Performance Management: Play a Winning Hand

With practices such as agile goal management, check-ins and continuous feedback becoming widespread across organisations it is evident that the redesign of performance management is picking up speed. Companies are looking to leave their formal appraisals in the past and shift towards new practices that encompass both employee wishes and organisational objectives.  This is reflected in Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends Report 2017 which reveals that 79% of executives rate performance management as an important issue.

The traditional year-end appraisal is proving ineffective in the modern working environment.  Workers have lost confidence in this method and are no longer motivated by their results.  Employees expect continuous learning, development and regular feedback making formal and static models of performance management obsolete. The desire for this change is not solely employee driven, organisational leaders are searching for ways to align performance management with business objectives. As organisations adopt a ‘network of teams’ model, performance management solutions that focus on individual achievement rather than group contributions will no longer prove useful.

Although many organisations are keen to start their performance management upheaval, it is important to recognise that organisational change is a long journey. New practices must be adopted at a pace that suits the individual business in question.  An important first step is to ensure that the planned performance management system is aligned with the overall business strategy. Instead of cascaded locked in year-end goals, it is worth considering agile, transparent methods that allow for flexibility in the face of changing business requirements.