates. However, these are not streamlined and are not taken into consideration during the annual performance evaluation. It is vital for companies to understand and facilitate its relevance and effectiveness. Regular real-time feedback, understanding the team’s challenges or issues, and performance upliftment exercises pave the way for increased efficiency. Setting short-term goals with the team while apprising them of the organisation’s long-term goal makes the employee’s experience more meaningful. As the role of a human resource manager evolves from just hiring, reviewing, and payroll management, decentralising the process of regular feedback and review will help craft each employee’s journey. 

The role technology can play in improving feedback

In the contemporary world, working on various projects from anywhere around the globe, without the administerial hassle has become easy. This trend spiked, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, further promoting what is known as the ‘great resignation’ or in India’s case the ‘great switch'. People moving for better prospects after re-evaluating their priorities has made it even more crucial for organisations to retain their top talent. As per industry reports, for many, money is a dissatisfier and purpose provides the opportunity to go beyond. Therefore, it is essential to look at employees’ intrinsic motivators and engage with them regularly. 

The new generation of employees come with an entrepreneurial mindset. They want to understand the depth of the challenges that their organisation faces and how they can help solve them. It is possible only through a modern performance evaluation system. Technology is a game-changer for every sector and is also enabling organisations to help employees receive real-time feedback on their skill sets and elevate their job. Given the fast-paced environment we operate in, employees today do not need to wait for a year for their performance evaluation, which, in most cases, is not personalised.

Consistent evaluation, coaching conversations and upskilling through technology are some of the ways through which organisations can retain their employees. Customised platforms, specific to the needs of the organisations, have helped in ensuring that employees receive constructive feedback on time, which, in the longer run, would help managers better understand the needs of their people, make swift strategic decisions, or take mitigative steps before it’s too late (like in the case of year end appraisals).

All in all, as businesses continue to work with a new-aged workforce, implementing a dynamic, agile, and new-age performance evaluation system is the need of the hour. It has become even more prudent for businesses to ensure that employees feel empowered to grow while effectively helping them in self-expression, self-appreciation, and self-recognition.

 

This story was first published in January 2022.

Read full story

Topics: Talent Management, Performance Management, #GuestArticle

Did you find this story helpful?

Author

QUICK POLL

How do you envision AI transforming your work?