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Talent Management Perspectives

Published February 2010

Tips to Enhance Performance Management

 

  Jan Brockway

Annual performance evaluations tend to elicit stress and anxiety for both employers and employees. Millions have tried to sidestep the elephant in the room by applying a plethora of technology-based solutions. One of the biggest impediments to the successful automation of employee performance management is a tendency to overengineer the process and thereby lose sight of what employers are trying to achieve: drive higher performance from employees and reward desirable behaviors.

Before a company even considers bringing technology into the mix, the desired employee performance outcomes need to be defined. For example, what behaviors are you expecting from managers? What behaviors are you expecting from employees? And, ultimately, how will these behaviors benefit the company?

This is seemingly straightforward, but it may not be as easy as one might think. Consider the analogy of the first-time car buyer. A man walks into the showroom with the intention of buying a car. Somewhere in the midst of the visit, his attention is diverted by shiny bells and whistles. Will he ever use the heated steering wheel in Florida? The touchscreen dashboard? Probably not — in fact, they'll probably only serve to detract from what he's seeking to achieve, which is to have solid, reliable transportation.

Similarly, many companies are taken with overpriced software with lots of bells and whistles they'll never use when what they really need is basic reliable performance management. Many seem to lose sight of the fact that the performance management process ought to be supported by technology versus being driven by it.

Consider another analogy: In the military, standards and consistency are the norm. Every soldier knows what his or her role is, and expectations are clearly communicated and reinforced. Pet projects are discouraged, and there's an intense focus on the larger imperative rather than the distractions of the day. In contrast, few private-sector organizations display this rigor in their employee performance management processes. While HR helps to set direction through carefully crafted job descriptions that help employees understand their jobs, effective employee performance management needs to go well beyond this point.

First, every company needs to have a true north — and that needs to come from the leadership team. Executives need to clearly communicate organizational objectives to management. Managers need to reinforce these expectations with employees. HR needs to guide and drive sustainable standards across the company.

Second, "sheep-dipping" managers once or twice a year won't cut it in today's highly competitive environment. The term refers to a process whereby sheep are dipped once a year or seasonally to prevent diseases, which lies in contrast to the premise that performance management ought to be a daily, year-round initiative. In addition to strategic training initiatives, HR needs to put the appropriate as-needed support structure in place for managers. For example, role-playing how to deliver a performance-related message with a manager can be far more impactful than telling employees to read their goals online in the performance management system. The latter assumes that everyone is going to adhere to the request as well as be able to grasp the corresponding, often tacit, context.